Trump administration pulls back on plans to rewrite Biden-era asbestos ban
July 8, 2025
The Trump administration is dropping plans to allow continued use of the last type of asbestos legally allowed in U.S. manufacturing after an outcry from asbestos opponents. The Environmental Protection Agency said in a court filing Monday that it will now defend the Biden administration’s ban of chrysotile asbestos, which is used in products like brake blocks and sheet gaskets. The carcinogenic chemical has been mostly phased out in the U.S., but last year, the agency under former President Joe Biden sought to finish the decades-long fight with a comprehensive ban. Asbestos causes mesothelioma as well as other cancers and kills roughly 40,000 people in the U.S. each year.
