08-07-2025
Trump Administration, Reversing Itself, Won't Rewrite a Ban on Asbestos
The Trump administration has withdrawn its plan to rewrite a ban on the last type of asbestos still used in the United States.
The Biden-era ban was a victory for health advocates who had long fought to prohibit the carcinogenic mineral in all its forms. Last month the Trump administration said it planned to reconsider the asbestos ban, which would have delated its implementation by several years.
But late Monday, it withdrew that filing.
'The agency has further reconsidered,' the E.P.A. said in the filing in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and would no longer rework the asbestos ban. The filing is part of a court case brought by the industry challenging the restrictions.
Chrysotile asbestos, known as 'white asbestos,' is banned in more than 50 countries for its link to lung cancer and mesothelioma, a cancer that forms in the lining of internal organs. White asbestos, however, has been imported for use in the United States for roofing materials, textiles and cement. It is also used in gaskets, clutches, brake pads and other automotive parts, as well as in chlorine manufacturing.
The Environmental Protection Agency, under President Joseph R. Biden, adopted a ban in 2024 on the use, manufacture and import of chrysotile asbestos. It was the first legal constraint on the deadly substance since 2016, when Congress updated and strengthened the Toxic Substances Control Act by requiring testing and regulation of thousands of chemicals used in everyday products.
When the administration said last month it would review the asbestos ban, it drew criticism from Democrats as well as health advocates. In a Facebook post, Hillary Clinton, the former U.S. secretary of state and 2016 Democratic nominee for president, wrote, 'What is this — Make Asbestos Great Again?'
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
