A Democratic senator in California is urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prioritize asbestos regulation as the agency decides which chemicals to more strictly regulate under a new chemical safety law.

Sen. Barbara Boxer told the EPA in a letter that it should make asbestos one of the first 10 chemicals that the agency plans to inspect and regulate under the new update of the Toxic Substances Control Act.

The Toxic Substances Control Act was enacted in 1976 to regulate chemicals in the United States that are new or existing.

The new law was signed by President Obama on June 22, 2016, and is known as the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21^st Century Act.

As part of the enactment of the new law, the EPA is required to select 10 chemicals by the middle of December to consider for possible regulations.

Sen. Boxer and others are hoping that asbestos regulation is one of the first actions that the EPA will consider.

Under the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, asbestos regulation was ruled as illegal and later, the federal courts ruled against the EPA’s actions to try to phase out asbestos.

“Now that the impediments in the original TSCA law are gone, completing the job started by the EPA in 1989 would send a strong signal that the new law can be effective in addressing the most dangerous chemicals in commerce,” Sen. Boxer wrote.

Asbestos is a naturally, occurring mineral that is used in building materials for many years. It has properties that lend it to be a good insulator as well as a heat and fireproofing material. Asbestos was used in many building materials, in automotive applications and more.

Asbestos exposure has been linked to mesothelioma, a cancer of the mesothelial lining of the lungs, as well as lung cancer and asbestosis.

The cancers caused by asbestos exposure typically develop decades later and may be fatal.

“The combination of well-documented, widespread and serious health effects and ongoing use and exposure provides a strong basis for EPA to act quickly on asbestos,” Senator Boxer stated in her correspondence.

While asbestos use has declined in the United States, more than 400 tons of the material are still used each year, according to the U.S. Geological Service.

In the 1970s, the EPA banned the use of spray-on asbestos for heat proofing and fireproofing, however in 1991, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the ban in a lawsuit against the EPA, claiming that the EPA had failed to demonstrate that banning asbestos was the “least burdensome alternative” to asbestos regulation.

Asbestos regulation in other countries varies, however, more than 50 countries have completely banned its use altogether.

“The U.S. now has the ability to be a global leader and join the many other nations that have acted to address the harms posed by asbestos,” Sen. Boxer wrote to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “EPA should seize this opportunity by including asbestos in the first 10 chemicals that it acts on under the new law.”