Firms’ Stockpiled Asbestos Should Prompt Probe: Health Advocates (1)

U.S. manufacturers that import asbestos to make certain chemicals may have accumulated twice as much of the carcinogenic mineral in 2016 as federal officials previously thought.

The new information is prompting health advocates to call for federal inspections.

Occidental Chemical Corp., the Olin Corp., and Westlake Chemical Corp., have chlor-alkali plants that use asbestos to prevent explosions as they make chlorine, caustic soda, and hydrogen, which are “building block” chemicals used to make hundreds of other chemicals and products.

“A significant quantity of asbestos may have been added to company stockpiles in 2016,” the U.S. Geological Survey ...