Sponsors (4)
The bill sharply reduces future asbestos exposure and related public costs by banning most asbestos uses, but includes time‑limited and national‑security exemptions plus an impurities carve‑out that prolong exposure risks for some workers, impose compliance costs on businesses, and create potential enforcement uncertainty.
Construction and energy workers, nearby communities, and local governments will face substantially reduced asbestos exposure because the bill bans manufacture, processing, use, and distribution of commercial asbestos and most asbestos-containing articles on enactment.
Taxpayers and local governments should see lower future cleanup and healthcare costs because new uses and distribution are barred, reducing long‑term public health risks and remediation expenses.
EPA's explicit ability to block agency-level waivers under TSCA preserves the ban's effectiveness by preventing other agencies from creating exemptions that would weaken the prohibition.
Some exemptions allow continued asbestos use — specifically the chlor‑alkali diaphragm exception through Jan 1, 2030 and a Presidential national‑security exemption for limited periods (up to six years total) — which prolongs worker and community exposure, creates uncertainty about who will be protected, and allows potentially opaque decisionmaking.
Businesses that rely on asbestos-containing articles will face immediate compliance and replacement costs to stop manufacture or distribution upon enactment.
Excluding trace asbestos 'impurities' from the ban could create legal and enforcement ambiguity about when small amounts are allowable, complicating compliance, inspection, and EPA enforcement.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits commercial asbestos manufacture/use/distribution on enactment, with a chlor-alkali phase-out to 2030 and a one-time Presidential national-security exemption.
Prohibits the manufacture, processing, use, and distribution in commerce of "commercial asbestos" and articles or mixtures containing it effective on enactment, with narrow, time-limited exceptions. It allows existing chlor-alkali facilities that use asbestos diaphragms to continue using them until January 1, 2030, permits the President to grant a one-time national-security exemption (up to 3 years, extendable once for up to 3 more years) under specified procedures, and prevents EPA from using a separate waiver authority to override the ban.
Official title: Amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to prohibit the manufacture, processing, use, and distribution in commerce of commercial asbestos and mixtures and articles containing commercial asbestos, and for other purposes.
Introduced September 16, 2025 by Jeff Merkley · Last progress September 16, 2025