EPA bans asbestos in consumer goods to eliminate exposure to carcinogens

20 Mar 2024 --- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces a final rule to ban the ongoing use of chrysotile asbestos, the only known form of asbestos imported into the US under the Biden administration.

The study, “Development of the ‘National Asbestos Profile’ to Eliminate Asbestos-Related Diseases in 195 Countries,” says the ingredient kills nearly 40,000 Americans every year. 

According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), this is the “first-ever” substance the EPA successfully banned using new authority given by Congress in 2016 when it reformed the Toxic Substances Control Act.

Lawmakers addressed asbestos-contaminated talc in cosmetics in the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 by directing the FDA to “establish and require standardized testing methods for detecting and identifying asbestos in talc-containing cosmetics products.”

The law required the FDA to propose standards by December 2023, but the agency missed that deadline.  

Asbestos in cosmetics
The EWG found asbestos in talc-based cosmetics and a talc-containing eye shadow in a children’s toy makeup kit.

EWG finds asbestos in eyeshadow palates.The nonprofit reports that despite the US banning certain asbestos-containing products, such as wall compounds and insulation, other items, like brake pads, could still be made using the substance. The lack of a ban on imported products containing asbestos meant that consumers could not be sure if the cosmetics and other purchases had asbestos.

The EWG calls the EPA’s new final rule a crucial step forward in the fight to eliminate asbestos “as it will cut off one of the biggest sources of exposure in the US.”

“We commend President Biden and his EPA for their decisive action in finally banning this form of asbestos. The relentless toll of asbestos-triggered diseases has robbed countless Americans of their lives and continues to leave thousands of families grieving for the loss of loved ones every year,” says EWG president and co-founder Ken Cook.

“The lives destroyed by asbestos represent one of the most tragic public health crises in history,” said Cook. “And, while nothing can be done to alleviate the pain of those families who have lost loved ones, today’s action is a crucial step in ensuring chrysotile asbestos will never again be allowed to be brought into the US and used in commerce.”

By Sabine Waldeck