Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2026

Key Points

• The bill would make it illegal nationwide to manufacture, process, use, or sell commercial asbestos or products containing it, closing a gap that has let the substance remain legal in the US even though it causes cancer and lung disease.
• The ban would not require removing asbestos already installed in buildings, pipes, or equipment before the law takes effect, and it does not cover tiny trace amounts that show up as impurities in other materials.
• Chemical plants that use asbestos to make chlorine (chlor-alkali production) get until May 25, 2032 to stop, or until 2036 if they already started converting to safer technology before 2029, as long as they follow strict interim safety rules.
• The President could grant a one-time, up to three-year national security exemption if asbestos use is deemed essential and no safer alternative exists, and the decision must generally be published publicly.
• The law does not change how cosmetics are regulated for asbestos content, leaving that under existing Food and Drug Administration rules.
• Metal ore mining can continue even if it incidentally involves trace asbestos, since the bill exempts extraction and processing of metal ores.