US Asbestos Ban Back on Track
An intriguing and somewhat confusing headline – Trump Administration, Reversing Itself, Won’t Rewrite a Ban on Asbestos – in the July 7, 2025 issue of the New York Times caught my attention.1 Three weeks previously, the Republican government’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had confirmed its intention to overturn asbestos prohibitions implemented by the previous administration saying that the Agency would undertake a comprehensive reconsideration of the Asbestos Part 1; Chrysotile Asbestos Rule 2024. 2
Like many other major newspapers, the content of the NY Times (NYT) is behind a paywall; fortunately, a friend who is a subscriber was able to share the new article with me. In the text, journalist Hiroko Tabuchi explained that the cause of the government’s U-turn was a “public outcry over plans to reconsider Biden-era restrictions on the carcinogenic material.”3 People I spoke to in the US had another explanation: the left hand of the administration didn't know what the right hand was doing. Whoever is right and whatever the cause, this development is certainly a very welcome one.
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The technical procedures which brought about this reversal included a July 7, 2025 filing by Lynn Ann Dekleva, Deputy Administrator of the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), entitled: Notice of Withdrawal of Motion to Hold Case in Abeyance. According to the three-page document:
“Since EPA filed its Motion to Hold Case in Abeyance, the Agency has further reconsidered the challenged rule and no longer intends to conduct notice-and-comment rulemaking to evaluate potential changes at this time…. In light of the withdrawal of the Motion To Hold Case In Abeyance, EPA respectfully requests that the Court set a deadline of August 8, 2025 for filing Motions to Govern Further Proceedings.”4
In the Declaration in Support of Withdrawal of Motion to Hold Case in Abeyance, also filed on July 7, 2025 by Lynn Ann Dekleva, the EPA took a backward swipe at the Biden administration’s regulations:
“…the Agency has further reconsidered the Asbestos Part 1 Rule, including the applicability of workplace protection requirements to the use of asbestos-containing sheet gaskets in non-titanium dioxide chemical production and the selection of risk management measures for the Asbestos sheet gasket and chlor-alkali conditions of use. EPA plans to explore whether guidance could provide further clarity to stakeholders as they implement the Rule, particularly with respect to any workplace protection measures.”
The shift in approach from formal rulemaking to the provision of guidance on complying with the terms of the prohibitions realigns the US with other G7 countries and 36 of the OECD’s 38 members which have banned asbestos.5
Perhaps to camouflage the government’s humiliating volte face, EPA Press Secretary Brigit Hirsch doubled down on the charges against the Biden-EPA’s regulations saying:
“To remedy the previous Administration’s approach, we notified the court that we intend to reconsider the applicability of interim workplace protection requirements during the replacement of asbestos gaskets for all workers.” 6
The world is a much more dangerous place during Donald Trump’s second term than it was during his first. The last thing Americans need is a roll-back on life-saving safety measures. For the time being, the status quo has been reinstated. Whether it remains in place, only time will tell.
July 17, 2025
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1 Tabuchi, H. Trump Administration, Reversing Itself, Won’t Rewrite a Ban on Asbestos. July 7, 2025.
[subscription site]: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/climate/asbestos-ban-trump.html
2 EPA. Asbestos Part 1; Chrysotile Asbestos; Regulation of Certain Conditions of Use Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). March 28, 2024.
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2024-03-28/pdf/2024-05972.pdf
The Asbestos Part 1 Rule prohibits the manufacture, processing, distribution in commerce and commercial use of chrysotile (white) asbestos with time-limited exemptions; it was adopted in 2024 pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act.
3 Kazan-Allen, L. Thinking the Unthinkable: Rolling Back US Asbestos Protections. June 25, 2025.
https://ibasecretariat.org/lka-thinking-the-unthinkable-rolling-back-us-asbestos-protections.php
4 This document and others in the case Texas Chemistry Council, et al. v. U.S. Environmental Agency, et al. (Nos. 24-60193, 24-60281, 24-60333 (consolidated)) can be downloaded from:
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/68457472/texaschemistry-council-v-epa/
5 The only two OECD members not to have asbestos bans in 2025 are Costa Rica and Mexico.
OECD. Members and Partners.
https://www.oecd.org/en/about/members-partners.html
IBAS. Current Asbestos Bans.
https://ibasecretariat.org/alpha_ban_list.php
6 Phillis, M, St. John, A. Trump administration pulls back plan to rewrite asbestos ban. July 8, 2025.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-administration-pulls-back-plan-to-rewrite-asbestos-ban
