EPA plans to review the Biden administration rule that would lead to a ban on most remaining uses of asbestos, the agency said Monday in a court filing.
The Trump administration asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to order a 2½-year pause on the rule — until 2027 — to review challenges by the chemical industry.
Federal appellate judges said in February they would hold off on any proceedings related to the ban and granted the administration a 120-day pause on cases related to chrysotile asbestos and methylene chloride risk management rules.
Lynn Ann Dekleva, deputy assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said in a declaration supporting the motion that the agency wants to “reconsider the applicability of workplace protection requirements in the use of asbestos-containing sheet gaskets in nontitanium dioxide chemical production.”
