S.2641

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Ban Asbestos in America Act

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--

(1) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency has classified asbestos as a category A human carcinogen, the highest cancer hazard classification for a substance;

(2) there is no known safe level of exposure to asbestos;

(3)(A) in hearings before Congress in the early 1970s, the example of asbestos was used to justify the need for comprehensive legislation on toxic substances; and

(B) in 1976, Congress passed the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.);

(4) many people in the United States incorrectly believe that--

(A) asbestos has been banned in the United States; and

(B) there is no risk of exposure to asbestos through the use of new commercial products;

(5) asbestos has been banned in Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom;

(6) asbestos will be banned throughout the European Union in 2005;

`SEC. 221. DEFINITIONS.

`In this subtitle:

`(1) ASBESTOS-CONTAINING PRODUCT- The term `asbestos-containing product' means any product (including any part) to which asbestos is deliberately or knowingly added or in which asbestos is deliberately or knowingly used in any concentration.

`(2) CONTAMINANT-ASBESTOS PRODUCT- The term `contaminant-asbestos product' means any product that contains asbestos as a contaminant of any mineral or other substance, in any concentration.

`(3) COVERED PERSON- The term `covered person' means--

`(A) any individual;

`(B) any corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, joint venture, sole proprietorship, or other for-profit or nonprofit business entity (including any manufacturer, importer, distributor, or processor);

`(C) any Federal, State, or local department, agency, or instrumentality; and

`(D) any interstate body.

`(4) DISTRIBUTE IN COMMERCE-

`(A) IN GENERAL- The term `distribute in commerce' has the meaning given the term in section 3.

`(B) EXCLUSIONS- The term `distribute in commerce' does not include--

`(i) an action taken with respect to an asbestos-containing product in connection with the end use of the asbestos-containing product by a covered person that is an end user; or

`(ii) distribution of an asbestos-containing product by a covered person solely for the purpose of disposal of the asbestos-containing product.

`(5) DURABLE FIBER-

`(A) IN GENERAL- The term `durable fiber' means a silicate fiber that--

`(i) occurs naturally in the environment ; and

`(ii) is similar to asbestos in--

`(I) resistance to dissolution;

`(II) leaching; and

`(III) other physical or chemical processes expected from contact with lung cells and fluid.

(6) FIBER- The term `fiber' means an acicular single crystal or similarly elongated polycrystalline aggregate particle with a length to width ratio of 3 to 1 or greater.

SEC. 224. PROHIBITION ON ASBESTOS-CONTAINING PRODUCTS.

`(a) IN GENERAL-, the Administrator shall promulgate--

`(1) not later than January 1, 2004, proposed regulations that prohibit covered persons from manufacturing, processing, or distributing in commerce asbestos-containing products; and

`(2) not later than January 1, 2005, final regulations that prohibit covered persons from manufacturing, processing, or distributing in commerce asbestos-containing products.

`(b) EXEMPTIONS-

`(1) IN GENERAL- Any person may petition the Administrator for, and the Administrator may grant an exemption from the requirements of subsection (a) if the Administrator determines that--

`(A) the exemption would not result in an unreasonable risk of injury to public health or the environment ; and

`(B) the person has made good faith efforts to develop a substance, or identify a mineral, that--

`(i) does not present an unreasonable risk of injury to public health or the environment ; and

`(ii) may be substituted for an asbestos-containing product.

`(2) TERMS AND CONDITIONS- An exemption granted under this subsection shall be in effect for such period (not to exceed 1 year) and subject to such terms and conditions as the Administrator may prescribe.