EPA Finds Asbestos Poses Cancer Risks For Workers, Raising Calls For Ban [1]
"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that asbestos poses an unreasonable risk of cancer to both workers and consumers who inhale it, ramping up pressure on the agency to ban the substance.
In a draft risk assessment published this week, the EPA said that workers who inhale asbestos from certain uses of the substance in the Chlor-alkali Industry, chemical production industry, oil industry and automotive industry had risks of lung cancer and mesothelioma.
It also found that consumers who were exposed to asbestos from automotive brakes and linings had these risks.
The analysis comes nearly a year after the agency proposed a rule which it says will limit the use of asbestos. Critics, however, say that the rule could open the door to some uses since it stopped short of banning it."