Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA)

• Clean Air Act of 1970

  

• The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) gave the EPA the power to regulate not only new commercial chemicals, but also existing materials that pose unreasonable health or environmental risks, such as asbestos. The EPA attempted to use this authority in 1989 by issuing a final rule that would have banned most asbestos-containing products. Known as the "Asbestos Ban and Phaseout Rule," it would have prohibited manufacturing, importing, processing or distributing most of these products.

  However, a group of interested corporations successfully challenged the rule in court. A 1991 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit eventually rejected much of the rule. The following chart shows which products remained banned under the EPA's rule and which bans were lifted after the Fifth Circuit's decision:

  Banned

  • Corrugated paper
  • Rollboard
  • Commercial paper
  • Specialty paper
  • Flooring felt
  • New uses of asbestos after 1989

  Not Banned

  
  
  Asbestos-cement corrugated sheet
  Asbestos-cement flat sheet
  Asbestos clothing
  Pipeline wrap
  Roofing felt
  Vinyl-asbestos floor tile
  Asbestos-cement shingle
  Millboard
  Asbestos-cement pipe
  
  
  Automatic transmission components
  Clutch facings
  Friction materials
  Disc brake pads
  Drum brake linings
  Brake blocks
  Gaskets
  Non-roofing coatings
  Roof coatings