On July 12, a group of 18 attorneys general from across the United States published a letter addressed to members of the House’s Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change, urging the House to approve a full ban on making, importing, and distributing asbestos within the country.

Asbestos is a known carcinogen, and approximately 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with asbestos-related cancers every year.

Attorneys General Lobby House Committees

The letter urged the House committee and subcommittee members to pass the Reinstein Bill, a recent asbestos bill introduced in March 2019. Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., has responded to the letter, stating that he intends to push the bill forward.

According to Pallone, “It’s both devastating and inexcusable that asbestos continues to kill nearly 40,000 Americans every year, a full 40 years after the Environmental Protection Agency began the process of banning it,” Law360 reports.

The attorneys general from Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia signed the letter seeking to change asbestos laws.

History of Asbestos Laws

In the late 1970s, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) banned the use of asbestos in many products, including patching compounds and gas fireplaces. In 1989, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would use its federal authority to ban almost all products containing asbestos.

However, these asbestos laws were met with intense opposition by corporations claiming that the ban would be too costly and would do little to protect consumers. In 1992, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the ban and shut down the EPA’s efforts to control the use of the mineral. Despite this, the attorneys general are prepared to try again.

The Reinstein bill would reinstitute the EPA’s previous ban on the mineral. The bill, named for deceased former President of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, Alan Reinstein, would prohibit the manufacture, importation, processing, or distribution of all forms of asbestos.

Background on Asbestos

Asbestos
is a fibrous mineral that naturally occurs in the environment. These fibers are durable, do not conduct electricity, and are resistant to fire, heat, and chemicals. Due to the strength and durability of asbestos, it has been used to make products in many industries.

However, the mineral is also known to cause cancer and mesothelioma in humans. Asbestos-related cancer may take years or decades to develop, and is often terminal.

The mineral has been mined and used commercially in the United States since the late 1800s. It has been used by the construction industry for roofing, insulation, sound absorption, fireproofing, ceiling and floor tiles, paints, and plastics.

Shipbuilding and automotive industries have used the mineral to insulate boilers, hot water pipes, and steal pipes, and create brake and clutch pads. In addition to materials that are made out of asbestos, the mineral has also been found as a contaminant in many other common products, including cosmetics and baby powder according to the Environmental Working Group and the National Cancer Institute.

Victims who have been diagnosed with cancer after exposure to asbestos may be eligible to file a lawsuit in order to pursue compensation for their pain and suffering, as well as medical expenses. Legal action is one way to hold companies accountable and pressure policymakers to institute asbestos laws to protect consumers.