No, asbestos is not fully banned in the United States. The EPA’s 2024 rule banned chrysotile asbestos, the one type still imported, but it did not cover the other five recognized asbestos fibers, and that rule has faced court challenges and delays. A bipartisan Senate bill introduced in August 2026 would close those gaps by ending all commercial asbestos use nationwide.
At Throneberry Law Group, we have watched the asbestos ban debate for about two decades while helping people the material already harmed. Michael Throneberry lost his father-in-law to mesothelioma, and our firm handles asbestos cases across the country. Our asbestos laws page covers the rules now in force, and this post explains what the new bill would change.
What Is the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2026
The Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2026 is Senate bill S. 5235, introduced on August 4, 2026, by Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon with Senator John Curtis of Utah. The bill is named for the late husband of asbestos safety advocate Linda Reinstein, who died of mesothelioma. If passed, it would prohibit the manufacture, processing, use, and sale of every recognized type of asbestos fiber in the United States.
According to the senators’ announcement, the bill would do several things at once:
- Ban all six fibers: It covers every recognized asbestos fiber type, not only chrysotile.
- End commercial use: It would stop the import and industrial use that the EPA rule left in place.
- Allow a transition period: The sponsors describe a time-limited transition for the few remaining uses.
- Codify protections: It would write the ban into federal law rather than leaving it to agency rulemaking.
Writing the ban into statute matters because a rule can be delayed, rewritten, or struck down. Our post on the court-ordered delay of the EPA asbestos ban shows how that has already happened once.
How Is This Different From the EPA’s 2024 Rule
The EPA rule was narrower. It targeted chrysotile asbestos in specific industries, mainly chlorine production and certain gaskets and brakes, with phase-out periods that ran for years. Our post on the EPA ban of chrysotile asbestos explains those terms.
The 2026 bill covers all six recognized fibers and every commercial use. In the announcement, Senator Merkley said asbestos has been banned in more than 50 countries, and Linda Reinstein, who leads the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, said more than 40,000 Americans die each year from asbestos-caused diseases. Those figures come from the sponsors and advocates, not from a federal study, but they frame why the bill’s supporters consider the current patchwork inadequate.
Why Does Bipartisan Support Matter
Earlier versions of this bill came almost entirely from Democrats and stalled. This version pairs the Democratic ranking member and the Republican chairman of the Senate subcommittee that oversees chemical safety, which gives it a path that earlier bills lacked. Support from firefighter organizations and public health groups adds to that.
Whether Congress passes it is unknown. Our post asking when the EPA will ban asbestos traces how long this fight has run, and the bill’s introduction is one more step in it rather than the end.
What a Ban Means for People Already Exposed
A ban cannot undo exposure that already happened. Mesothelioma develops decades after asbestos fibers are inhaled, so people exposed in the 1960s through the 1990s are still being diagnosed today, and new diagnoses would continue for years after any ban. Our page on the causes of mesothelioma explains that latency.
For those families, the legal question is not what Congress does next but which companies made and sold the products that caused the exposure. Those companies, and the trusts left behind by the bankrupt ones, remain responsible regardless of any new law. Our mesothelioma compensation page explains what a claim can cover.
Nationwide Mesothelioma Lawyers at Throneberry Law Group
We support ending asbestos use in this country, and we also know that a ban arrives too late for the people we meet every week. Throneberry Law Group investigates how our clients were exposed, identifies the manufacturers responsible, and pursues compensation through lawsuits and asbestos trust claims for families across the country.
If you or a family member has been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos disease, we can explain your options in a free consultation. Reach us through our contact form to begin.
