Appeal date nears on asbestos ruling

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. has about a month to decide if it will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review a court ruling on asbestos use.

The EPA, which moved to ban nearly all uses of asbestos in the U.S. by 1996, had its ban overturned last October by the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which opined that the EPA did not forward substantial evidence to support such a ban.

The EPA has until Feb. 27 to approach the Supreme Court about a review. Another option available to the EPA is to initiate a new rule-making on asbestos products based on criteria set down by the Fifth Circuit, says the Asbestos Institute of Montreal.