OSHA: The Final Standards that Define Asbestos

OSHA's final standards define "asbestos" as "chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite asbestos, anthophyllite asbestos, actinolite asbestos, and any of these materials that has been chemically treated or altered.”

However, these standards also regulate the non-asbestiform varieties of tremolite, anthophyllite, and actinolite. Only "fibers" of these materials are regulated; fibers are defined as particles of the covered materials which are five micrometers or longer with an aspect ratio of at least 3 to 1.

These non-asbestiform "fibers" were regulated because OSHA determined that there was substantial evidence to support protection under the revised asbestos standards for workers exposed to non-asbestiform tremolite, anthophyllite and actinolite.

OSHA, however, did not separately analyze the economic and technological feasibility of the revised provisions in industries using the non-asbestiform minerals.

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