Mesothelioma - Ban Asbestos

• Asbestos is still not banned in the United States.
• Over 60 countries have banned the toxin already, with more committing.
• Past attempts to ban asbestos in the U.S. have been overturned.
• An ongoing EPA asbestos risk assessment provides some hope for a future ban.

Asbestos has a long history in the United States and around the world. Even though its health effects were confirmed by the 1920s if not earlier, the mineral was heavily used through the 1970s. Many people ask “when was asbestos banned?” in the belief that one of the many past regulations against the toxin made it illegal decades ago, especially given the serious dangers of exposure. But past attempts to ban asbestos have proven unsuccessful.

Today, the mineral can still be legally utilized in certain products with historic use, while its past uses can be found in various products, homes, schools and other buildings throughout the country. In recent years, new asbestos regulations have given advocates hope that a ban may be forthcoming, though the future of asbestos in America is on shaky ground with the current administration.

As research continued to confirm the health effects of asbestos exposure, like mesothelioma and asbestosis, regulatory agencies began to finally put laws into place to protect workers and the public from dangerous exposure. Despite health risks being realized in the early 1900s, the first big regulatory action against the mineral didn’t happen until 1970.