Background on Risk Evaluation Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA): Asbestos

Background on Risk Evaluation Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA): Asbestos

INSIGHTi

Background on Risk Evaluation Under the
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA):
Asbestos
September 12, 2022
In 2016, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (LCSA; P.L. 114-182)
amended Title I of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA; 15 U.S.C. §2601 et seq.) to direct the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to systematically prioritize chemicals for risk evaluation. (For
more information, see CRS Report R45149, Title I of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA): A
Summary of the Statute.) The purpose of the risk evaluations is to determine whether particular chemicals
warrant regulation in terms of the risks associated with their manufacture, processing, distribution, use, or
disposal. If EPA identifies “unreasonable” risk to human health or the environment associated with one or
more of the elements of a chemical’s lifecycle, TSCA Section 6 directs EPA to promulgate a rule to
mitigate those risks. TSCA Section 9 limits EPA’s authority to regulate a chemical under TSCA if another
law may be used to regulate a chemical for the unreasonable risk identified by the agency.
As amended, TSCA Section 6 directed EPA to select 10 chemicals for risk evaluation from a list of 90
chemicals that the agency identified in 2014 as warranting risk assessment. EPA based this list on a
screening of 345 chemicals for potential hazard and exposure, and persistence and bioaccumulation
characteristics. With more than 86,000 chemicals on the TSCA Inventory, EPA’s screening approach was
intended to focus the agency’s resources and attention on a select group of chemicals for which sufficient
scientific and technical information is available to suggest greater concern to human health or the
environment. Pursuant to TSCA Section 6, EPA selected the initial 10 chemicals for risk evaluation,
including asbestos, in 2016 (81 Federal Register 91927-91929, December 19, 2016).
Each chemical substance that EPA evaluates has unique properties, uses, and risks, which may warrant
different risk management approaches. The process of conducting risk evaluations and assessing risk
management options involves judgments about the reliability of available scientific and technical
information. Aspects of this process and what information EPA identifies as the basis for justifying certain
regulatory action can generate disagreement between the agency and stakeholders (e.g., industry,
environmental and public health organizations). As EPA continues to implement TSCA, the agency’s risk
evaluations and related actions are likely to receive scrutiny among stakeholders. Congress may consider
assessing EPA’s implementation of TSCA, as amended by the LCSA, and the resulting outcomes from the
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agency’s actions and decisions. The next section discusses EPA’s risk evaluation for asbestos and
potential next steps toward addressing the unreasonable risks that the agency identified.
Asbestos
In 2016, EPA selected asbestos (CAS Number 1332-21-4) as one of the initial 10 chemicals for a risk
evaluation. For decades, the use of asbestos has been gradually phased out due to human health concerns
and liability issues. In 1989, EPA promulgated regulations under TSCA to ban most asbestos-containing
products. However, litigation resulted in a more limited regulation that applied only to new uses of
asbestos and certain asbestos-containing products (e.g., flooring felt, certain types of paper). See 40
C.F.R. Part 763, Subpart I. The predominant remaining use of asbestos is for the manufacture of chlorine
and sodium hydroxide, which are feedstock chemicals used to manufacture a variety of other chemicals.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the last domestic producer of asbestos ceased
operations in 2002. Since then, the United States has relied on imports of asbestos to meet chemical
manufacturing needs. USGS estimates that the United States imported 1,590 tons of asbestos for
consumption between 2017 and 2021.
In December 2020, EPA finalized part one of the risk evaluation for asbestos, focusing on one form—
chrysotile. EPA identified unreasonable risks to the health of workers, occupational non-users, consumers,
and bystanders from 16 out of 32 conditions of use that the agency evaluated. EPA did not identify
unreasonable risks to the environment from any of the evaluated conditions of use. EPA based its risk
determinations on a comparison of predicted exposure to chrysotile asbestos from various exposure
scenarios (e.g., workers involved in handling or using chrysotile asbestos with or without the use of a
respirator) and an estimated level of exposure expected to limit the increase in risk of developing lung
cancer and mesothelioma to certain guideline ranges (i.e., 1-in-10,000 to 1-in-a-million above background
risk). EPA’s risk determinations regarding potential environmental effects are based on the predicted
exposure to chrysotile asbestos for various species compared to the estimated level of exposure expected
not to result in the development of adverse effects in species at the population level.
To address the unreasonable risks identified in the December 2020 risk evaluation, EPA proposed a rule to
prohibit the manufacture, processing, distribution, and use of chrysotile asbestos in various industrial and
commercial products. EPA also proposed certain disposal and recordkeeping requirements (87 Federal
Register 21706-21738, April 12, 2022). On May 6, 2022, EPA proposed an additional rule to require
reporting and recordkeeping with regard to asbestos and asbestos-containing articles in commerce, and
certain exposure-related information. Data collected pursuant to this rule, if finalized, would inform the
agency’s consideration of potential future actions, including risk evaluation and risk management
activities (87 Federal Register 27060-27081). These proposed rules would supplement a 2019 EPA rule
under TSCA that requires notification to the agency for reintroducing asbestos into commerce for
discontinued uses. See 84 Federal Register 17345-17360, April 25, 2019, and 40 C.F.R. §721.11095.
As a result of litigation, EPA has agreed to prepare by 2024 a second part to the risk evaluation of
asbestos that focuses on legacy uses and associated disposal. Congress may continue to conduct oversight
or consider legislation with regard to EPA’s efforts to manage risks associated with asbestos and whether
such efforts are aligned with the intent of the TSCA amendments. Some Members have introduced
legislation that goes beyond EPA’s recent proposed actions. In the 117th Congress, H.R. 7810 and S. 4244
would amend TSCA Section 6 to prohibit the manufacture, processing, use, or distribution of commercial
asbestos or any mixture or article containing commercial asbestos.

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Author Information

Jerry H. Yen

Analyst in Environmental Policy

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