EPA To Rewrite Asbestos Rules That Protect Over 750,000 Brake Mechanics Nationwide
The following is a press release from November 24, 2003, by Kucinich's office in Congress
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EPA To Rewrite Asbestos Rules That Protect
Over 750,000 Brake Mechanics Nationwide
Does So Behest Of Big Business Law Firm And Undisclosed Client
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it will replace the Guidance that protects over 750,000 brake mechanics nationwide from asbestos exposure.
Despite overwhelming scientific evidence on the harmful affects of asbestos exposure, a high powered and politically connected law firm, Morgan Lewis and Bockius, recently lobbied the EPA on behalf of an undisclosed client to reverse a Guidance Book on asbestos protections in auto repair shops. The EPA Guidance for Preventing Asbestos Disease Among Auto Mechanics has protected auto mechanics and consumers for over 17 years.
“The decision by the EPA to rewrite the Guidance that protects over 750,000 auto mechanics is regrettable,” stated Kucinich. “It appears that the EPA is siding with big business polluters over the public’s health and well being. We must not allow this Administration to replace the current safeguards knowing what we know about the potentially fatal dangers of asbestos exposure.”
Asbestos is still found in automobile brakes in older cars, some new cars, and brake repair parts. A study of auto shops in six states and DC found that two-thirds of the surveyed locations showed substantial levels of asbestos. This survey clearly indicates that lifting the EPA Guidance, as advocated by Morgan Lewis and their undisclosed client, would put the 750,000 brake mechanics in the United States at greater risk.
Despite repeated attempts by Kucinich the EPA has refused to pursue or release the name of the client for whom Morgan Lewis is lobbying.
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