Fibrous silicate materials

AN ACT Relating to naturally occurring fibrous silicate 1
materials; amending RCW 70A.450.030, 70A.450.060, and 70A.450.070; 2
and 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
S-3872.1
SENATE BILL 6213
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Senators Harris and Boehnke
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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 )) 0.25 percent asbestos by weight or 6
area as determined using the United States environmental protection 7
agency method for the determination of asbestos in building 8
materials, 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" means sand, gravel, rocks, cobbles, 16
and stones that: (a) May or may not be crushed; (b) originate from 17
quarry operations; and (c) are used in construction or the production 18
of asphalt concrete, Portland cement concrete, or other similarly 19
cemented materials.20
(5) "Consumer" means any person that acquires a building material 21
for direct use or ownership, rather than for resale or use in 22
production and manufacturing. 23
(((5))) (6) "Department" means the department of ecology.24
(((6))) (7) "Interested party" means any contractor, 25
subcontractor, or worker that performs, or is reasonably expected to 26
perform, work at a facility covered under RCW 70A.450.070 or any 27
organization whose members perform, or are reasonably expected to 28
perform, work at a facility covered under RCW 70A.450.070.29
(((7))) (8) "Naturally occurring fibrous silicate material" means 30
any building material where fibrous silicate materials exist 31
naturally either by weight or area as determined using the United 32
States environmental protection agency method for the determination 33
of naturally occurring fibrous materials in building materials, 34
EPA/600/R-93/116, and includes the asbestiform varieties of 35
actinolite, amosite (cummingtonite-grunerite), tremolite, chrysotile 36
(serpentine), crocidolite (riebeckite), and anthophyllite when any of 37
these materials have not been chemically treated or altered.38
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(9) "Person" means any individual, firm, public or private 1
corporation, association, partnership, political subdivision, 2
municipality, or government agency. 3
(((8))) (10) "Residential construction" means construction, 4
alteration, repair, improvement, or maintenance of single-family 5
dwellings, duplexes, apartments, condominiums, and other residential 6
structures not to exceed four stories in height, including the 7
basement. 8
(((9))) (11) "Retailer" means any person that sells goods or 9
commodities directly to consumers. 10
Sec. 2. RCW 70A.450.030 and 2020 c 20 s 1426 are each amended to 11
read as follows: 12
(1) Effective January 1, 2014, it is unlawful to manufacture, 13
wholesale, or distribute for sale an asbestos-containing building 14
material that is not labeled as required by RCW 70A.450.040 or as 15
required under federal law, 40 C.F.R. part 763, subpart I, Sec. 16
173.171 (1994). The labeling requirement also applies to stock-on-17
hand, meaning any asbestos-containing building material in their 18
possession or control after December 31, 2013, must be labeled. 19
Retailers that do not manufacture, wholesale, or distribute asbestos-20
containing building materials are exempt from this chapter.21
(2)(a) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to asbestos-22
containing building materials that have already been installed, 23
applied, or used by the consumer. 24
(b) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to asbestos-25
containing building materials used solely for United States military 26
purposes. 27
(c) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to commercial 28
aggregates that have a naturally occurring fibrous silicate material 29
content or asbestos containing building materials with a content of 30
0.25 percent or lower.31
(3) Any manufacturer, wholesaler, or distributor may submit a 32
written request for an exemption from the labeling requirements of 33
this chapter, and the department may grant such an exemption if it 34
determines that the labeling requirements are technically infeasible 35
or create an undue economic hardship. Each exemption is in effect for 36
a period not to exceed three years from the date issued and is 37
subject to the terms and conditions prescribed by the department.38
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Sec. 3. RCW 70A.450.060 and 2020 c 100 s 1 are each amended to 1
read as follows: 2
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the use 3
of asbestos-containing building materials in new construction or 4
renovations is prohibited. 5
(2) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to:6
(a) The use of asbestos-containing building materials in 7
residential construction; 8
(b) The use of asbestos-containing building materials that are, 9
as of June 11, 2020, already ordered by a contractor or currently in 10
the possession of the contractor; ((or))11
(c) The use of asbestos-containing building materials if 12
complying with subsection (1) of this section would result in the 13
breach of a contract existing as of June 11, 2020; or14
(d) Commercial aggregates or asphalt and concrete materials that 15
have naturally occurring fibrous silicate material or asbestos 16
containing building materials with a content of 0.25 percent or 17
lower. 18
Sec. 4. RCW 70A.450.070 and 2020 c 100 s 3 are each amended to 19
read as follows: 20
(1) Every owner of a facility that is engaged in activities 21
described in codes 31 through 33 of the North American industry 22
classification system must: 23
(a) Perform an inspection of the facility to determine whether 24
asbestos-containing building materials are present and, if asbestos-25
containing building materials are found during the initial 26
inspection, reinspect asbestos-containing building materials every 27
five years thereafter. The inspections must be conducted by persons 28
meeting the accreditation requirements of the federal toxic 29
substances control act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 2646 (b) or (c); and30
(b) Develop, maintain, and update an asbestos management plan and 31
keep a copy at the facility. The asbestos management plan must be 32
updated every five years and after any material changes in asbestos-33
containing building materials in the facility. The asbestos 34
management plan must include: 35
(i) The name and address of the facility and whether the facility 36
has asbestos-containing building materials, and the type of asbestos-37
containing building material; 38
(ii) The date of the original facility inspection;39
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(iii) A plan for reinspections; 1
(iv) A blueprint of the facility that clearly identifies the 2
location of asbestos-containing building materials;3
(v) A description of any response action or prevention measures 4
taken to reduce asbestos exposure; 5
(vi) A copy of the analysis of any building or facility, and the 6
name and address of any laboratory that sampled the material;7
(vii) The name, address, and telephone number of a designated 8
contact to whom the owner has assigned responsibility for ensuring 9
that the duties of the owner are carried out; and 10
(viii) A description of steps taken to inform workers about 11
inspections, reinspections, response actions, and periodic 12
surveillance of the asbestos-containing building materials.13
(2) Upon request, the asbestos management plan required under 14
subsection (1)(b) of this section must be made available to the 15
department, the department of labor and industries, local air 16
pollution control authorities in jurisdictions where they have been 17
created under this chapter, and any interested party. In addition to 18
the penalties established by this chapter, failure to create or 19
maintain a required asbestos management plan is a violation of 20
chapter 49.17 RCW and subject to the penalties established under RCW 21
49.17.180 and 49.17.190. 22
(3) Subsections (1) and (2) of this section do not apply to 23
commercial aggregates or asphalt and concrete materials that have 24
naturally occurring fibrous silicate material or asbestos containing 25
building materials with a content of 0.25 percent or lower.26
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