The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced a United States ban on the ongoing use of chrysotile asbestos — a carcinogen that the agency estimates is linked to more than 40,000 U.S. deaths each year.
The announcement comes as part of President Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative, which is using federal resources to make progress on cancer research and treatment.
“While the use of asbestos in the United States has been declining for decades, the use of chrysotile asbestos has continued to this day. Because of its resistance to heat, fire and electrical conduction, it has remained in use for a variety of construction and industrial products,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a Monday press call.
“But the science is clear and settled,” Regan added. “There is simply no safe level of exposure to asbestos.”
Chrysotile asbestos is the only known form of asbestos currently used in or imported to the U.S. Exposure to asbestos can cause lung cancer, mesothelioma, ovarian cancer and other health issues, Regan said.
It is also linked to more than 40,000 deaths in the U.S. each year, according to the EPA.
