Environmental advocates have indicated that the Environmental Protection Agency was planning a new regulatory process that would weaken asbestos regulation protections on the dangerous chemical, as well as making it available for use in a slew of different ways—in adhesive, roofing material, floor tile, and the like.

But the EPA claims that asbestos regulation is not loosening, but rather tightening up. Indeed, an agency official claimed that the agency would soon be closing an asbestos regulation loophole by adding in a “significant new use rule,” a process that is intended to create a sort of regulatory backstop.

“The SNUR is really a good news story for public health protection,” according to Nancy Beck, a scientist who works as the deputy assistant administrator for the chemical program at the EPA, speaking to CNN.

There are critics of the new asbestos regulation, claiming that the EPA could have done more, like ban the use and importation of asbestos outright.

Betsy Southerland, who formerly worked as a scientist at the EPA but resigned due to the Trump administration’s leadership over the agency, said that the rule was originally crafted during the Obama administration—and it was intended to restrict uses of asbestos even more.

“The original plan for the asbestos significant new use rule was for the rule to list the known ongoing uses of asbestos and then state that any other use an industry might want to initiate in the future” would require EPA review, she informed CNN.

The Environmental Working Group said that the agency’s asbestos regulation is not strong enough. “We’re very concerned that EPA is taking a lot of shortcuts in that risk evaluation,” said Melanie Benesh, a legislative attorney for EWG.

A spokesperson for the Environmental Working Group, legislative attorney Melanie Benesh, criticized the agency’s regulation of asbestos, saying that the agency is cutting corners where it should instead be restricting asbestos even more. For instance, a great deal of asbestos risk is found in older homes and schools, which is not accounted for in the EPA’s asbestos regulation process,Benesh told CNN.

Background of Asbestos

Asbestos is a naturally-occurring mineral that used to be popular for commercial purposes such as electrical or building insulation, as well as countless others. However, the material is now known to be hazardous, and regulations regarding the use of asbestos have been in place for decades. Asbestos exposure can cause several serious health problems, including mesothelioma cancer.

In many cases, malignant mesothelioma can take decades for symptoms to appear, so it is often diagnosed when it has reached its later and more dangerous stage of development. Even though the use of asbestos has been heavily regulated in the last few decades, this delay means that those exposed to asbestos decades ago are only now being diagnosed with life-threatening cancer.

Filing an Asbestos Lawsuit

If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with or died from an asbestos-related disease like mesothelioma cancer after occupational asbestos exposure, you may be able to file an asbestos lawsuit. Spouses of those affected may also be able to file over loss of consortium.

While filing an asbestos lawsuit over malignant mesothelioma diagnosis cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by the disease, or bring a loved one back to life, but it can help to alleviate the financial burden incurred by medical bills and lost wages.