EPA proposes ban on asbestos

Our plain-English summary of EPA proposes ban on asbestos, by M. Sun (Science, 1986).

The study

• Author: M. Sun
• Journal: Science
• Published: 1986;231(4738):542-3
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This is a short news briefing in Science, not a research study. It reported that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had proposed banning all future production of asbestos products. Under the proposal, asbestos use in roofing, floor tiles, cement piping and clothing would stop immediately. Remaining products, mainly brake and clutch linings, would be phased out over 10 years. The briefing gave EPA's own estimates. Less exposure over the next 15 years would ultimately prevent at least 1900 cancer deaths, mostly among would-be asbestos workers. Consumers would pay $1.8 billion more over 15 years, about $10 each, and manufacturers would lose $210 million. EPA also estimated that asbestos exposure causes 3,000 to 12,000 cancer cases a year, almost all fatal. The briefing also stated, without naming a source, that about 65,000 people in the United States currently suffered from asbestosis. EPA administrator Lee Thomas was quoted saying there is no level of exposure without risk. Industry representatives said their products could be used safely. Lester Breslow of UCLA called EPA action appropriate. The proposal was open to public comment.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: News briefing (journalism) reporting a proposed federal regulation; not a research study
• Who was studied: No study population. The briefing concerns asbestos use and exposure in the United States, published 7 February 1986.
• Exposure: Asbestos products in general. Immediate halt proposed for roofing, floor tiles, cement piping and clothing. A 10-year phase-out was proposed for other products, primarily brake and clutch linings.
• Main results:
  • EPA calculated that reduced public exposure over the next 15 years would ultimately prevent at least 1900 cancer deaths, primarily among would-be asbestos workers.
  • EPA estimated consumers would pay $1.8 billion more over 15 years for products made with substitutes, averaging $10 per individual consumer.
  • EPA estimated manufacturers of asbestos products would lose $210 million.
  • The ban would also end asbestos imports, mainly affecting Canada, whose asbestos exports to the United States were $50 million a year.
  • EPA estimated that asbestos exposure causes 3,000 to 12,000 cancer cases annually, almost all fatal.
  • The briefing stated, without attributing it to EPA, that about 65,000 people in the United States currently suffered from asbestosis.
  • 30 million tons of asbestos were used in the United States between 1900 and 1980, and 240,000 tons in 1984 alone.
  • EPA administrator Lee Thomas was quoted as saying there is no level of exposure without risk.
  • Asbestos industry representatives protested, saying their products could be safely used. Lester Breslow, who chaired a 1982 National Academy of Sciences committee on asbestos and cancer risk, said it was appropriate for EPA to act.
  • EPA had made a similar proposal 2 years earlier but backed off after objections from the Office of Management and Budget, which had now approved the regulation.
  • The proposal was subject to public comment and expected to take effect in a year.
• The authors' conclusion: The briefing reports a regulatory proposal and the views of officials, industry and an outside expert. The author draws no scientific conclusion.

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