What New EPA Rulings on Asbestos Mean for Consumers and Business

Despite the fact that asbestos has been known as a hazardous material since the 1970s, being both a known carcinogen and the cause of mesothelioma, the material has never been subject to an outright ban in the USA – unlike in around 50 other countries, including all of the European Union, where this dangerous product has been completely outlawed.

Several attempts to ban asbestos have been made in the U.S. since the 1970s, and of these Asbestos.com – an advocacy group for mesothelioma sufferers – cites the 1989 EPA-issued Asbestos Ban and Phase-Out Rule to have been the best attempt to impose a full ban. However, this was overturned by a 5th circuit court in 1991.