Document 2qVJNMaanRzZEQb295eXXd7Z5

E.P.A. to Ban Virtually All Asbestos Products by *96: *A terrible ... By PHILIP SHABECOFFSpecial to The New York Times New York Times (1923-Currentfile); Jul 7, 1989; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2010) pg. A8 E.P.A* to Bon. Virtually All Asbestos Products by '9 6 By PH1LIPSHABECOFF SprctohoTticNewYorkTimes WASHINGTON, July 6 -- The Envi ronments! Protection Agency today imposed a gradual ban on virtually ail products made of asbestos, a widely used mineral that causes lung cancer and other serious diseases. The Administrator of the agency, William K, Reilly, said that over the next seven years the E.P.A. would bar the manufacture, use and export of most asbestos products, which he said had left "a terrible legacy of dead, dying and crippled." The action will affect an estimated 84 percent of asbestos products made in the United States, including brake lin ings, roofing, pipe, tile and insulation. It will not affect asbestos materials in ex isting buildings. The ruling was delayed for years by objections from the Office of Manage ment and Budget and demands for re views by makers and users of asbestos products. It now becomes final and will be carried out in three stages, starting next year. Even in the absence of Federal re strictions, the use of asbestos in this country has declined to 85,000 metric tons today from more than 560,000 met ric tons in 1979. Consumer concerns about tire health effects and manufac turers' fear of lawsuits prompted a rapid voluntary reduction in the manu facture and use of asbestos products. Industry spokesman expressed reser vations about today's action, while en vironmentalists praised it. Saving of 200 Lives "This is pollution prevention," Mr. Reilly said at a news conference at his headquarters today. " We're eliminat ing a known cancer-causing substance from the marketplace. Virtually all as bestos-containing products will be re placed with safer alternatives." He explained that when certain prod ucts would be banned was based on the exposure of humans to those products; and on whether substitutes were avail- j able or would be available in the near j future. The agency said it expected the new rule, issued under the authority of the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1970, to save 200 lives over a 13-year period. The action will not protect people who Blocked due to copyright. See full page image or m icrofilm . As>c(utf>t1Press William K, Reilly, head of the E n vironmental Protection Agency, during a news conference about new asbestos restrictions. were already exposed to some of the millinns of tons of asbestos introduced into the environment over nearly a cen tury, but it will prevent otherwise healthy people from future exposure. Exposure to asbestos over previous i decades has led thousands of workers i and others to develop cancers, and now I causes an estimated 10,009 deaths a year in this country. Three Stages of Ban The first stage of die ban, which would take effect in August 1990, would affect about 4 percent of current pro duction, including roofing and flooring felt, sheeting and the and clothing made with asbestos. The second stage, which would occur in 1993, would affect 18 percent of products now used, in cluding drum brake linings, transmis sion components, clutch facings and other friction products and gaskets. The final stage, in 1996, would bar the production and use of roof coatings, paper, brake blocks, pipe and shingle made with asbestos. "Asbestos is still used in a surpris ingly wide variety of products," Mr. Reilly noted today. The cost to industry of abandoning asbestos products and replacing them with substitutes is estimated by the agency at $459 million over the 13-year period. Mr. Reilly 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 Building Owners He emphasized that the new rules did not affect asbestos m aterials already in buildings. He said building owners should continue to use professional ad vice in determining if the asbestos had to be removed and for safe ways of removing it. In many cases, he said, it may be safer to leave asbestos in place rather than risk releasing the fibers into the air. The agency has already issued rules, in compliance with a Congressional mandate, requiring school systems to determine if asbestos in their buildings poses a threat to health and to take re medial action if necessary. Canada, which exported 85,000 tons of asbestos to the United States last year, expressed disappointment at to day's decision. Malcolm McKechnie, a spokesman for the Canadian Embassy, said the World Health Organization and the international Labor Organiza tion had both endorsed the continued use of asbestos under certain con- 5 trolled conditions. Mr. Reilly said at the news confer ence that the E.P.A.'s action "should not be seen as a signal to other nations, especially developing nations, that use of these products should be discontin ued." Asbestos, a durable, heat-resistant mineral used in a broad range of con struction, industrial and consumer products, breaks into tiny fibers that can lodge in the lung and other parts of the body. These fibers have been found to cause lung cancer, gastrointestinal cancer and mesothelioma, a particu larly deadly cancer of the lung and stomach lining. They also can cause as bestos!s and other respiratory ail ments. These diseases may not develop for as long as 30 years after exposure. Dr. Irving Selikoff of Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, a leading `A terrible legacy o dead, dying and crippled' will end, Reilly says. expert on the health effects of asbestos, said in a telephone interview today that people would continue to die from the effects of asbestos for many years be cause the mineral remains so widely distributed in the man-made environ ment. Waves of Asbestos Deaths He said there had been three "waves" of deaths attributable to can cer caused by exposure to asbestos. The firsi, he said, was among those: who mined and fabricated asbestos. ! The second was among shipyard, rail road roundhouse and construction :workers who used the products, Now a third wave is occurring among building maintenance workers, demolition crews and workers who remove asbes tos from buildings, Dr. Selikoff said. . Jacqueline M. Warren, a lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Coun-1 cil, an environmental group, said to-; day's action "speaks well" for Presi dent Bush and Mr. Reilly. While some uses of asbestos could be banned sooner than planned, she said: "This is a big step for the E.P.A. It will protect public health from asbestos by 1996." Action Termed Draconian But the Asbestos Information Associ ation of North America, which repre sents 20 manufacturers of asbestos fibers and products in the United States and Canada, called the rules "draconian" and said they would even tually force the companies to stop producing asbestos. Kenneth E. Nyquist, a counsel for the association, said the group was consid ering a lawsuit to challenge the new rules. "We feel that the E.P.A. is out of step with world opinion, which has decided on safe, controlled use of present-day asbestos products," Mr. Nyquist said. Blocked due to copyright. See full page image or m icrofilm . . ............................ ..................... ...........- " T neN cw York U mcs/Terrence M ccn r,y S a ra h H o w ard , left, a psychologist w h o w as hired by th e Dow ntow n M erchants Association to counsel th e hom eless in San Rafael, Calif., w ith S h a ro n Davis and Michael Osfcrom, a y oung hom eless couple. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.