AEPA
EPA Document# EPA-740-S-24-006
November 2024
United States Office of Chemical Safety and
Environmental Protection Agency Pollution Prevention
Nontechnical Summary of the TSCA
Risk Evaluation for Asbestos (Part 2)
CASRN: 1332-21-4
Why Is EPA Providing This Document?
EPA has evaluated the risks of asbestos to
human health and the environment under the
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in two
parts. This document summarizes the results of
the completed Part 2 of the asbestos risk
evaluation.
What Is Asbestos and How Is It Used?
Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate
mineral. Historically, asbestos was primarily
used as a fire/flame retardant in construction
materials like floor tiles, insulation, and
shingles. Asbestos was also added to a wide
variety of industrial/commercial and consumer
products, ranging from brake pads to gaskets to
cement water pipes. These "legacy uses" and
their associated disposal of six fiber types of
asbestos (chrysotile, crocidolite, amosite,
anthophyllite, tremolite, and actinolite), Libby
amphibole asbestos, and asbestos containing talc
are included in Part 2 of the asbestos risk
evaluation.
How Might Asbestos Harm People Who Are
Exposed?
Based on long-term studies of human
populations, exposure to inhaled asbestos fibers
is associated with a range of health effects.
These include mesothelioma1 and cancer of the
lung, ovaries, and larynx. Other, non-cancerous,
effects include asbestosis (long-term lung
inflammation and scarring), pleural (lining of
the lungs) thickening, and overall impairment of
lung function.
How Might Persons be Exposed to Asbestos?
Exposure to asbestos occurs when asbestos-
containing materials are released into the air,
typically when the materials are disturbed.
Asbestos fibers can be released to the air during
construction, renovation, or demolition of
asbestos-containing materials in older homes,
schools, or commercial buildings. Exposure to
asbestos can occur by breathing in airborne
("friable") asbestos fibers in and near older
buildings and construction sites.
Construction workers can be exposed when they
cut through pipes insulated with asbestos or
demolish asbestos-containing building
materials. Workers might also expose others if
fibers adhere to their clothing and is brought
home. Firefighters can be exposed to friable
asbestos by entering older buildings during an
emergency that disturbs asbestos containing
materials. In residential areas, do-it-yourself
(DIY) home remodelers and bystanders can be
exposed to friable asbestos fibers when they
remove asbestos-containing materials like
ceiling tiles .
The Agency also assessed consumer and
occupational exposure to imported asbestos-
containing talc products, such as fillers and
putties used in construction. EPA evaluated all
these exposures to determine if there was
unreasonable risk to human health.
How Has EPA Assessed Asbestos under
TSCA?
Finalized in late 2020, the Risk Evaluation for
Asbestos (Part 1) focused on current uses of
chrysotile asbestos fibers. EPA's 2024 Risk
Evaluation for Asbestos (Part 2) expanded this
1 Mesothelioma is a cancer that forms in the mesothelium,
the thin tissue that lines many internal organs, most
commonly around the lungs.
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evaluation to consider risks to the following
groups:
• workers;
• "take home" exposures;
• DIY home-remodelers and renovators
who dismantle asbestos-containing
materials; and
• members of the general population
exposed to asbestos that is released into
the environment via structural fires or
through building demolition.
The 2024 assessment also considered groups of
people who have higher exposures to asbestos
or are more likely or liable to be harmed by
exposure. Such "potentially exposed or
susceptible subpopulations" include:
• workers, including career firefighters who
go into burning buildings containing
asbestos, maintenance workers, and
construction workers routinely involved in
demolition work;
• DIY home-remodelers and renovators in
older buildings who could disturb
asbestos;
• Children, because health effects from
exposures early in life may not be
apparent for decades;
• People who smoke or are especially
susceptible to respiratory effects.
The 2024 risk evaluation also assessed risks to
the environment, including aquatic organisms
like sunfish, clams, and minnows. It also
assessed risks to land animals that might be
exposed to asbestos.
Why Did EPA Evaluate Asbestos in Two
Parts?
Finalized in late 2020, Part 1 of the risk
evaluation focused on chrysotile asbestos fibers,
which are the only fibers with ongoing domestic
use (import, processing, or distribution).
Following a 2019 court ruling that required EPA
to evaluate the risks of legacy asbestos,2 the
2 See Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families v. EPA, 943 F.3d
397 (9th Cir. 2019).
3 Under TSCA, conditions of use are the specific
circumstances, "as determined by the Administrator,
Agency determined that the risk evaluation
would be issued in two parts. In Part 2, released
in November 2024, the Agency evaluated
legacy uses (i.e., uses without ongoing or
prospective manufacturing, processing, or
distribution for use) and associated disposals of
(1) chrysotile asbestos, (2) other types of
asbestos fibers, (3) use and importation of
asbestos-containing talc products, and (4)
additional human hazard non-cancer effects of
asbestos exposure that were not considered in
Part 1.
What Is EPA's Final Risk Determination for
Asbestos under TSCA?
Asbestos presents an unreasonable risk of injury
to human health but not to the environment.
EPA considered the following factors when
determining unreasonable risk from asbestos:
• the types of health effects being
considered;
• the reversibility of effects;
• exposure considerations (the duration,
amount, and frequency of asbestos
exposures), as well as the populations
exposed; and
• the Agency's confidence in the risk
estimates.
EPA evaluated TSCA conditions of use.3 The
following conditions of use significantly
contribute to the unreasonable risk:
• Industrial/commercial use - chemical
substances in construction, paint, electrical,
and metal products - construction and
building materials covering large surface
areas - paper articles; metal articles; stone
plaster, cement, glass, and ceramic articles;
• Industrial/commercial use - chemical
substances in construction, paint, electrical,
and metal products - machinery, mechanical
appliances, electrical/electronic articles
under which a chemical substance is intended, known, or
reasonably foreseen to be manufactured, processed,
distributed in commerce, used, or disposed of."
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• Industrial/commercial use - chemical •
substances in construction, paint, electrical,
and metal products - other machinery, •
mechanical appliances, electronic/electronic
articles
• Industrial/commercial use - chemical •
substances in furnishing, cleaning, treatment
care products - construction and building
materials covering large surface areas - #
fabrics, textiles, and apparel
• Industrial/commercial use - chemical
substances in furnishing, cleaning, treatment
care products - furniture and furnishings - #
stone, plaster, cement, glass, ceramic
articles, metal articles, and rubber articles
• Consumer use - chemical substances in #
construction, paint, electrical, and metal
products - construction and building
materials covering large surface areas -
paper articles; metal articles; stone, plaster,
cement, glass, and ceramic articles
• Disposal
The following TSCA conditions of use do not
significantly contribute to the unreasonable risk: •
• Industrial/commercial use - chemical
substances in construction, paint, electrical,
and metal products - fillers and putties
• Industrial/commercial use - chemical
substances in construction, paint, electrical,
and metal products - solvent based/water
based paint
• Industrial/commercial use - chemical
substances in construction, paint, electrical,
and metal products - electrical batteries and
accumulators
• Industrial/commercial use - chemical
substances in packaging, paper, plastic -
packaging (excluding food packaging) -
rubber articles; plastic articles (hard); plastic
articles (soft)
• Industrial/commercial use - chemical
substances in automotive, fuel, agriculture,
outdoor use products - lawn and garden care
products
• Industrial/commercial use - mining of non-
asbestos commodities - mining of non-
asbestos commodities
Industrial/ commercial use - laboratory
chemicals - laboratory chemicals
Industrial/commercial use - chemical
substances in products not described by
other codes - other (artifacts)
Industrial/commercial use - chemical
substances in products not described by
other codes - other (aerospace applications)
Consumer use - chemical substances in
construction, paint, electrical, and metal
products - machinery, mechanical
appliances, electrical/ electronic articles
Consumer use - chemical substances in
construction, paint, electrical, and metal
products - fillers and putties
Consumer use - construction, paint,
electrical, and metal products - solvent-
based/water-based paint
Consumer use - chemical substances in
furnishing, cleaning, treatment care products
- construction and building materials
covering large surface areas, including
fabrics, textiles, and apparel
Consumer use - chemical substances in
furnishing, cleaning, treatment care products
- furniture and furnishings - stone, plaster,
cement, glass, and ceramic articles; metal
articles; or rubber articles
Consumer use - chemical substances in
packaging paper, plastic, toys, hobby
products - packaging (excluding food
packaging) - rubber articles; plastic articles
(hard); plastic articles (soft)
Consumer use - chemical substances in
packaging paper, plastic, toys, hobby
products - toys intended for children's use
(and child dedicated articles) - fabrics,
textiles, and apparel; or plastic articles
(hard)
Consumer use - chemical substances in
products not described by other codes -
other (artifacts)
Consumer use - chemical substances in
automotive, fuel, agriculture, outdoor use
products - lawn and garden care products
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Human Health: Long-term exposure to asbestos
fibers can cause mesothelioma, lung, ovarian,
and laryngeal cancers. Exposure over longer
periods can also cause asbestosis, pleural
thickening, and impaired lung function. These
risks apply to (1) workers who breathe in
asbestos, such as career firefighters,
maintenance workers, and construction workers;
(2) children who are more susceptible to the
respiratory effects of asbestos; (3) individuals
exposed through DIY activities; and (4) smokers
or those persons especially susceptible to
respiratory effects.
The Environment: EPA did not find that
asbestos presents an unreasonable risk to the
environment.
Supplemental Evaluation including Legacy
Uses and Associated Disposals of Asbestos
• 2020 Final Risk Evaluation for Asbestos. Part
1: Chrysotile Asbestos
• Asbestos Part 1; Chrysotile Asbestos;
Regulation of Certain Conditions of Use
Under the Toxic Substance Control Act
(TSCA)
The Agency did not assess exposures from
asbestos unintentionally present in trace
amounts in products that are not subject to
TSCA, such as personal care products with talc
containing asbestos.
How Will EPA Protect Human Health from
Asbestos under TSCA?
EPA finalized an Asbestos Risk Management
Rule banning all ongoing uses of chrysotile
asbestos based on the Part 1 asbestos risk
evaluation. Following a final determination of
unreasonable risk in the Part 2 risk evaluation,
TSCA requires the Agency to address the
unreasonable risk. EPA will propose additional
regulatory measures to address the unreasonable
risk identified in Part 2. After taking public
comment on proposed regulations, TSCA
requires the Agency to finalize risk management
regulations within 2 years of the completed risk
evaluation.
For More Technical Information, Including
Previous EPA Actions, See the Following:
• Risk Evaluations for Existing Chemicals
under TSCA
• Proposed Significant New Uses Rules for
Certain Non-ongoing Uses: Flame Retardants
• 2023 White Paper: Quantitative Human
Health Approach to be Applied in the Risk
Evaluation for Asbestos Part 2 -
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