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United States Environmental Protection Agency
Asbestos & Vermiculite
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Asbestos General    Information

Vermiculite

Asbestos in Schools

Asbestos in Your Home

Asbestos Resources

EPA Regional Contacts

Asbestos Ban and    Phase Out

Laws and Regulations

NDAAC Directory

Asbestos
Vermiculite

 

New! Asbestos in Schools Enforcement Alert - EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance has issued an AHERA enforcement alert concerning exposure to asbestos hazards in schools.

EPA provides various paths for the public to access information about asbestos.  On this website, you may access general information about asbestos and its health effects. EPA has also developed a list of commonly used Asbestos acronyms.  You may also read about what to do if you suspect asbestos in your home or your school. If you are in the automotive repair industry, you may want to read EPA's questions and answers about asbestos in brakes

If you wish to obtain more information on asbestos, EPA maintains a listing of asbestos information resources available to the public.  If you would like to locate an asbestos contact, EPA maintains a listing of federal asbestos contacts.  If you would like to learn more about the laws and regulations that govern asbestos, EPA maintains a listing of the laws and regulations applicable to asbestos.

Asbestos Strategy Report: In mid-2002, EPA and the not-for-profit Global Environment & Technology Foundation (GETF) convened a Blue Ribbon Asbestos Panel to look at the current asbestos situation, review recent research and collect the views of numerous stakeholders with significant asbestos experience on actions that need to be taken to reduce further asbestos risks. The Asbestos Strategy Report, issued May 16, 2003, identifies twenty-one key actions that the public and private sectors can take to reduce the risk from asbestos in the future. Read the Asbestos Strategies Report on GETF's website.Exit Disclaimer

You may read more about EPA's attempt to ban many asbestos-containing products on the Asbestos Ban and Phase Out page.

The National Directory of AHERA Accredited Courses (NDAAC directory) is intended primarily for use by federal and state agencies. It contains information about training providers and approved courses nationwide and is meant to serve as a comprehensive reference and resource document. It may also be useful for those training providers who offer accredited asbestos courses and to all consumers of these training services.

In response to September 11th, EPA maintains a web page dedicated to the Agency's activities at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Vermiculite is a naturally occurring mineral that may contain asbestos. Vermiculite has the unusual property of expanding into worm-like accordion shaped pieces when heated. The expanded vermiculite is a light-weight, fire-resistant, absorbent and odorless material. These properties allow vermiculite to be used to make numerous products, including attic insulation, packing material and garden products.

Asbestos contamination in vermiculite and vermiculite products has become a national concern. A tremendous amount of information has been made available to the public via print, television/radio and the Internet. EPA's vermiculite pages provide users with basic information about Vermiculite and its uses, factsheets, Question and Answer documents, reports, and links to EPA Regional vermiculite pages.

EPA, in conjunction with Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), has launched a national awareness campaign to arm homeowners with important information on vermiculite attic insulation.

 

[PDF] PLEASE NOTE: Some of the documents mentioned in this Section are in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF). To view or print them you will need to have the Adobe Acrobat Reader program installed on your computer. The Reader can be downloaded and used with no charge; check here for more information on the Adobe Acrobat Reader.

 

 
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