Philadelphia experts are speaking out against asbestos dangers in the face of new changes to environmental policies which may allow the hazardous material to be used in new applications.

Under new proposed EPA rules, the use of asbestos could be approved if manufacturers pass a revised risk-assessment process. This new process considers fewer diseases related to asbestos dangers, and chafes against 60 years worth of worldwide efforts to ban the carcinogen.

In response to the potential for increased asbestos use, Philadelphia experts are speaking out on asbestos dangers.

According to an article by the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia is a city with a long asbestos history. The material was used as an additive when constructing buildings in the city, and can still be found in older Philadelphia public schools.

Arthur L. Frank, local professor and advisor for the city’s Air Pollution Control Board, told the Inquirer that the EPA’s new stance on asbestos dangers “nothing short of outrageous.” Frank has been researching asbestos dangers for over 50 years and finds fault with the notion that asbestos isn’t as dangerous as has been reported.

“I have no problem [with the fact] that they don’t want to worry about the skin,” Frank told the Inquirer. “However, there is evidence both from inhalation and ingestion that asbestos can get into many, many organs in the body. This data shows that asbestos has the ability to cross the placenta and enter the unborn baby.”

Asbestos Dangers

Asbestos has been used as an additive for construction materials due to it natural resistance to fire and corrosion, but disturbance of asbestos containing materials can release asbestos fibers into the air. When these fibers are swallowed or inhaled, they can cause inflammation and cellular damage which has been connected to the development of cancers.

Numerous diseases have been linked to the carcinogen as asbestos dangers including lung cancer, mesothelioma, laryngeal cancer, ovarian cancer, and more.

“The Romans 2,000 years ago knew about the hazards of asbestos because they mined it and provided some rudimentary respiratory protection to their slaves. So this is not exactly modern,” Frank told the Inquirer.

The new risk-assessment process would only consider the risks for mesothelioma and lung cancer, despite the evidence that asbestos dangers can cause other types of cancer as well.

Skin exposure is no longer considered amongst asbestos dangers under the new process, nor “emission pathways to ambient air from commercial and industrial stationary sources.” The new risk assessment standard would also do away with “reaching back to evaluate the risks associated with legacy uses, associated disposal, and legacy disposal.”

The EPA recently released a statement, saying that it would be open to the use of asbestos in a variety of new products including adhesives, sealants, millboard, roof coatings, roof felt, and “other building products.”

Joseph R. Testa, the director of the Genomics Facility at Fox Chase Cancer Center, recently responded to EPA statements, dubbing them “disingenuous.” Testa was the first scientist to show that inherited genetic factors can influence an individual’s risk for developing mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos.

“It seemed to be implying that they were doing something heroic,” Testa told the Inquirer, noting that there is “no safe exposure to asbestos.”