CPSC Warns About Asbestos in Consumer Products: Safety Alert
Consumer Product Safety Commission
CANCER HAZARD! CPSC Warns About Asbestos in Consumer Products: Safety Alert
CPSC Document #5080
The Consumer Product Safety Commission warns consumers about the
hazard of exposure to consumer products containing asbestos.
These products include:
- Asbestos paper and millboard
- Asbestos-cement sheet
- Dry-mix asbestos furnace or boiler cement
- Asbestos wood/coal stove door gaskets
- Asbestos laboratory gloves and pads
- Asbestos stove mats and iron rests
- Central hot-air furnace duct connectors containing asbestos
- Bulk asbestos fibers
Some of these products still are for sale or may be in consumers'
homes. Handling these products may release asbestos fibers;
breathing asbestos fibers is known to cause cancer. The risk of
asbestos-related cancer may be substantially higher among smokers
at the levels of asbestos encountered in homes. If these products
must be handled:
- Wear a respirator approved for use with asbestos.
- Do not dry sweep; use wet procedures for clean-up. Dispose of
any residue or unused material along with the clean-up materials
in a manner that will not release airborne fibers. To get
information on how to dispose of asbestos, call the Environmental
Protection Agency (800-368-5888) and ask for your regional
asbestos coordinator.
- Do not use power operated or other tools to cut or drill
because this can create respirable dust levels.
- Keep these products out of the reach of children.
The extent of current asbestos product labeling is limited.
Except for products which are sold unwrapped, such as millboard;
and asbestos-cement sheet, all products are labeled with the name
of the manufacturer or distributor. Only asbestos paper
and furnace cement are labeled as containing asbestos.
Non-asbestos substitutes for all asbestos products are widely
available to the public for household uses.
CPSC requires that the labeling requirements of the Federal
Hazardous Substances Act apply to asbestos products. Asbestos
products not labeled according to these provisions will be
considered misbranded, and thus will be subject to enforcement
action by the Commission.
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