After receiving a harsh wave of criticism on significant new use rule (SNUR) last summer, US Environmental Protection Agency- EPA has issued a final rule last week on April 17, 2019, regarding the use of asbestos products in the United States.
According to which companies are dealing with the import of asbestos products for commercial purposes in the industrial or domestic manifesting procedures, they must get approval from EPA first.
EPA will then evaluate these products and then decide whether to restrict the use of these products or completely ban them from being used in the market.
Rather than simply banning the asbestos, SNUR or this new rule is merely suggesting the manufacturers request the approval of EPA and keep using the asbestos products.
This sort of rule is far away from banning the use of asbestos products altogether and putting people working in the related industries at high risk of asbestos-related diseases.
Banned Asbestos Uses As per EPA’s April 2019 Rule
The following is the list of 19 asbestos products prohibited from being introduced in the market due to the risk of asbestos exposure, as per this new rule:
- Adhesives, sealants, roof coatings
- Extruded sealant tape
- Beater-add gaskets
- Filler for acetylene cylinders
- High-grade electrical paper
- Millboard
- Friction materials
- Missile liner
- Pipeline
- Arc chutes
- Wrap
- Woven products
- Cement products
- Roofing Felt
- Packing material
- Separators in fuel cells and batteries
- Vinyl-asbestos floor tile
- Building products
- Reinforced plastics
The president of a non-profit organization named as Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), Linda Reinstein said in response to this newly presented Asbestos rule by EPA,
“The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) significant new use rule (SNUR) for asbestos is deeply disappointing, especially after last week’s comments from EPA Administrator Wheeler who testified he was committed to banning ongoing uses of asbestos.”
This new rule has come just a few weeks after the EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler had testified that he would put a complete ban on asbestos in front of the Energy and Commerce committee.
Frank Pallone Jr., Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, regarded this law as the “complete betrayal of that commitment” and issued the following statement relating to EPA’s new regulatory rule for asbestos use,
“Just last week, Administrator Wheeler sat before my committee and committed to an outright ban of ongoing uses of asbestos. Today’s rule is a complete betrayal of that commitment. It does nothing to restrict ongoing uses of asbestos; instead, it provides a pathway to market for uses that had previously been phased out, such as in floor tiles and insulation. Exposure to asbestos kills nearly 40,000 Americans every single year.
The EPA should be protecting Americans from this toxic substance, not inviting manufacturers to revive its use in our homes. Today’s action is shamefully inadequate, runs counter to the commitment Administrator Wheeler made to me last week, and only strengthens my resolve to pass a legislative solution.”
Environmental Protection Agency says that the final implementation of this rule will take 60 days.
Surprisingly, while there is a big debate going on in Washington on the extent of asbestos use, and it’s regulation in the country, there are more than 60 nations that have already banned the use of asbestos in any industry and have protected their people from the scientifically approved carcinogenic effects of this substance.
Countries Where the Use of Asbestos is Banned
Asbestos is banned from use in the following 66 countries as per the data revised in October 2018 by International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS, 2018). And astonishingly enough, United States, Russia, China, and India are not on this list. China, Russia, and India, on the other hand, are among the top five users of asbestos, while the other two are Brazil and Indonesia, as per the data collected by IBAS in the year 2015.
Luckily, Brazil has banned the use of any sort of asbestos in marketing, processing, mining, and distribution on the 29th of November 2017. And at that time, Brazil was ranked as the third-largest producer of asbestos.
| Sr. No. | Country Name | Year Asbestos was Banned |
| 1. | Algeria | 2008 |
| 2. | Argentina | 2003 |
| 3. | Australia | 2003 |
| 4. | Austria | 1990 (with exceptions) |
| 5. | Bahrain | 1996 |
| 6. | Belgium | 1998 (with exceptions) |
| 7. | Brunei | 1994 (added rules on the use of asbestos) |
| 8. | Brazil | 2017 |
| 9. | Bulgaria | 2005 |
| 10. | Chile | 2001 |
| 11. | Canada | 2018 |
| 12. | Croatia | 2006 |
| 13. | Cyprus | 2005 |
| 14. | Czech Republic | 2005 |
| 15. | Denmark | 1986 (with exceptions) |
| 16. | Djibouti | 1999 |
| 17. | Egypt | 2005 |
| 18. | Estonia | 2005 |
| 19. | Finland | 1993 (with exceptions) |
| 20. | France | 1996 (with exceptions) |
| 21. | Gabon | 2019 |
| 22. | Gibraltar | 2007 |
| 23. | Germany | 1993 (with exceptions) |
| 24. | Greece | 2005 |
| 25. | Honduras | 2004 (with exceptions) |
| 26. | Hungary | 1988 (bans crocidolite) 2005 (all types of asbestos) |
| 27. | Iceland | 1983 (with exceptions)1996 (all types of asbestos) |
| 28. | Ireland | 2000 (with exceptions) |
| 29. | Iraq | 2010 |
| 30. | Israel | 1990 and updated in 2011 |
| 31. | Italy | 1992 (with exceptions) |
| 32. | Japan | 1995 (with exceptions)2005 (announced ban within three years on all types) |
| 33. | Jordan | 2006 |
| 34. | South Korea | 2009 |
| 35. | Kuwait | 1995 |
| 36. | Latvia | 2001 |
| 37. | Liechtenstein | 1990 |
| 38. | Lithuania | 2005 |
| 39. | Luxembourg | 2002 with exceptions |
| 40. | Malta | 2005 |
| 41. | Mauritius | 2015 |
| 42. | Mozambique | 2010 |
| 43. | Monaco | 1997 in building materials |
| 44. | Netherlands | 1991 (with exceptions) |
| 45. | New Caledonia | 2007 |
| 46. | New Zealand | 2002 (with exceptions) |
| 47. | Norway | 1984 (with exceptions)1991 (all types of asbestos) |
| 48. | Oman | 2001 and 2008 (updated) with exceptions |
| 49. | Poland | 1997 |
| 50. | Portugal | 2005 |
| 51. | Qatar | 2010 |
| 52. | Romania | 2005 |
| 53. | Saudi Arabia | 1998 |
| 54. | Serbia | 2011 |
| 55. | Seychelles | 2012 (with exceptions) |
| 56. | Singapore | 1989 (raw asbestos) |
| 57. | Slovakia | 2005 |
| 58. | Slovenia | 1996 for asbestos and cement products |
| 59. | South Africa | 2008 |
| 60. | Spain | 2002 with exceptions |
| 61. | Sweden | 1986 (with exceptions) |
| 62. | Switzerland | 1989 (with exceptions) |
| 63. | Taiwan | 2018 |
| 64. | Turkey | 2010 |
| 65. | United Kingdom | 1999 (with exceptions) |
| 66. | Uruguay | 2002 |
(IBAS is a non-profit organization, established 19 years ago in the year 2000, and provides an excellent platform to the asbestos victims, and also provides authentic and helpful information.)
Singapore, Mongolia, and Ukraine are the three countries that were part of this list in the past. But Singapore was removed in 2010, Mongolia in 2012, and Ukraine was removed in 2017, as the respective Governments lifted the ban on the use of asbestos.
And the United States Government still seems reluctant to take concrete steps for banning the use of asbestos altogether. This put people on the verge of being exposed to asbestos and also increase the probability of asbestos-related diseases.
