I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2277

To amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to reduce the health risks 

posed by asbestos-containing products. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 22, 2003

Mr. WAXMAN (for himself and Ms. SCHAKOWSKY) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL

To amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to reduce the 

health risks posed by asbestos-containing products.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ban Asbestos in Amer5 ica Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) the Administrator of the Environmental 

9 Protection Agency has classified asbestos as a cat-
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1 egory A human carcinogen, the highest cancer haz2 ard classification for a substance; 

3 (2) there is no known safe level of exposure to 

4 asbestos; 

5 (3)(A) in hearings before Congress in the early 

6 1970s, the example of asbestos was used to justify 

7 the need for comprehensive legislation on toxic sub8 stances; and 

9 (B) in 1976, Congress passed the Toxic Sub10 stances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.); 

11 (4) in 1989, the Administrator promulgated 

12 final regulations under title II of the Toxic Sub13 stances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2641 et seq.) to 

14 phase out asbestos in consumer products by 1997; 

15 (5) in 1991, the United States Court of Appeals 

16 for the 5th Circuit overturned portions of the regula17 tions, and the Government did not appeal the deci18 sion to the Supreme Court; 

19 (6) as a result, while new applications for as20 bestos were banned, asbestos is still being used in 

21 some consumer and industrial products in the 

22 United States;

23 (7) the United States Geological Survey has de24 termined that in 2000, companies in the United 

25 States consumed 15,000 metric tons of chrysotile as-
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1 bestos, of which approximately 62 percent was con2 sumed in roofing products, 22 percent in gaskets, 12 

3 percent in friction products, and 4 percent in other 

4 products; 

5 (8) available evidence suggests that—

6 (A) imports of some types of asbestos-con7 taining products may be increasing; and 

8 (B) some of those products are imported 

9 from foreign countries in which asbestos is 

10 poorly regulated; 

11 (9) many people in the United States incor12 rectly believe that—

13 (A) asbestos has been banned in the 

14 United States; and 

15 (B) there is no risk of exposure to asbestos 

16 through the use of new commercial products; 

17 (10) the Department of Commerce estimates 

18 that in 2000, the United States imported 51,483 

19 metric tons of asbestos-cement products; 

20 (11) banning asbestos from being used in or 

21 imported into the United States will provide cer22 tainty to manufacturers, builders, environmental re23 mediation firms, workers, and consumers that after 

24 a specific date, asbestos will not be added to new 
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1 construction and manufacturing materials used in 

2 this country; 

3 (12) asbestos has been banned in Argentina, 

4 Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Croatia, the 

5 Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Ger6 many, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, 

7 the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Saudi Arabia, the 

8 Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and 

9 the United Kingdom; 

10 (13) asbestos will be banned throughout the 

11 European Union in 2005; 

12 (14) in 2000, the World Trade Organization 

13 upheld the right of France to ban asbestos, with the 

14 United States Trade Representative filing a brief in 

15 support of the right of France to ban asbestos; 

16 (15) the 1999 brief by the United States Trade 

17 Representative stated, ‘‘In the view of the United 

18 States, chrysotile asbestos is a toxic material that 

19 presents a serious risk to human health.’’; 

20 (16) people in the United States have been ex21 posed to harmful levels of asbestos as a contaminant 

22 of other minerals; 

23 (17) in the town of Libby, Montana, workers 

24 and residents have been exposed to dangerous levels 

25 of asbestos for generations because of mining oper-
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1 ations at the W.R. Grace vermiculite mine located in 

2 that town; 

3 (18) the Agency for Toxic Substances and Dis4 ease Registry found that over a 20-year period, 

5 ‘‘mortality in Libby resulting from asbestosis was 

6 approximately 40 to 80 times higher than expected. 

7 Mesothelioma mortality was also elevated.’’; 

8 (19)(A) in response to this crisis, in January 

9 2002, the Governor of Montana requested that the 

10 Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

11 Agency designate Libby as a Superfund site; and 

12 (B) on October 23, 2002, the Administrator 

13 placed Libby on the National Priorities List; 

14 (20)(A) vermiculite from Libby was shipped for 

15 processing to 42 States; and 

16 (B) Federal agencies are investigating potential 

17 harmful exposures to asbestos-contaminated 

18 vermiculite at sites throughout the United States; 

19 (21) the Administrator has identified 14 sites 

20 that have dangerous levels of asbestos-tainted 

21 vermiculite and require cleanup efforts; and 

22 (22) although it is impracticable to eliminate 

23 exposure to asbestos entirely because asbestos is a 

24 naturally occurring mineral in the environment and 

25 occurs in several deposits throughout the United 
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1 States, Congress needs to do more to protect the 

2 public from exposure to asbestos and Congress has 

3 the power to prohibit the continued, intentional use 

4 of asbestos in consumer products. 

5 SEC. 3. ASBESTOS-CONTAINING PRODUCTS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Toxic Substances 

7 Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2641 et seq.) is amended—

8 (1) by inserting before section 201 (15 U.S.C. 

9 2641) the following: 

10 ‘‘Subtitle A—General Provisions’’; 

11 and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘Subtitle B—Asbestos-Containing 

14 Products 

15 ‘‘SEC. 221. DEFINITIONS. 

16 ‘‘In this subtitle: 

17 ‘‘(1) ASBESTOS-CONTAINING PRODUCT.—The 

18 term ‘asbestos-containing product’ means any prod19 uct (including any part) to which asbestos is delib20 erately or knowingly added or in which asbestos is 

21 deliberately or knowingly used in any concentration.

22 ‘‘(2) CONTAMINANT-ASBESTOS PRODUCT.—The 

23 term ‘contaminant-asbestos product’ means any 

24 product that contains asbestos as a contaminant of 
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1 any mineral or other substance, in any concentra2 tion. 

3 ‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTE IN COMMERCE.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘distribute 

5 in commerce’ has the meaning given the term 

6 in section 3. 

7 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘distribute 

8 in commerce’ does not include—

9 ‘‘(i) an action taken with respect to 

10 an asbestos-containing product in connec11 tion with the end use of the asbestos-con12 taining product by a person that is an end 

13 user; or

14 ‘‘(ii) distribution of an asbestos-con15 taining product by a person solely for the 

16 purpose of disposal of the asbestos-con17 taining product in compliance with applica18 ble Federal, State, and local requirements. 

19 ‘‘(4) DURABLE FIBER.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘durable 

21 fiber’ means a silicate fiber that—

22 ‘‘(i) occurs naturally in the environ23 ment; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) is similar to asbestos in—

25 ‘‘(I) resistance to dissolution; 
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1 ‘‘(II) leaching; and 

2 ‘‘(III) other physical, chemical, 

3 or biological processes expected from 

4 contact with lung cells and other cells 

5 and fluids in the human body. 

6 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘durable 

7 fiber’ includes—

8 ‘‘(i) richterite; 

9 ‘‘(ii) winchite; 

10 ‘‘(iii) erionite; and 

11 ‘‘(iv) nonasbestiform varieties of cro12 cidolite, amosite, anthophyllite, tremolite, 

13 and actinolite. 

14 ‘‘(5) FIBER.—The term ‘fiber’ means an acic15 ular single crystal or similarly elongated 

16 polycrystalline aggregate particle with a length to 

17 width ratio of 3 to 1 or greater. 

18 ‘‘(6) PERSON.—The term ‘person’ means—

19 ‘‘(A) any individual; 

20 ‘‘(B) any corporation, company, associa21 tion, firm, partnership, joint venture, sole pro22 prietorship, or other for-profit or nonprofit 

23 business entity (including any manufacturer, 

24 importer, distributor, or processor); 
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1 ‘‘(C) any Federal, State, or local depart2 ment, agency, or instrumentality; and 

3 ‘‘(D) any interstate body. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 222. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES STUDY. 

5 ‘‘The Administrator shall enter into a contract with 

6 the National Academy of Sciences to study and, not later 

7 than 18 months after the date of enactment of this sub8 title, provide the Administrator, and other Federal agen9 cies, as appropriate—

10 ‘‘(1) a description of the current state of the 

11 science relating to the human health effects of expo12 sure to asbestos and other durable fibers; and 

13 ‘‘(2) recommendations for the establishment 

14 of—

15 ‘‘(A) a uniform system for the establish16 ment of asbestos exposure standards for work17 ers, school children, and other populations; and 

18 ‘‘(B) a uniform system for the establish19 ment of protocols for detecting and measuring 

20 asbestos. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 223. ASBESTOS POLICIES PANEL. 

22 ‘‘(a) PANEL.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es24 tablish an Asbestos Policies Panel (referred to in 
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1 this section as the ‘panel’) to study asbestos and 

2 other durable fibers. 

3 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The panel shall be com4 prised of representatives of—

5 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of Labor; 

6 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of Health and Human 

7 Services; and 

8 ‘‘(C) the Chairman of the Consumer Prod9 uct Safety Commission; 

10 ‘‘(D) nongovernmental environmental, pub11 lic health, and consumer organizations; 

12 ‘‘(E) industry; 

13 ‘‘(F) school officials; 

14 ‘‘(G) public health officials; 

15 ‘‘(H) labor organizations; and 

16 ‘‘(I) the public. 

17 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The panel shall—

18 ‘‘(1) provide independent advice and counsel to 

19 the Administrator and other Federal agencies on 

20 policy issues associated with the use and manage21 ment of asbestos and other durable fibers; and 

22 ‘‘(2) study and, not later than 2 years after the 

23 date of enactment of this subtitle, provide the Ad24 ministrator, other Federal agencies, and Congress 

25 recommendations concerning—
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1 ‘‘(A) implementation of subtitle A; 

2 ‘‘(B) grant programs under subtitle A; 

3 ‘‘(C) revisions to the national emissions 

4 standards for hazardous air pollutants promul5 gated under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 

6 et seq.); 

7 ‘‘(D) legislative and regulatory options for 

8 improving consumer and worker protections 

9 against harmful health effects of exposure to 

10 asbestos and durable fibers; 

11 ‘‘(E) whether the definition of asbestos12 containing material, meaning any material that 

13 contains more than 1 percent asbestos by 

14 weight, should be modified throughout the Code 

15 of Federal Regulations; 

16 ‘‘(F) the feasibility of establishing a dura17 ble fibers testing program; 

18 ‘‘(G) options to improve protections 

19 against exposure to asbestos from asbestos-con20 taining products and contaminant-asbestos 

21 products in buildings; 

22 ‘‘(H) current research on and technologies 

23 for disposal of asbestos-containing products and 

24 contaminant-asbestos products; and 
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1 ‘‘(I) at the option of the panel, the effects 

2 on human health that may result from exposure 

3 to ceramic, carbon, and other manmade fibers. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 224. STUDY OF ASBESTOS-CONTAINING PRODUCTS 

5 AND CONTAMINANT-ASBESTOS PRODUCTS. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In consultation with the Sec7 retary of Labor, the Chairman of the International Trade 

8 Commission, the Chairman of the Consumer Product 

9 Safety Commission, and the Assistant Secretary for Occu10 pational Safety and Health, the Administrator shall con11 duct a study on the status of the manufacture, processing, 

12 distribution in commerce, ownership, importation, and dis13 posal of asbestos-containing products and contaminant-as14 bestos products in the United States. 

15 ‘‘(b) ISSUES.—In conducting the study, the Adminis16 trator shall examine—

17 ‘‘(1) how consumers, workers, and businesses 

18 use asbestos-containing products and contaminant19 asbestos products that are entering commerce as of 

20 the date of enactment of this subtitle; and 

21 ‘‘(2) the extent to which consumers and work22 ers are being exposed to unhealthful levels of asbes23 tos through exposure to products described in para24 graph (1). 
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1 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

2 date of enactment of this subtitle, the Administrator shall 

3 submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

4 House of Representatives and the Committee on Environ5 ment and Public Works of the Senate a report on the re6 sults of the study. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 225. PROHIBITION ON ASBESTOS-CONTAINING PROD8 UCTS. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the 

10 Administrator shall promulgate—

11 ‘‘(1) not later than 1 year after the date of en12 actment of this subtitle, proposed regulations that—

13 ‘‘(A) prohibit persons from manufacturing, 

14 processing, or distributing in commerce asbes15 tos-containing products; and 

16 ‘‘(B) provide for implementation of sub17 sections (b) and (c); and 

18 ‘‘(2) not later than 2 years after the date of en19 actment of this subtitle, final regulations that, effec20 tive 60 days after the date of promulgation, prohibit 

21 persons from manufacturing, processing, or distrib22 uting in commerce asbestos-containing products and

23 provide for implementation of subsections (b) and 

24 (c). 

25 ‘‘(b) EXEMPTIONS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person may petition 

2 the Administrator for an exemption from the re3 quirements of subsection (a), and the Administrator 

4 may grant such an exemption if the Administrator 

5 determines that—

6 ‘‘(A) the exemption would not result in an 

7 unreasonable risk of injury to public health or 

8 the environment; and 

9 ‘‘(B) the person has made good faith ef10 forts to develop, but has been unable to develop, 

11 a substance, or identify a mineral, that—

12 ‘‘(i) does not present an unreasonable 

13 risk of injury to public health or the envi14 ronment; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) may be substituted for an asbes16 tos-containing product. 

17 ‘‘(2) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—An exemption 

18 granted under this subsection shall be in effect for 

19 such period (not to exceed 1 year) and subject to 

20 such terms and conditions as the Administrator may 

21 prescribe. 

22 ‘‘(c) DISPOSAL.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para24 graph (2), not later than 3 years after the date of 

25 enactment of this subtitle, each person that pos-
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1 sesses an asbestos-containing product that is subject 

2 to the prohibition established under this section shall 

3 dispose of the asbestos-containing product, by a 

4 means that is in compliance with applicable Federal, 

5 State, and local requirements. 

6 ‘‘(2) EXEMPTION.—Nothing in paragraph (1)—

7 ‘‘(A) applies to an asbestos-containing 

8 product that—

9 ‘‘(i) is no longer in the stream of com10 merce; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) is in the possession of an end 

12 user; or 

13 ‘‘(B) requires that an asbestos-containing 

14 product described in subparagraph (A) be re15 moved or replaced. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 226. PUBLIC EDUCATION PROGRAM. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

18 date of enactment of this subtitle, and subject to sub19 section (c), in consultation with the Chairman of the Con20 sumer Product Safety Commission and the Secretary of 

21 Labor, the Administrator shall establish a program to in22 crease awareness of the dangers posed by asbestos-con23 taining products and contaminant-asbestos products in 

24 homes and workplaces. 
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1 ‘‘(b) GREATEST RISKS.—In establishing the pro2 gram, the Administrator shall—

3 ‘‘(1) base the program on the results of the 

4 study conducted under section 224; 

5 ‘‘(2) give priority to asbestos-containing prod6 ucts and contaminant-asbestos products used by 

7 consumers and workers that pose the greatest risk 

8 of injury to human health; and 

9 ‘‘(3) at the option of the Administrator on re10 ceipt of a recommendation from the Asbestos Poli11 cies Panel, include in the program the conduct of 

12 projects and activities to increase public awareness 

13 of the effects on human health that may result from 

14 exposure to—

15 ‘‘(A) durable fibers; and 

16 ‘‘(B) ceramic, carbon, and other manmade 

17 fibers. 

18 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec20 essary to carry out this section.’’. 

21 (b) VERMICULITE INSULATION.—Not later than 180 

22 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis23 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the

24 Consumer Product Safety Commission shall begin a na25 tional campaign to educate consumers concerning—
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1 (1) the dangers of vermiculite insulation that 

2 may be contaminated with asbestos; and 

3 (2) measures that homeowners and business 

4 owners can take to protect against those dangers. 

5 SEC. 4. ASBESTOS-CAUSED DISEASES. 

6 Subpart 1 of part C of title IV of the Public Health 

7 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 285 et seq.) is amended by adding 

8 at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 417D. RESEARCH ON ASBESTOS-CAUSED DISEASES. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

11 the Director of NIH and the Director of the Centers for 

12 Disease Control and Prevention, shall expand, intensify, 

13 and coordinate programs for the conduct and support of 

14 research on diseases caused by exposure to asbestos, par15 ticularly mesothelioma, asbestosis, and pleural injuries. 

16 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary shall carry 

17 out this section—

18 ‘‘(1) through the Director of NIH and the Di19 rector of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and 

20 Prevention); and 

21 ‘‘(2) in collaboration with the Administrator of 

22 the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Reg23 istry and the head of any other agency that the Sec24 retary determines to be appropriate. 
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1 ‘‘(c) MESOTHELIOMA REGISTRY.—Not later than 1 

2 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Direc3 tor of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 

4 cooperation with the Director of the National Institute for 

5 Occupational Safety and Health and the Administrator of 

6 the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 

7 shall establish a mechanism by which to obtain data from 

8 State cancer registries and other cancer registries, which 

9 shall form the basis for establishing a Mesothelioma Reg10 istry. 

11 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In ad12 dition to amounts made available for the purposes de13 scribed in subsection (a) under other law, there are au14 thorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such 

15 sums as are necessary for fiscal year 2004 and each fiscal 

16 year thereafter. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 417E. MESOTHELIOMA RESEARCH AND TREATMENT 

18 CENTERS. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of NIH shall pro20 vide $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 

21 2008 for each of up to 10 mesothelioma disease research 

22 and treatment centers. 

23 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The Centers shall—

24 ‘‘(1) be chosen through competitive peer review; 
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1 ‘‘(2) be geographically distributed throughout 

2 the United States with special consideration given to 

3 areas of high incidence of mesothelioma disease; 

4 ‘‘(3) be closely associated with Department of 

5 Veterans Affairs medical centers to provide research 

6 benefits and care to veterans, who have suffered ex7 cessively from mesothelioma; 

8 ‘‘(4) be engaged in research to provide mecha9 nisms for detection and prevention of mesothelioma, 

10 particularly in the areas of pain management and 

11 cures; 

12 ‘‘(5) be engaged in public education about 

13 mesothelioma and prevention, screening, and treat14 ment; 

15 ‘‘(6) be participants in the National Mesothe16 lioma Registry; 

17 ‘‘(7) be coordinated in their research and treat18 ment efforts with other Centers and institutions in19 volved in exemplary mesothelioma research; and 

20 ‘‘(8) be focused on research and treatments for 

21 mesothelioma that have historically been under22 funded. 

23 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

25 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008.’’. 
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1 SEC. 5. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

2 The table of contents in section 1 of the Toxic Sub3 stances Control Act (15 U.S.C. prec. 2601) is amended—

4 (1) by inserting before the item relating to sec5 tion 201 the following:

‘‘Subtitle A—General Provisions’’;

6 and 

7 (2) by adding at the end of the items relating 

8 to title II the following:

‘‘Subtitle B—Asbestos-Containing Products 

‘‘Sec. 221. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 222. National Academy of Sciences Study. 

‘‘Sec. 223. Asbestos Policies Panel. 

‘‘Sec. 224. Study of asbestos-containing products and contaminant-asbestos products. 

‘‘Sec. 225. Prohibition on asbestos-containing products. 

‘‘Sec. 226. Public education program.’’.

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