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Article: EPA moves to phase out asbestos goods.
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- February 1, 1986
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1986 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week proposed banning five widely used asbestos products, then phasing out over 10 years all mining, importation and remaining uses for the mineral. A known human carcinogen, asbestos is capable of causing lung cancer and mesothelioma (a cancer of the chest and abdominal lining). In announcing the proposal, EPA Administrator Lee M. Thomas said that enacting the law could ultimately prevent about 1,900 U.S. asbestos-related cancer deaths.
EPA only began investigating the hazards posed by some of the now-to-bebanned products after French researchers in 1982 pointed out that asbestor-impregnated floor tiles could, ...