In late June 2025, a rumor spread online that the Environmental Protection Agency, under U.S. President Donald Trump, planned to reverse a ban on asbestos, a toxic, cancer-causing mineral once widely used as a building material.
Claims about the Trump administration's purported proposal spread on platforms like Facebook, Bluesky, Reddit and Threads.
As first reported by the The New York Times on June 16, 2025, it is true that the EPA plans to "reconsider" a ban on the last type of asbestos used in the United States, which was adopted by former President Joe Biden's administration. As of this writing, it remained unclear if the Trump administration definitively planned to reverse this ban.
The United States prohibited most forms of asbestos in 1989, but the courts overturned much of that ban; in 2019, the EPA issued a "final rule to ensure that asbestos products that are no longer on the market cannot return to commerce without the Agency evaluating them and putting in place any necessary restrictions or prohibiting use."
The EPA did not immediately respond to an email asking if the agency plans to reverse the Biden-era prohibition or other asbestos bans in the United States. As such, we cannot yet rate this claim — but here's what we know.
News revealed in EPA court filing
In a court filing dated June 16, 2025, the EPA told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that it planned to reconsider the Biden administration's decision to end "ongoing uses" of chrysotile asbestos, "the only form known to be imported, processed, or distributed for use in the United States," per the EPA's 2024 news release announcing the prohibition.
At the time of the announcement, U.S. industries used chrysotile asbestos for automotive parts, like gaskets, clutches and brake pads, as well as roofing materials and in chlorine manufacturing. The EPA release said the toxic substance is linked to over 40,000 deaths in the United States per year.
The court case, filed by industries impacted by the EPA's decision and
The EPA explained this on Page 2 of its filing:
These petitions challenge a final rule entitled "Asbestos Part 1; Chrysotile Asbestos; Regulation of Certain Conditions of Use Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)." See 89 Fed. Reg. 21970 (Mar. 28, 2024) (the "Asbestos Rule")
The "Asbestos Rule" is available on the government's Federal Register website here; as the court case noted, it is dated March 28, 2024, which means it happened during the Biden administration.
The summary of the rule noted it addressed "the unreasonable risk of injury to health presented by chrysotile asbestos," including "mesothelioma," a cancer that develops in the thin lining of internal organs, and "lung, ovarian and laryngeal cancers resulting from chronic inhalation exposure." (Researchers widely agree asbestos causes cancer; all forms of asbestos are prohibited in over 50 countries.)
On Page 1, the EPA's court filing asked the court to "hold this case in abeyance" — temporarily halt the proceedings — for six months, with possible further requests for a continued pause, as the EPA intends to "reassess the challenged rule." Here's why, according to the document — see pages 2 and 4 (emphasis ours):
EPA leadership has reviewed the Asbestos Rule and now intends to reconsider the Rule through notice-and-comment rulemaking. See Decl. of Lynn Dekleva ¶ 8. EPA expects that this process, including any regulatory changes, will take approximately 30 months.
[...]
It is possible that after its review, EPA could take action that may obviate the need for judicial resolution of some or all of the disputed issues.
In other words, the EPA is asking for a pause on the court case because it might reverse some or all of the provisions in dispute — and thus, it might reverse some or all of the Biden administration's ban on chrysotile asbestos.
The ban on 'ongoing use'
Rather than simply prohibit all forms of asbestos or all uses of chrysotile asbestos, the EPA specifically banned the manufacturing, processing and distribution of chrysotile asbestos among industries in the United States that, as at the time of the decision under Biden's EPA, used the toxic substance.
Here is the full list of prohibitions under the final rule — see section C., "What action is the Agency taking?"
(i) Prohibit the manufacture (including import), processing, distribution in commerce and commercial use of chrysotile asbestos, including any chrysotile asbestos-containing products or articles, in the chlor-alkali industry and require interim workplace controls;
(ii) Prohibit the manufacture (including import), processing, use, distribution in commerce and commercial use of chrysotile asbestos, including any chrysotile asbestos-containing products or articles, for sheet gaskets in chemical production and require interim workplace controls for certain commercial uses;
(iii) Prohibit the manufacture (including import), processing, distribution in commerce and commercial use of chrysotile asbestos, including any chrysotile asbestos-containing products or articles, for oilfield brake blocks, aftermarket automotive brakes and linings, other vehicle friction products and other gaskets;
(iv) Prohibit the manufacture (including import), processing, and distribution in commerce of chrysotile asbestos, including any chrysotile asbestos-containing products or articles, for consumer use of aftermarket automotive brakes and linings and other gaskets; and
(v) Establish disposal and recordkeeping requirements.
As such, the Trump administration could decide to reverse some parts of the ban — for example, the EPA could continue to prohibit the use of chrysotile asbestos for automotive parts, but not for other uses — or it could decide to reverse the Biden administration's policy entirely.
The Biden administration's rule also set phaseout deadlines that differ based on use; the final regulation prohibited the use of chrysotile asbestos in automotive gaskets, for example, six months after the date the rule went into effect — May 28, 2024 — meaning the automotive industry should have already stopped using asbestos at the time of the Trump administration's filing. In contrast, the EPA gave some companies in the chlorine industry five years to phase out use of chrysotile asbestos. As such, the "ban" is technically not fully in effect yet.
To summarize: In a court filing, the EPA under Trump announced intent to reassess a Biden-era policy ending the remaining uses of asbestos in American industries. However, the Trump administration, as of this writing, has not announced any definitive intent to reverse that specific ban, nor is there any indication the EPA plans to reverse other asbestos bans in place.