Health Experts Criticize EPA ’s Asbestos Draft Risk Evaluation

Doctors, scientists and occupational health experts from across the country are openly criticizing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recent asbestos draft risk evaluation. At a virtual press conference arranged by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization last week, speakers labeled the asbestos evaluation inadequate and in need of serious revision. The year-long evaluation was required as part of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, which was passed in 2016. It amended the original Toxic Substances Control Act, the country’s primary chemicals management law. “I am concerned that the draft has serious omissions and does not reflect the full magnitude of the dangers of asbestos exposure,” said Dr. Jacqueline Moline, a specialist in occupational and environmental medicine at Hofstra University/Northwell Health in New York. The EPA’s Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals will review the draft during meetings June 8-11. It is the next step toward the final risk evaluation of asbestos, the ninth of the first 10 substances and chemicals to undergo increased scrutiny as part of the amended TSCA. The EPA will then have the option of proposing regulations to further prohibit or limit the use, manufacture, processing or distribution of the toxic mineral. It also could recommend an outright ban of asbestos. The Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals review was originally scheduled for April 27-30, but was delayed by the all-consumin...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Source Type: news