Letter Opposing Provisions of Sen. Murray's Ban Asbestos Bill

August 1, 2007

The Honorable Barbara Boxer
Chair
Committee on Environment & Public Works
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable James Inhofe
Ranking Member
Committee on Environment & Public Works
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Patty Murray
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Johnny Isakson
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region, urges you to clarify the definitions contained in Subtitle B of S. 742, the "Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2007," in order to ensure that the studies mandated by the bill are scientifically accurate. Specifically, clarifying the definitions will allow the studies to distinguish any health risks associated with asbestos from nonasbestiform minerals.

Nonasbestiform minerals are similar to asbestos in chemical makeup, but are structurally very different. Several federal regulatory agencies and hundreds of peer reviewed, published studies have documented significant differences in health risk between these minerals.

Chamber members are engaged in a wide range of activities, from road construction, home building, and mining, to crushed stone, sand, and gravel production, and therefore have real concerns about S. 742 in its current form. The bill is likely to cause public confusion about the potential toxicity of common minerals despite that there is insufficient health risk to justify concern. While the bill calls for studies to examine this issue, it is vitally important that these studies differentiate asbestos and nonasbestiform minerals according to health risks and how they are identified in the natural, mixed dust environment.

The Chamber would welcome the opportunity to work with you to accurately define nonasbestiform minerals and ensure that current test methodologies for identification of asbestos in the natural, mixed-dust environment are improved so as to not inadvertently include nonasbestiform minerals. The Chamber thanks you for your careful consideration of these issues, and looks forward to working with you as S. 742 moves forward.

Sincerely,

R. Bruce Josten