Document wKKjQ6qqZqzJBbKe7MBO4J614

FILE NAME Brakes BRK DATE 1984 Dec 19 DOC BRK237 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION Federal Register - EPA Response to NRDC Petition December 19 1984 / Proposed Rules Federal Register / Vol 49 No. 245Wednesday 40 CFR Part 763 211015 TSH2726 8 Asbestos Response to Citizens Petition | AGENCY Environmental Protection ~ Agency ACTION Response to Citizens Petition SUMMARY The Environmental Protection Agency EPA is granting a petition filed under section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act TSCA by the Natural Resources Defense Council Inc to prohibit the use of asbestos in automobile and truck brakes EPA haproceding s commenced an appropriatemay to address the risks which may be posed by this use of asbestos DATE Submit written comments on or - before March 18 1985 ADDRESS Submit written comments in triplicate identified by the document control number 211015 to TSCA Public Information Office 793 M. St. Office of Toxic Substances Environmental Protection Agency Rm 107 401 SW Washington D.C. 20460 . a commence civil action in a district court of the United States to compel EPA to initiate a rulemaking proceeding in as requested the petition Any such civil action must be filed within 60 days after EPA's denial of the petition or if EPA fails to grant or deny the petition within days after the petition is filed within days following expiration of the day response period II Evaluation of the Petition A. Introduction On Septembe1r2 1984. EPA received a petition from the Natural Resources Defense Council Inc. NRDC requesting that EPA prohibit the further use of asbestos in automobile and truck brakes under B section ofTSCA The petition requested a prohibition of asbestos in both brakes for new cars and trucks and in replacement brakes for existing vehicleThse petition argued that the risks posed by asbestos in - brakes are unreasonable and that economically and technically feasible substitutes are available In ordetro promulgate any rules under TSCA section.sect6ion.6 the Agency must A copy of the petition and related . consider a number of factors including information with any confidential . among other things the effects of a business information deleted is locate i chemical substance on human health Environmental in Room 107 - and the magnitude of exposure the Protection Agency 401 M St SW : . - utiliofzutiilinzutilizingigng the substanacned . Washington DC 20460 This material is available for viewin and copying from.8 a.m. to 4 p.m.es legal Monday through Friday excluding legal - 15 U.S.C. 2605 TheAgency has conducted a review of the available information pertaining to the use of asbestos in brakes includitnhge information in NRDC's petition A of that review includinagn - evaluation of the risks posed by this use and the availability of substitutes is In Washington D.C 554-1404 202-554- Outsthi e d USe A Operator 1404 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION - B. Risk Presented by Asbestos Asbestos is a demonstrated human that causes lung cancer and as mesothelioma a canceorf the chest and abdominal linings well as other lung I. Introduction . Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act TSCA 15 U.S.C. 2820 provides that any person may petitio the Adminiosf EtPA rtoaintitoiatrein or proceeding for the issuance amendment repeal under the Act various sections of EPA may hold a public hearing or may conduc an appropriate investigation to determite determite the . whether petition should be grant sd EPA must either grant or deny the petition within 90 days If EPA grantsthe petition EPA shall promptly commence an appropriate proceeding proceeding If EPA denies the petition the reasons for denial must be published in the Federal Federal Register and the petitioner may - disorders People are exposed to asbestos throughout the life cycle of the substance asbestos is mined milled processed fabricated into industrial and consumer products and ~ when those products are used repaired . and disposed of With regard to the use of asbestos in brakes it has been estimated that about 2,750peopl~ are potentially exposed during primary manufacturing of brake friction materials and that about 550,000 people are potentially exposed to asbestos during servicing and repair of vehicle brakes Ref 6 For example in brake service and repair persons shops typically are exposed to asbestos Response to Gtizens Gtizens Venas Venas TSO fof re n 49312 FederalmenunRmienmgenimmsnetmmeemrmees/V Voo ll 49. No. 245 / Wednesday December 19. 1984 / Proposed Rules when dust is blown out of brake drums being replaced when brake linings are roughened to increase friction properties and when brake shoes are relined Use of asbestos in vehicle brakes may also result in increased asbestos fiber concentrations in the ambient air For -xample EPA has evidence that motor enicle braking most likely contributes between 0.23 to 1.3 percent of the concentration of asbestos in the ambient air Ref 7 Both general population and workplace exposures to asbestos fibers from its use in brakes may result in an increased number of asbestos illnesses including cancer products but verification of this information as well as information on price and efficacy eficacy of the products are needed before EPA can determine whether continued use of asbestos in brake risk blocks presents presents an unreasonable 2. Light and medium vehicle drum brake linings D um brake linings are made of friction materials which cover curved metal shoes in a drum brake About 46 percenpercen of all asbestos used in brakes is in this category of use Light vehicle asbestos drum brake linings may be used in both the front and rear brakes of light and medium vehicles primarily on the front wheels However Availability of Substitutes most passenger vehicles vehicles still use drum The petitioner asserts that economically and technically feasible subsurutes most prominently semimetallic friction materials and aramid fibers are available to replace asbestos in brakes EPA has analyzed the availability of substitutes for many asbestos products including brakes and that analysis is summarized in Appendix A of the Regulatory Impact Analysis of Controls on Asbestos Products Ref 2 which is included in the public record established for NRDC's section petition EPA acknowledges that new substitutes for asbestos use in brakes are being developed and that EPA's ' analysis summarized below may not include recent developments . may require . 1. Heavyvehicle brake blocks Brake manufacturers Therefore blocks are components of brakes that of are riveted bolted to the insides brake shoes to provide protection against the heat and wear causebyd- blocks are Heavy vehica disc brake pads braking Heavy vehicle brake used on heavy duty trucks buses and other heavy duty vehicles About 34 percent of all asbestos used in brakes is in this category ofuse Asbestos heavy vehicle brake blocks account for about 99 percent of the market for heavy vehicle brake linings on he rear wheels At least 99 percent of drum brake linings are still asbestos . Until recently he only substitutes for asbestos brake linings which appeared to have any pote itial were semimetallic brake linings However However these products tend to perform cratically at different temperatures far e and produce more noise than asbes based linings More recently brake li ings made with aramid fiber have been developed However these are more expensive than the asbestos produacndt there is not currently eno igh information available to judge the performance of aramid fiber brake linings Furthermore EPA's evidence indicates indicates that large volume production of aramid fiber retoling - brakes require substantial retooling by brake manufacturers aramid fiber brakes may not be in availabsublstanetial substantial quantitites for * several years 3. Disc brake pads are are steel plates timed a rotor Heavy ve sicles rarely use disc brakes About 0.1 percent of all asbestos used in brakes in this categoof rusye Samimetallic di bonke pads are about percent 1 more expensive then the recently only asbestos disce disce pads but they Until recently commercially last about 30 perc longer The ~ available substitute for asbestos heavy semimetallics disc brake pads are not vehicle brake blocwakssa semimetallic ' consti o bd a e podrgeened ral brake block using brass zinc chips- repla forcuse besm tosedin sc bt raks e | in an organic binder it is not considerad pads for becra icleu s bes caue se - as good as itperforms semimepetr a ormlbl etti erc ths an erraatt di iffc erea nt l templ eraty ures asbestos only in hostile friction also considered inferior to the asbestos heat envirom nents brake block in resisting wear 4. Light and medium medium vehicle disc minimizing brake fade Recently aramid . brake pads These are the same as disc - fiber products sucahs Kevlar have brake pads for hen wy vehicles except products are now more expensive than asbestos products and there is not sufficient evidence to determYANG whether aramid fiber products will be as as effective asbestos in this application Information suggests that such products may last longer than asbestos they are perc 20 e percen nt ot f all asbestos used in trakes trakes is in this : category of use In disc brake market semimetallic brakes have =~ already made larger larger inroads and as in the drum brake linings market aramid- based brakes are just beginntionbge introduced Approximately Approximately 50 percenotf discs brakes in the original equipment market are asbestos and 50 percent are semimetallic In the replacement brakes market approximately 70 percent of disc brakes are asbestos and 30 percent are semimetallic Semimetallic disc brakes cost approximately 3 times as much as the asbestos disc brake pads but they last about 40 percent longer than the asbestos pads Semimetallic disc brake _ pads cannot substitute for asbestos disc brake pads in every application because of inferior performance characteristics EPA has information indicating that semimetallic disc brakes should be used only in cars with power brake systems because otherwise the semimetallic brakes may not provide enough stopping power EPA also has information that the semimetallic brakes are slightly inferior because the user has to push harder on them before they are warmed up to get the same performance as with asbestos brakes EPA is aware that a good deal of product research is being done to develop effective substitutes for asbestos in brakes EPA is seeking additional information on substitutes for asbestos in brakes EPA has decided to grant NRDC's petition becuase the Agency believes that the use of asbestos in brakes does present risks to human health EPA is initiating a proceeding to gather information on the desirability and feasibility of reducing risks associated with the use of asbestos in brakes EPA will analyze exposure from uses of asbestos the risk presentebyd those uses and the substitutes for such uses EPA will also gather information of the price efficacy and availability of substitutes for asbestos in brakes After analysis of this information EPA will deter whm at ifun rthe er action is appropriatteo address risks which may be posed by this use of asbestos Based on information reviewed to date EPA is not prepared to make an unreasonable risk finding for an immediate ban of all uses of asbestos in brakes at this time Effective substitutes may not be availfoar cberltae in ; applications of asbestos in brakes and available in sufficient quantity because of limited production capacity Resouling may be required to make substitutes available in large . : The Agency invites the public to relating submit comments on issues to particularly the petition EPA is interestedin receiving information on both the current availability of substitutes for asbestos in brakes and Federal Register / Vol 49 No. 245 / Wednesday December 19 1984 / Proposed Rules 49313 on new substitute products that are currently being developed The Agency has an ongoing workgroup which will review these commentws ill will continue to investigate the availability of effective asbestos substitutes for use in vehicle brakes and consider appropriate options to address the risk presented by asbestos in brakes IV Record EPA has established a record record for information relating to the NRDC petition The record includes includes information considered by EPA in developing this response and consists of the following categories of information - 1 The NRDC petition 2 Appendix A of the Fegulatory Fegulatory Impact Analysis of Contro on Asbestos Products 3 Other information on substitutes for asbestos in brakes . 4 Information received from the public concerning the petit on 5 Memoranda summari ring meetings and telephone conversations with the public concerning the petit on . 6 Appendix ) of the Regulatory Regulatory Impact Analysis of Controls on Asbestos Products ; 7 Appendix N of the Regulatory Impact Analysis of Controls on Asbestos Products . A public version of the record without any confidential business information is available to the public in the Office of Toxic Substar ces Public Information Office from 8.1.m. 8.1.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday except legal holidays The Public Information Information Office is located in Rm 107 401 M St. SW Washington D.C. Dated December 14 1984 William D. Ruckelshaus Administrator FR Doc 84-33120 Filed 12-17- 1:14 pm BILLING CODE 6560-50 }