This is meaningless at best, at worst some kind of scam, and at least a distraction.
Asbestos has been illegal to install in places where it was going to cause a serious problem for decades.
People are starting to realize the issue with all of these chemicals, and people are starting to demand the government do something. So this is a “look – we did something!” type situation.
The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced a comprehensive ban on asbestos, a carcinogen that is still used in some chlorine bleach, brake pads and other products and that kills tens of thousands of Americans every year.
The final rule marks a major expansion of EPA regulation under a landmark 2016 law that overhauled regulations governing tens of thousands of toxic chemicals in everyday products, from household cleaners to clothing and furniture.
The new rule would ban chrysotile asbestos, the only ongoing use of asbestos in the United States. The substance is found in products such as brake linings and gaskets and is used to manufacture chlorine bleach and sodium hydroxide, also known as caustic soda.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan called the final rule a major step to protect public health.
“With today’s ban, EPA is finally slamming the door on a chemical so dangerous that [it] has been banned in over 50 countries,’’ Regan said. ”This historic ban is more than 30 years in the making, and it’s thanks to amendments that Congress made in 2016 to fix the Toxic Substance Control Act,’’ the main US law governing use of chemicals.
Exposure to asbestos is known to cause lung cancer, mesothelioma and other cancers, and it is linked to more than 40,000 deaths in the US each year. Ending the ongoing uses of asbestos advances the goals of President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot, a whole-of-government initiative to end cancer in the US, Regan said.
Asbestos was a conspiracy for a long time. Just like with plastics, pesticides, herbicides, various PFAS, and all the rest of these chemicals they poison us with, they knew for a long time that asbestos was unsafe, and still just kept using it, until the situation got out of control.