Ban Asbestos in America Act: Findings 11-14

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

(12) in 1989, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency promulgated final regulations under title II of the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2641 et seq.) to phase out asbestos in consumer products by 1997;

(13) in 1991, the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit overturned portions of the regulations, and the Federal Government did not appeal the decision to the Supreme Court;

(14) as a result, while new applications for asbestos were banned, asbestos is still being imported and used, and is otherwise present as a contaminant, in some consumer and industrial products in the United States;