Document wqem8Q9e038E1D57BvJVyOO94

Ban ordered oncost uses asbestos News wire s WASHINGTON - The Envi ronmental Protection Agency (EPA) Thursday ordered a ban on moat remaining uses of cancer-causing as bestos, forbidding its use in hundreds of products from automobile brake parts to water pipes. The prohibition will be phased in over the next seven yearn and apply only to new products. Asbestos-con taining products already in use -- and not affected by previous restric tions -- are not included because, in some cases, replacement might be more hazardous than a gradual phase-out, officials said. The action will end the use of asbestos by 1996 in all but a handful of commercial products -- guided missile liners, acetylene cylinders and some sealing tapes, for example -- for which no adequate substitute has been found and where concerns about health risks are minimal, the agency said. EPA ADMINISTRATOR Wi liam Reilly, calling asbestos a "potent human carcinogen,'' said widespread use of the material in industry and construction has erected "a legacy of death." The ban, sought by < tal activists for more than a < will eventually forbid manufacture, importation and distribution of about 94 percentofasbestos products used in the United States. It will cost industry and consumers about $460 million over 13 years, Reilly said Under the regulation, use of as bestos in some products, including roofing material, pipe wrap and sheet products, will be banned next year; its use by automakers in car and small truck brake pads and linings, clutches and automatic transmission components will be prohibited begin ning in 1993 for the 1994 model year; its use in auto replacement parts,' cement water distribution pipes, roof shingles and a variety ofother appli cations will be ended in 1996. THE ASBESTOS BAN came as no surprise to the auto industry, which has been working for years to find substitutes and to eliminate the use of asbestos in braking systems and clutch pads. THE DETROIT NEWS July 7, 1989 "ActusBy we-su^ported the bn. We fssBHwTa planned phase-out,' ------- Allied Signal Automotive spokesman John Uoxeter. Allied1* Bendix Division is the nation's larg est supplier of braking systems and products with about one-third of the market Bendix is also the nation's No. 1 supplier of asbestos-free brake products, Coxater said. Most brake products aoU foe new cm are now asbestos-free, and the Cl Actually we supported the ban. We favored a planned phase-out.JP Mn Coxater ABed Signal spokesman major use of asbestos comes in sup ply ofreplacement brake products for older vehicles, he said. COXETER. SAID Bendix isusing and researching a number of asbestos substitutes including metal lic fibers and a variety of synthetie compounds. "The bottom line is we're working as fast as we can to get there," Dunnsaid General Motors Corp. spokes-, wompp Joni Simonetta said metallic. fibers ar$ now used by GM as a- substSute for asbestos, in front disc brskas and the company is working cm replacing the use of asbestos in rear hegke drums. So far, more a (xsartar of new GM cars and half its ltgbMtucks have asbestos-free roan braking systems, she said Without providing exact figures, she said the substitute material is "relatively more expensive." Ben Dunn, engineering and der sign public relations manager foe Chrysler, said the company has pro ceeded cautiously because brakes are one of the most critical systems on a vehicle and consumer expectations REPLACING ASBESTOS it difficult because substitute materials cant beamed amom the board as manufacturers have been able to do with asbestos. 3. for insulation and frktkra-piodtKt uses because of its strength and resistance to heat, becomes hazard ous when it crumbles and its fibers are inhaled Exposure to asbestos can cause lung cancer and a variety of other ffiagflgpft. The EPA estimates 3,000 to 12,000 Americans die ofasbestos-re lated cancer each year. But the new ban is expected to save only 200 Uvea over 13 years because most asbestos exposure comes from material al ready in buildings and equipment, Reilly said THE EPA ACTION does not affect continuing efforts to rid build ings, including schools, of loosely formed asbestos insulation and spray-on asbestos, both of which have been banned from productioa since 1978. Asbestos is part of the nation's water system. There are more than 400,000 miles of concrete-asbestos pipe carrying drinking water to thou-,, sands ofcommunities. The EPA said that while there is concern about health risks in the production and replacement ofsuch pipes, there is no risk of contamination of drinking water. Reilly urged against consumers attempting to dig up asbestos-ce ment water pipes or to replace asbes tos brake parts. "Disturbing asbestos brakes, shin gles, or siding already in place where there is no health or safety reason to do so can cause a much greater health hazard than leaving them in place," said Reilly. THURSDAY'S ACTION was praised by environmentalists. "This is a new approach -- pollu tion prevention," said Jacqueline Warren, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. Ellen Silljsrgtld, a toxicologist with the Environmental Defense Fund called the action "long past due' and a "landmark development in protecting environments quality and public health." Reilly said the EPA -- which first listed asbestos as a hazardous air pollutant in 1972 ami urged its ban in 1979 -- has taken too tong to remove asbestos products from the market place. "The first question I had was why has this thing been around so tong," said Reilly, who was appointed this year. Critics have accused the Reagan administration of blocking earlier EPA action. HWBUI0001116 Asbestos: Durable yet deadly product -i Phasing out asbestos A federal ban will end the manufacture of most products containing asbestos during the next seven years. It doesn't affect such products already in use. Affected: Automobile, brake pads and linings ,? Concrete water distribu tion pipes Roofing shingles Floor ajjd pipe wrapping Construction sheeting Gaskets Not affected: Guided missile liners Acetylene (blowtorch) cyl inders Some sealant tape and packaging ? --' Associated Press WASHINGTON - Known in Roman times, asbestos was for many years one of the most welcomed of natural products. Its strength and resistance to heat made it ideal for many construction and insulation uses. It was 10 times as strong as steel, yet it could he woven like cotto/i into .a fabric that resisted flames and acids. It was tough enough to brake a speeding locomotive, and flexible enough to spray onto school building walk aixTceilings for insulation. During the first 80 years of this century, more than 30 million tons of asbestos found various uses in this country. Most was imported from Canada. But its widespread use began to decline in the 1970s after pioneering research by Dr. Irving Selikoff of the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York made it clear that exposure to microscopic, breathable asbestos particles can cause lung cancer and other severe illnesses such as meso thelioma, an incurable cancer of the chest and abdominal membranes, and asbestosis, a chronic disease ol' the lungs that makes breathing pro gressively more difficult. The word asbestos actually is a generic term for a variety of minerals with tightly woven structures that provide unusual strength and flexi bility. The most commonly used asbes tos is chrysotile, a white magnesium silicate mined mainly in Quebec. Other commercial forms of asbestos are crocidolite, a blue tinged com pound, and amosite, which is brown. Both are mined in South Africa. Asbestos was used most exten sively tarn the end of World War II until the early 1970s. In 1972, the Environmental Pro tection Agency listed asbestos as a hazardous air pollutant, and in 1978 it restricted its uses, banning sprayon asbestos insulation, v Asbestos use in the United States fell from 240,000 metric tons in 1984 to 86,000 metric tons in 1987. 4. HWBUI0001117