Asbestos Legislation

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Ancient History

Asbestos and carcinogenic are not only connected medically, but linguistically as well. Both words come to us from Greek; the first one is virtually unchanged from its ancient form, which means "inextinguishable". The second word has changed slightly; its original form was karkinos, meaning "crab." For centuries, cancer was known as the "Crab Sickness."

To the Romans, who marveled at the "magic mineral" that was untouched by fire, yet pliable enough to be woven into cloth, asbestos cancer had another name: the "disease of slaves."

Recent History

Some corporations have known of the toxicity of asbestos for nearly seventy years. Between 1940 and 1980, well over twenty million tons have been used in the manufacture of buildings and vehicles of all kinds as well as everyday appliances. At its height, asbestos was the center of a multi-billion-dollar industry in which over two hundred thousand workers were employed.

Navy Veterans and Mesothelioma In his book Fatal Deception, author Michael Bowker outlines numerous examples of medical reports that began coming out in the late 1940s showing the connection between asbestos and respiratory diseases that were subsequently shown to officers of major corporations as well as the Roosevelt Administration. These reports were subsequently disregarded and suppressed. One victim of asbestosis, a former shipyard worker for the U.S. Navy, summed it up this way:

"…you are talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars
to protect all the people that work in shipyards. It was a lot
cheaper to let them work unprotected. The companies
figured, ‘Sure, some of the workers will die, and fewer will
sue us - it is still much cheaper than buying the protective
gear."

What's Being Done?

Today, the United States is the last industrialized nation in which asbestos is still legal. Even today, asbestos is found in thousands of consumer products, ranging from toasters to ceiling tiles. An attempt was made in 1989 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ban the use of asbestos. The asbestos industry sued in federal court, citing that jobs would be lost and communities would face economic ruin. In 1991, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the ban.

Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) finally introduced a bill that would ban the use of asbestos in the U.S.. Senator Murray's bill, the "Asbestos-Containing Products Risk Reduction Act of 2002" (S. 2641) would have restored many elements of the EPA ban overturned nine years earlier. The bill was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. For five years, no other action was taken on the bill. However, Senator Murray 2007 reintroduced the bill as the "Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2007" (S. 742). The bill passed out of committee on a bipartisan vote of 19-0 (11); it will not only outlaw all uses of asbestos in the U.S., it will provide funding for the study of asbestos-related diseases.

Asbestos Exposure Information In 2005, the EPA published a document entitled "Asbestos Project Plan," the purpose of which was to provide "a framework for a coordinated Agency-wide approach to identify, evaluate and reduce the risk to human health from asbestos exposure."

Nonetheless, despite the overturning of EPA regulations and previous failures by Congress in taking meaningful action, products containing asbestos are being phased out under the Clean Air and Toxic Substances Acts. These include spray-applied surfacing ACM and other materials with more than 1% asbestos content, asbestos insulation, corrugated paper, rollboard, specialty papers containing asbestos and any new uses of the substance.

'Asbestos Legislation' Resources:

Notes

  1. Bowker, Michael. Fatal Deception, pp. 45-46
  2. Ibid.
  3. Op. cit., p. 87
  4. Op. cit., p. 90
  5. Op. cit., pp. 90-91
  6. Op. cit., p. 107
  7. Environmental Working Group. "The Failed EPA Asbestos Ban" (2006)
  8. Bowker, op. cit., p. 309
  9. U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. "Statement of Senator Patty Murray" (20 June 2002).
  10. Library of Congress. "S.2641" (2002).
  11. Pope, Charles. "Murray's Bill Advances" (2007)
  12. Murray, Senator Patty. "Murray's Asbestos Bill Passes Key Committee" (2007).
  13. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "Asbestos Project Plan" (2005).
  14. Life of Brian (1979).
  15. Washington State Department of Ecology. "Banned Asbestos Building Products"
  16. Pope, op. cit.

Sources

  1. Bowker, Michael. Fatal Deception. (New York: Touchstone, 2003)
  2. Bureau of National Affairs. "Report Lists Actions Congress Could Take To Improve EPA Assessments Under TSCA." Chemical Regulation Reporter, vol. 29 no. 29, 18 July 2005.
  3. Environmental Working Group. "The Failed EPA Asbestos Ban", http://reports.ewg.org/reports/asbestos/facts/fact5.php, (Web Article). Updated 2006.
    Accessed: 27 July 2007.
  4. Gilliam, Terry, et. al. Life of Brian. (Handmade Films, 1979).
  5. Murray, Senator Patty. "Murray's Asbestos Bill Passes Key Committee With Unanimous, Bipartisan Support" (Official Senate Website).
    Accessed: 15 August 2007.
  6. Pope, Charles. "Murray's Bill Advances." Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 31 July 2007.
  7. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "Asbestos Project Plan" (Online Document). Updated November 2005.
    Accessed: 27 July 2007.
  8. U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. "Statement of Senator Patty Murray" (Web Publication). Updated 20 June 2002.
    Accessed: 27 July 2007.

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