DEMOCRATS, ACTIVISTS VOW ASBESTOS BAN AMID HURDLES, TSCA REFORM

摘要

Congressional Democrats and activists are vowing to continue legislative efforts aimed at forcing EPA to ban asbestos during the current Congress despite several hurdles - including competing legislative priorities such as climate change and healthcare and changes within the congressional committees with jurisdiction over the issue. The continued effort comes as the Obama EPA is joining calls to overhaul the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which in its current form has prevented EPA from banning asbestos and other hazardous substances. EPA attempted to curtail use of asbestos - widely known to cause a rare form of lung cancer called mesothelioma -nearly 20 years ago, but a federal appellate court halted the effort, siding with industry in a lawsuit that argued the agency could not meet the high bar TSCA sets for justifying such a ban (see related story).