密歇根新闻广播 环境保护署对石棉提出新规定

 

Asbestos is known to cause cancer. It's banned for some uses in the U.S., but it's not entirely¹ banned.

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing a new rule, and new ways to evaluate the safety of asbestos.

Asbestos is a mineral that looks like long, thin fibers². EPA banned its use in spray insulation³ and most fireproofing materials decades ago, but it's still used in some applications like making chlorine.

Recently, EPA proposed what's called a Significant New Use Rule for asbestos. The agency says it will require manufacturers and importers to notify and get EPA approval before manufacturing, processing or shipping⁴ asbestos for new uses or ones that have already been phased out by industry.

As the EPA explains on its website:

This review process would provide EPA with the opportunity to evaluate the intended use of asbestos and, when necessary, take action to prohibit or limit the use. In the absence of this proposed rule, the importing or processing of asbestos (including as part of an article) for the significant new uses proposed in this rule may begin at any time, without prior notice to EPA.

Health risks of asbestos

People can breathe in or swallow tiny asbestos fibers. Diseases related to asbestos exposure include lung cancer, and a rare cancer called mesothelioma.

Heather Von St. James is a 12-year survivor⁵ of pleural mesothelioma. She says most people die within 18 months of a diagnosis⁶. She works alongside the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance to advocate for an outright⁷ ban on asbestos in the U.S. Its use is banned in 55 countries, including the U.K.

"Anything built before, now they're saying 1990, there's probably asbestos present somewhere in the home whether it be the siding, roofing, insulation around pipes, in the drywall. So doing DIY is when a lot of people are coming into contact with it and they don't even know it," she says. "So they're saying it's like a third wave of people getting diagnosed and it's people who started doing demolition⁸ in their homes. That's what's scary. And now this administration isn't going to do anything about asbestos already in the environment.”

Von St. James is disappointed in EPA's other proposals for regulating asbestos.

Asbestos is one of the 10 high-risk chemicals the agency is set to evaluate for safety based on its health impacts. But the Trump⁹ administration's framework for this risk evaluation¹⁰ will set aside most legacy¹¹ uses of asbestos. That means officials won't be looking at the risks that come from asbestos in older homes and schools where it's often hiding in plain sight.

"I think it's horrible. Asbestos is a known carcinogen. It kills people swiftly. And not banning it is just abhorrent," says Von St. James. "And now ignoring the fact that it's in, literally¹², millions of homes throughout the United States, even if it's just asbestos tape around some ductwork in your home, that's still too much.”

The EPA is taking public comments on the new use proposal until August 10th.

You can learn more about how to find out if there's asbestos in your home, school or office from this FAQ from the EPA, and more about the health risks of asbestos exposure from the Agency for Toxic¹³ Substances & Disease Registry.

Kara Holsopple hosts the environment news program, The Allegheny Front.

1 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

2 fibers   

光纤( fiber的名词复数 )； （织物的）质地； 纤维，纤维物质

参考例句：

• Thesolution of collagen-PVA was wet spined with the sodium sulfate as coagulant and collagen-PVA composite fibers were prepared. 在此基础上，以硫酸钠为凝固剂，对胶原-PVA共混溶液进行湿法纺丝，制备了胶原-PVA复合纤维。
• Sympathetic fibers are distributed to all regions of the heart. 交感神经纤维分布于心脏的所有部分。

3 insulation   

n.隔离；绝缘；隔热

参考例句：

• Please examine the insulation of the electric wires in my house.请检查一下我屋子里电线的绝缘情况。
• It is always difficult to assure good insulation between the electric leads.要保证两个电触头之间有良好的绝缘总是很困难的。

4 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

5 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

6 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

7 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

8 demolition   

n.破坏,毁坏,毁坏之遗迹

参考例句：

• The church has been threatened with demolition for years. 这座教堂多年来一直面临拆毀的威胁。
• The project required the total demolition of the old bridge. 该项目要求将老桥完全拆毁。

9 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

10 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

11 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

12 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

13 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。