Document 2R35Yzo3dMqKwxK1LEdo8vBzb
PLAINTIFF'S EXHIBIT
E.P.A. to Ban Virtually AllAsbestos Products
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WASHINGTON, July I -- TIM Envtronmarml Protection Agency today
iapMatf a graftal baa on virtually aft pwtai made of asbesto* a widely used mtaral la products tike brake U*Assand buUdtrig materials that causes tung caacer and ocher senous disease.
Ilia Mwlnlsraiflt of the agency, WHttara X. Reilly, said that over the nesl wtw years the E.P.A. would bar the manufacture, use and export of mast asbestos product* which he said had left "a terrible legacy at dead, dying sod crippled."
The agency's rating on asbestos was delayed isr yean by objections (real the Office of Management and Budget
sad demands for reviews by makers and users of asbestos products. It now becomes final and will be carried out In thro* stags* starting next year. The action wifi affect an estimated M per* cent of asbestos products made In the
United Stats* including brake lining* roafta ptpa, ta and insulation. It will
not affect asbestos materials in existtabtdU^*
Ena la the absence of federally Impoaed restriction* the use of asbestos m tta country baa declined to 9*999 metric tone today from more then S6Wg metric tone to Iff* Consumer coacerne about (be health effects sad
THE NEW VOEK TIMES, FRIDAY, JVLY l 199*
19 percent of pretax* now used, tn*
eluding drum brake linings, transmis sion component* clutch facings .tod other friction products and gasket*
The final stage, in 199* would oar the production and use of roof coating*
>. paper, brake block* pipe and shingle
made with asbestos.
"Asbestos is still used in a surpris ingly wide variety of product*" Mr. ReiUy noted today.
The cost to industry at abandoning asbestos products and replacing them with substitutes Is estimated by the agency at 9459 million over the 15-year period. Mr. ReiUy said he expected costs to be passed on to consumers. He said the cost per life saved was not un usually high for environmental regula
tion.
Advice to Buildlag Owners
He emphasized thauhe new n .te* dW
not affect asbestos materials already
tn buildings. He said budding owners
should continue to use professional ad*
vice in determining if the asbestos had
to be removed and for safe ways of
removing X. tn many case* he said, it[
may be safer to leave asbestos in place;
rather than risk releasing the fibers I
into the air.
-1
\ Wavesaf Aikrotos Deaths
He said there had been three '`waves** of deaths attributable to can cer caused by exposure to asbestos. The first, he said, was among chose i who mined and fabricated asbestos. ; The second was among shipyard, rati* ' road roundhouse ana constructtan workers who used the products. Now, a third wave is occurring among building maintenance worker* demolition crews and workers who remove asbes tos from buildings, Dr. Selikoff said.
Jacqueline M. Warren, an lawyer for the Natural Resource* Defense Coun cil, an environmental group, said that today's action "speaks well" for Presi dent Bush and Mr. ReiUy. While some uses of asbestos could be banned sooner than planned, she said: "This la a big step for the E.P.A. It will protect public health from asbestos by 199*"
Action Termed Draconian
But the Asbestos Information Associ ation of North America, which repre sents 20 manufacturers of asbestos fibers and product! in the United States and Canada, called the rules "draconian" and said they would even tually force the companies to stop
by'96
mantoacturan* fear of lawsuits prompted e rapid rotatory reduction
The agency has already Issued rule*: producingasbeston
tn. compliance with a Congressional,
Kenneth E, Nyquist. a counsel for the
to the manufacture sad use of asbestos produo* Industry spokesman ex*
mandate, requiring school systems ttfl association, said the group was consid determine if asbestos in their building*, ering filing a lawsuit to challenge the
ptewed rteerrsiloai about todays c* posed a threat to health and to take re new rule*
tto* while eavironmoaulittx praised
medial action if necessary.
"We feel that the E.PJL is out of step
h. --
Canada, which exported 95,000 tons
with world opinion wMcb has decided on safe, controlled use of present-day
Savingof199 Uroa
of asbestos to the United States last asbestos product*'* Mr. Nyquist said.
This Is pollutta prevention,'* Mr.
Rcffly said at a news conference at his heertmiTtws today. "We're eHminat* tog a knew ranrar-caustog nrtwnrn hrea the martapteco. Virtually all aariMme rrauaxitag products will be rw
piacsd srltk safer alternatives."
year, expressed disappointment at to day's decision. Makolm McKechnie, a
spokesman for the Canadian Embassy, said the World Health Organisation and the international Labor Organiza tion had both endorsed the continued use of asbestos under ceruto cootroUed conditions.
Kwwne State Atbestae
He sw| i elnsrl that whan ceruto prod* o.'ts wouM be banned was based on (he
Mr. Reilly said at the news confer
Is CleolHad by Official
expoauro of bumans to those products ence that the E.P.A.'* action "should
fed on wbetbsr substitutes were avail* not be seen a* a signal to other nation*
of the Midwest Roofing Coatroccoa Ass n
kbit or would be available to the near especially developing nation* that use
(MftCA), reports that Cary Miller at the
ST070631 7
of these products should be discontin
Kansas State Dtp* of Health and Environ
: .Tbs agency said tt expected the new
ued."
ment 1KDHAE) has clarified an asbestos roofing mataritlo ruling by iho department.
ids Issued under the authority of the
Asbesto* a durable, heat-restetanc
Miller has stated that o no oobestoo roof
Teste fubtoenrou Control Act of 1ST* <to save 390 Item over s U-yasr period
The actioa will not protect people whe "were already exposed to some of the i milltons of tons of asbestos introduced into the environmentover nearly a ceotury, but it will prevent otherwise healthy people from future exposure.
Exposure to asbestos over previous deceta has tod thousands of workers and others to devetap cancer* and now causes sa estimated 1*000 deaths a
mineral used to a brand range at con struction, industrial and consumer product* breaks into tiny fibers that
can lodge to the hmg and other parts of the body. These fibers have been found to cause lung cancer, gastrointestinal cancer and mesothelioma, a particu larly deadly cancer at the king and stomach lining They also can cause as-
bestosis and other respiratory ail
ment* These diseases can have a la tency period of as long as 31 year*
ing materials ruling hot bean made by KbHAB, but earlier this year cho Asbestos Committee of KDH4E did verbally qm
to adopt the Environmental Protection Agency e (EPA). Region VII. rules concern ing asbestos roofing materials.
The verbal ansen--* as explained by
Miller, is that XDKJkE will consider asbes tos roofing metarule to bo noo-friabla when aieh materials are rnriussd in an asphalt bindsr. Tha effect of tha Coaunxnee't ver
bal agreement is that any roofing contrac tor engaged in the removal of asbestos roof
ing materials in tha Stats of Kansas will be
year in (his country.
i Dr. Irving Selikoff of Mount State
exempt fkom Kansas' licensing, certification and work practice regainmarts for tha re
Three Stages of Baa
Medical Center la New York, a tending
moval of mb--oa roofing materials because
The first stage of the ban. which would take effect in Aupm 1990. would affect about 4 percent of current pro duction, including rooting end flooring
expert on the health effects of asbesto* said in a retephono interview today chat
people would continue to die from the effects of asbestos tor many years to
such regulations apply to only tha removal of friable material* according to Milter.
felt, meeting and tile and clothing,
made with asbestos. The aecond stage, which would occur A191* would affect
widely distributed to tha man-made ani viraemen*
SNIPS HAY 1389