Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman LISA SWAIN
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblyman ROBERT J. KARABINCHAK
District 18 (Middlesex)
Assemblywoman BRITNEE N. TIMBERLAKE
District 34 (Essex and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Johnson, Assemblywoman Pinkin, Assemblyman Moriarty, Assemblywoman McKnight and Assemblyman Schaer
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits sale or distribution of products containing asbestos.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the sale or distribution of products containing asbestos, and supplementing Title 13 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. No person shall sell, offer for sale, or distribute in the State any product that contains asbestos.
b. As used in this section: “asbestos” means the same as the term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1984, c.173 (C.34:5A-34).
2. a. The Department of Environmental Protection shall establish a public education program to assure the widespread dissemination of information concerning the prohibition contained in section 1 of this act.
b. The department shall have the right to enter, at any time during normal business hours, and upon presentation of appropriate credentials, any retail establishment in order to determine compliance with the provisions of this act.
3. a. Any person convicted of a violation of this act shall be subject to a penalty of up to $2,500 for each offense, to be collected by the State in a civil action by a summary proceeding under the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). The Superior Court and the municipal court shall have jurisdiction over proceedings for the enforcement of the penalty provided by this section.
b. The department may institute a civil action for injunctive relief in the Superior Court to enforce this act and to prohibit and prevent a violation of this act, and the court may proceed in the action in a summary manner.
4. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill would prohibit the sale, offering for sale, or distribution of products containing asbestos in New Jersey. The prohibition in the bill would take effect on the first day of the fourth month after the bill is enacted into law.
The bill would also grant the DEP authority to enter, during normal business hours, and upon presentation of appropriate credentials, any retail establishment in order to determine compliance.
Under the bill, a person who violates this bill would be subject to a penalty of up to $2,500 for each offense. The bill would also allow the DEP to seek an injunction against a violator.
Asbestos is a mineral fiber that occurs in rock and soil. Because of its fiber strength and heat resistance, asbestos has been used in a variety of building construction materials for insulation and as a fire retardant. Asbestos has also been used in a wide range of manufactured goods, mostly in building materials (roofing shingles, ceiling and floor tiles, paper products, and asbestos cement products), friction products (automobile clutch, brake, and transmission parts), heat-resistant fabrics, packaging, gaskets, and coatings. While most uses of asbestos are banned by federal regulation, some uses of asbestos are not banned in the United States.
Exposure to asbestos increases the risk of developing lung disease. In general, the greater the exposure to asbestos, the greater the chance of developing harmful health effects, such as: lung cancer; mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer that is found in the thin lining of the lung, chest, abdomen, and heart; and asbestosis, a serious progressive, long-term, non-cancer disease of the lungs.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency recently adopted a new rule that may allow the manufacture of new products containing asbestos on a case-by-case basis. Due to the well-known and devastating health effects of exposure to asbestos, it is appropriate for this State to act to prohibit the sale or distribution of products containing asbestos in the State.