Overview

• EPA officials disclosed in a court filing that they will launch a formal rulemaking process to reconsider the March 2024 regulation targeting chrysotile asbestos.
• The agency said the review, including possible regulatory changes, could take around 2.5 years to complete.
• The Biden rule had set staggered deadlines for industries to eliminate asbestos uses, ranging from six months for automotive brakes to up to 12 years for chlor-alkali plants.
• The chemical industry, backed by the American Chemistry Council’s lawsuit against the ban, has endorsed the EPA’s decision to reopen the rule.
• Health advocates, including Linda Reinstein of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, warn that delaying the ban threatens efforts to prevent thousands of asbestos-related deaths each year.