Asbestos building materials

AN ACT Relating to asbestos-containing building materials; 1
amending RCW 70A.450.030, 70A.450.060, and 70A.450.070; and 2
reenacting and amending RCW 70A.450.020. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 70A.450.020 and 2020 c 100 s 2 are each reenacted 5
and amended to read as follows: 6
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter 7
unless the context clearly requires otherwise. 8
(1) "Asbestos" includes the asbestiform varieties of actinolite, 9
amosite (cummingtonite-grunerite), tremolite, chrysotile 10
(serpentine), crocidolite (riebeckite), anthophyllite, and any of 11
these minerals that have been chemically treated or altered. The 12
chemical abstracts service registry number for each is as follows: 13
Asbestos (1332-21-4), actinolite (((13768-00-8))) (77536-66-4), 14
amosite (12172-73-5), tremolite (((14567-73-8))) (77536-68-6), 15
chrysotile (12001-29-5), crocidolite (12001-28-4), and anthophyllite 16
(((17068-78-9))) (77536-67-5). 17
(2) "Asbestos-containing building material" means:18
(a) Until January 1, 2025, any building material to which 19
asbestos is deliberately added in any concentration or that contains 20
more than one percent asbestos by weight or area as determined using 21
H-0272.2
HOUSE BILL 1857
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Ley, Doglio, Dye, and Parshley
Read first time 02/05/25. Referred to Committee on Environment &
Energy.
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the United States environmental protection agency method for the 1
determination of asbestos in building materials, EPA/600/R-93/116, 2
July 1993; and 3
(b) Beginning January 1, 2025, any building material to which 4
asbestos is deliberately added in any concentration or that contains 5
more than ((one-tenth of one)) 0.1 percent asbestos by weight or area 6
as determined using the United States environmental protection agency 7
method for the determination of asbestos in building materials, 8
EPA/600/R-93/116, July 1993. 9
(3) "Building material" includes materials designed for, or used 10
in, construction, renovation, repair, or maintenance of 11
institutional, commercial, public, industrial, or residential 12
buildings and structures. The term does not include automobiles, 13
recreational vehicles, boats, or other mobile means of 14
transportation. 15
(4) "Commercial aggregates or asphalt and concrete materials" 16
means material that is integral to the production of asphalt 17
concrete, Portland cement concrete, or other similarly cemented 18
materials.19
(5) "Consumer" means any person that acquires a building material 20
for direct use or ownership, rather than for resale or use in 21
production and manufacturing. 22
(((5))) (6) "Department" means the department of ecology.23
(((6))) (7) "Interested party" means any contractor, 24
subcontractor, or worker that performs, or is reasonably expected to 25
perform, work at a facility covered under RCW 70A.450.070 or any 26
organization whose members perform, or are reasonably expected to 27
perform, work at a facility covered under RCW 70A.450.070.28
(((7))) (8) "Person" means any individual, firm, public or 29
private corporation, association, partnership, political subdivision, 30
municipality, or government agency. 31
(((8))) (9) "Residential construction" means construction, 32
alteration, repair, improvement, or maintenance of single-family 33
dwellings, duplexes, apartments, condominiums, and other residential 34
structures not to exceed four stories in height, including the 35
basement. 36
(((9))) (10) "Retailer" means any person that sells goods or 37
commodities directly to consumers. 38
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Sec. 2. RCW 70A.450.030 and 2020 c 20 s 1426 are each amended to 1
read as follows: 2
(1) Effective January 1, 2014, it is unlawful to manufacture, 3
wholesale, or distribute for sale an asbestos-containing building 4
material that is not labeled as required by RCW 70A.450.040 or as 5
required under federal law, 40 C.F.R. part 763, subpart I, Sec. 6
173.171 (1994). The labeling requirement also applies to stock-on-7
hand, meaning any asbestos-containing building material in their 8
possession or control after December 31, 2013, must be labeled. 9
Retailers that do not manufacture, wholesale, or distribute asbestos-10
containing building materials are exempt from this chapter.11
(2)(a) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to asbestos-12
containing building materials that have already been installed, 13
applied, or used by the consumer. 14
(b) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to asbestos-15
containing building materials used solely for United States military 16
purposes. 17
(c) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to commercial 18
aggregates or asphalt and concrete materials.19
(3) Any manufacturer, wholesaler, or distributor may submit a 20
written request for an exemption from the labeling requirements of 21
this chapter, and the department may grant such an exemption if it 22
determines that the labeling requirements are technically infeasible 23
or create an undue economic hardship. Each exemption is in effect for 24
a period not to exceed three years from the date issued and is 25
subject to the terms and conditions prescribed by the department.26
Sec. 3. RCW 70A.450.060 and 2020 c 100 s 1 are each amended to 27
read as follows: 28
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the use 29
of asbestos-containing building materials in new construction or 30
renovations is prohibited. 31
(2) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to:32
(a) The use of asbestos-containing building materials in 33
residential construction; 34
(b) The use of asbestos-containing building materials that are, 35
as of June 11, 2020, already ordered by a contractor or currently in 36
the possession of the contractor; ((or))37
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(c) The use of asbestos-containing building materials if 1
complying with subsection (1) of this section would result in the 2
breach of a contract existing as of June 11, 2020; or3
(d) Commercial aggregates or asphalt and concrete materials.4
Sec. 4. RCW 70A.450.070 and 2020 c 100 s 3 are each amended to 5
read as follows: 6
(1) Every owner of a facility that is engaged in activities 7
described in codes 31 through 33 of the North American industry 8
classification system must: 9
(a) Perform an inspection of the facility to determine whether 10
asbestos-containing building materials are present and, if asbestos-11
containing building materials are found during the initial 12
inspection, reinspect asbestos-containing building materials every 13
five years thereafter. The inspections must be conducted by persons 14
meeting the accreditation requirements of the federal toxic 15
substances control act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 2646 (b) or (c); and16
(b) Develop, maintain, and update an asbestos management plan and 17
keep a copy at the facility. The asbestos management plan must be 18
updated every five years and after any material changes in asbestos-19
containing building materials in the facility. The asbestos 20
management plan must include: 21
(i) The name and address of the facility and whether the facility 22
has asbestos-containing building materials, and the type of asbestos-23
containing building material; 24
(ii) The date of the original facility inspection;25
(iii) A plan for reinspections; 26
(iv) A blueprint of the facility that clearly identifies the 27
location of asbestos-containing building materials;28
(v) A description of any response action or prevention measures 29
taken to reduce asbestos exposure; 30
(vi) A copy of the analysis of any building or facility, and the 31
name and address of any laboratory that sampled the material;32
(vii) The name, address, and telephone number of a designated 33
contact to whom the owner has assigned responsibility for ensuring 34
that the duties of the owner are carried out; and 35
(viii) A description of steps taken to inform workers about 36
inspections, reinspections, response actions, and periodic 37
surveillance of the asbestos-containing building materials.38
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(2) Upon request, the asbestos management plan required under 1
subsection (1)(b) of this section must be made available to the 2
department, the department of labor and industries, local air 3
pollution control authorities in jurisdictions where they have been 4
created under this chapter, and any interested party. In addition to 5
the penalties established by this chapter, failure to create or 6
maintain a required asbestos management plan is a violation of 7
chapter 49.17 RCW and subject to the penalties established under RCW 8
49.17.180 and 49.17.190. 9
(3) Subsections (1) and (2) of this section do not apply to 10
commercial aggregates or asphalt and concrete materials.11
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