Asbestos Has Still Not Been Banned
Contrary to popular belief, and the laws that have been put in place by more than 50 countries, the use of asbestos is still very much legal in the United States under some circumstances.
After having few to no regulations limiting the use of asbestos in everyday products for more than half of the century, laws put into place during the 1970s and 1980s finally put some limitations on how, and when, the fibers could be used in asbestos products and exposed to workers who did not have adequate protective gear.
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However attempts to impose a comprehensive ban have not been as successful. In 1989, the Environmental Protection Agency initially was able to pass a ban on asbestos before it was overturned by a ruling in the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which received a great deal of corporate pressures to do so. Other attempts to ban the use of the fibers have been introduced since -- including the Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2007 by U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) --but have not yet been able to be passed into law.
The lack of a ban on asbestos in the U.S. comes despite the fiber’s classification as being dangerous by a number of notable organizations, including the Environmental Protection Agency, World Health Organization, International Labor Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the American Cancer Society.
For more information on what you can do about getting asbestos banned in the United States, visit our Ban Asbestos Now (BAN) page here.
For those who would like more information on how to pursue a mesothelioma settlement if they feel a company directly led to the mesothelioma cancer diagnosis of themselves or a loved one, contact a mesothelioma lawyer in order to learn more details on asbestos law.