Chemical manufacturers could no longer import asbestos to make chemicals used in products ranging from wind turbines, to smartphones, medicines, and DVDs using the cancer-causing mineral under a rule the EPA proposed Tuesday.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed ban (RIN: 2070-AK86) would go into place two years after the final regulation became effective and cost $1.8 billion, the agency said. The proposal marks the first time the agency has sought to ban asbestos that’s used by some chloralkali manufacturers. The manufacturers include companies such as the Olin Corp. and Occidental Chemical Co. that import asbestos to make chlorine ...