EIA Joins Coalition in Strong Support of the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2025

On September 16, 2025, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), and Representative Don Bacon (R-NE) introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now (ARBAN) Act of 2025. This long-overdue legislation finally addresses what many of us in the asbestos and environmental industry have been fighting for decades: a complete ban on asbestos in all its forms.

Asbestos Pipe Insulation Properly Managed

The bill is named in honor of Alan Reinstein, a passionate advocate for asbestos awareness whose legacy continues through the tireless work of his widow, Linda Reinstein, and the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO).  If passed, ARBAN will eliminate all asbestos imports and uses, close the dangerous loopholes left by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA's) 2024 Risk Management for Asbestos, Part 1: Chrysotile Asbestos rule, and ensure that protections are permanent through law - removing the risk of judicial reversal.

J. Brent Kynoch, Managing Director of EIA

The Environmental Information Association (EIA), representing professionals across asbestos abatement and environmental remediation (Future Environment Designs, Inc. (FEDTC) is a proud member of EIA), has proudly announced its strong support for ARBAN. J. Brent Kynoch, Managing Director of EIA, stated:

“On behalf of the Environmental Information Association, I express our strong support for the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2025.  We greatly appreciate the continuing commitment of Congress to finally ban commercial asbestos—a toxic substance our members have worked tirelessly to help manage and remediate for decades.  With the passage of ARBAN, the United States will finally join nearly 70 countries that have already taken decisive action to protect public health.”

For those of us in the industry, the facts remain painfully clear: asbestos exposure has caused generations of suffering, disease, and death.  The scientific consensus is undeniable—there is no safe level of asbestos exposure.  Yet in 2025, asbestos remains legal in the United States.  ARBAN represents the first comprehensive solution that will finally align the U.S. with international public health standards and put an end to preventable asbestos-related tragedies.

Linda Reinstein of ADAO

Linda Reinstein, President of ADAO, powerfully reminded us:

“We have known for decades that asbestos causes suffering, disease, and death.  It is long past time to end the importation and use of all asbestos in the United States and put a stop to the preventable tragedies that have claimed far too many American lives.”

The legislation has already garnered strong early support from a broad coalition, including ADAO, the American Public Health Association (APHA), Environmental Working Group (EWG), International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), Center for Environmental Health (CEH), and EIA, among others.  These organizations represent public health advocates, labor unions, scientists, and industry experts who have all witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of asbestos exposure.

ARBAN would:

• Ban all asbestos — including all six recognized fibers, plus winchite and richterite
• Close regulatory loopholes left by EPA’s 2024 rule
• Ensure permanent protections through legislation immune to court reversal

With more than 40,000 Americans dying each year from asbestos-related diseases, the stakes could not be higher.  Passing ARBAN is not only about preventing illness and death today - it is about securing a healthier, safer future for workers, families, and communities across the nation.

As someone who has spent their career in the asbestos and industrial hygiene field, we cannot stress enough how critical this legislation is.  The United States has delayed for far too long.  It is time for Congress to act.   Contact your legislators today and urge them to support the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2025.  Together, we can end asbestos use in the U.S. once and for all.

Related Posts:

• Still Not a #BanAsbestos: Over 40 Years in the Asbestos Industry and the Ongoing Fight for Real Change
• Chrysotile Asbestos Banned? More Like Certain Conditions of Use Will Be Eventually Banned!

Still Not a #BanAsbestos: Over 40 Years in the Asbestos Industry and the Ongoing Fight for Real Change

As we celebrate our country's 249th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, recent events have caused us to spend some time reflecting on 37 years of business, and 43 years in the asbestos industry where we started, what’s changed, and what hasn’t.  Back then, we relied on beepers, phone cards, and typewriters to keep the wheels turning.  New York City Department of Environmental Protection's (NYCDEP's) "Not an Asbestos Project Form ACP5s" had to be ordered and picked up at NYCDEP and were typed by hand.  Manuals were several inches thick, and navigating them required patience—and maybe a magnifying glass.  Today, we have digital manuals, searchable PDFs, online filing systems (see our Training Library), smartphones that connect us instantly, and ACP5s that are filed online.

Yet despite all the technology and efficiency, the core of our work hasn’t changed: workers still need respirators, still need to take showers after abatement, still need negative pressure in the containment area, and still need to wet materials to keep dust down.  The tools have evolved, but the risks and the protocols remain stubbornly the same.  And the biggest constant of all?  Asbestos is still here.  

Asbestos Pipe Insulation

When we first opened our doors, people told us the asbestos problem would be solved in 5 or 10 years.  That was the thinking at the time—because how could a substance so toxic, so dangerous, remain legal in any form? (see our blog post "Future Environment Designs Celebrates 30 Years in Business in October. What the heck is SNUR?").

The book we wrote after 30 years in business

Yet here we are, over 40 years later, and we’re still talking about it.  Not only has asbestos not been banned, but what we’re now calling a “ban” - specifically, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA's) Part 1 Final Rule on Chrysotile Asbestos - isn’t a ban at all.  In addition, the EPA plans to rewrite the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) rule on asbestos, leaving the ban’s status unclear (see Inside EPA).  

Cobbing Station with chrysotile asbestos

Let’s be honest: many of you probably read headlines like “EPA Bans Chrysotile Asbestos” and felt a wave of relief.  We did too—until we read the rule (see our blog post "Chrysotile Asbestos Banned? More Like Certain Conditions of Use Will Be Eventually Banned!").  The full title tells the real story:

“Asbestos Part 1 – Chrysotile Asbestos; Regulation of Certain Conditions of Use Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).”

That phrase—“Certain Conditions of Use”—should tell you everything. This isn’t a ban.  It’s a regulation of specific uses.  The media clearly needs a dictionary, because, by definition, a ban is to prohibit or forbid by legal means. That’s not what this rule does.

What the EPA has issued is a partial phase-out of chrysotile asbestos—one type of asbestos, in some uses, with long timelines, carveouts, and industry exceptions.

And it says nothing about the other types of asbestos: amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, actinolite, anthophyllite, or the Libby amphiboles.  None of these are addressed.

Asbestos Display Museum of Natural History

Let’s look closer.  The rule is 40 pages long (starting on page 21970 of the Federal Register), but the actual regulatory section is?  Just five pages long—starting at page 22005. The rule addresses:

• Chrysotile asbestos diaphragms in the chlor-alkali industry

• Sheet gaskets in chemical production

• Oilfield brake blocks and gaskets

• Aftermarket automotive brakes and linings

• Other vehicle friction products

• Interim workplace controls

• Disposal

• Recordkeeping

Here’s the devil in the details:

• As of May 28, 2024, the manufacture and import of chrysotile asbestos for chlor-alkali diaphragms is prohibited.

• Use of those diaphragms? Not prohibited until May 28, 2029, and even then, with exceptions that allow use until 2036 at certain facilities.

• For sheet gaskets, there’s an exception for titanium dioxide production until May 28, 2029, and for the Savannah River Site until December 31, 2037.

• Aftermarket brake parts and gaskets can still be used if already installed, even though we know from studies (including those on auto mechanics) that exposure during repair work is dangerous.

And if that’s not enough to make you question the strength of this so-called “ban,” remember the Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) issued in 2019. That rule allows companies to petition the EPA for permission to resume using asbestos in dozens of legacy products, including:

• Roofing felts

• Vinyl-asbestos floor tiles

• Electrical paper

• Sealants and coatings

• Beater-add gaskets

• Millboard

• Adhesives

• And more

Think about it: if these materials come back into use, every project involving them will need asbestos inspection and possible abatement. The asbestos abatement industry might never go away—and while that might sound good for business, it’s a horrifying thought for public health.

We find it troubling that while the EPA is creating tighter exposure standards—like their Interim Existing Chemical Exposure Limit (ECEL) of 0.005 f/cc, which is 20 times more protective than the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA's) current limit—they’re simultaneously allowing asbestos to linger in commerce for another decade or more.

In 2021, the Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) prepared an expert opinion for the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) on the scientific evaluation of occupational exposure limits for asbestos

Even their respirator guidance underscores the danger.  EPA is requiring supplied air respirators for exposure levels that OSHA still considers acceptable. That speaks volumes.

Supplied Airline Respirator

And while the EPA sets these rules, they’re also challenging them.  Under pressure from industry, the agency recently filed a motion to reconsider its own chrysotile asbestos rule, which will delay full implementation for at least 30 months.  That would be a massive setback.

In 2009, we interviewed Linda Reinstein on asbestos for my show, Keeping Your Family Safe 

Linda Reinstein, President and Co-Founder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), called it what it is: “a move that puts lives at risk.”  Listen to her at Reinstein Notebook “EPA’s Motion & Trump’s Administration Consideration of an Asbestos Ban Reversal”.

Here’s the thing: asbestos kills 40,000 Americans a year. This isn’t just about regulation—it’s about life and death.  And that’s why we support ADAO’s fight to pass the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act (ARBAN). This legislation would prohibit the manufacture, processing, use, and distribution of all forms of asbestos in commerce. Period. No loopholes, no exceptions.

We urge you to tell Congress to act. The ADAO has made it easy—use this link to contact your Representatives and Senators and demand a true, complete ban.

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