U.S. Asbestos Imports Increased Significantly in 2020

An estimated 300 metric tons of raw chrysotile asbestos was imported into the U.S. in 2020, almost doubling the amount from 2019, according to the recent United States Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries report. The chloralkali industry accounted for 100% of the imports, all from Brazil. This industry uses the asbestos in the manufacturing of semipermeable diaphragms for making chlorine. Asbestos import numbers were the second smallest in more than 50 years and only a fraction of the all-time high of 803,000 tons reported in 1973. Also imported into the United States, but not included in the report, is a small but unknown amount of asbestos within manufactured products. This includes vehicle friction products, rubber sheets for gaskets used to make titanium dioxide, and brake blocks used in the oil industry. Exposure to asbestos can lead to serious illnesses, including mesothelioma, a rare cancer with no definitive cure. Although asbestos already is heavily regulated within the U.S. today, there is growing sentiment to further tighten restrictions and move closer to a total ban of the mineral. EPA Moving Toward Tighter Control of Asbestos The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released Part 1 of its Final Risk Evaluation for chrysotile asbestos in 2020, finding “unreasonable risks to human health” with the manufactured products still entering the country and within the chloralkali industry. Part 2 of the EPA’s Final Risk Evaluation is...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Source Type: news