US EPA to strengthen asbestos risk evaluation

In a win for environmental and public health groups, the US Environmental Protection Agency committed to broadening and speeding up its review of the health risks of asbestos under two legal settlements on Oct. 12.

Asbestos is one of the first 10 substances the EPA evaluated under the 2016 revisions to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The agency released its final assessment Dec. 30, 2020, finding unreasonable risks to workers and consumers who handle many products containing asbestos, including chlor-alkali diaphragms used by the chemical industry to produce chlorine.