The United States finally bans white asbestos

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in March that the United States will join 50 other countries in prohibiting the importation of chrysotile (white) asbestos and its use as a composite substance in any new manufactured products.

Currently, chrysotile asbestos is used in the manufacture of some roofing materials, cements, brake pads and other automative parts.

There will however be a lead-in time of up to 12 years, for all new manufactured products to become “asbestos free”. This is despite a total of 40,000 (estimated) deaths occurring in the United States due to past asbestos exposure each year.

Historically, the UK has had the highest prevalence of exposure to asbestos in Europe, though it prohibited the use of chrysotile asbestos in 1999. The mortality rate in the UK currently stands at around 5,000 deaths per annum – roughly half are attributable to the fatal cancer mesothelioma, with the remainder due to asbestos-related lung cancer.

It remains to be seen whether any new incoming administration would seek to row back against the EPA announcement. The New York Times (Article, 18 March 2024), reports former President Trump as previously stating in his 1997 book: “Trump: The Art of the Comeback”, his belief that asbestos was “100% safe”.