Many people find solace in the fact asbestos is now banned. There was a
great cheer the year it happened, but the ban has so many holes in it
that it isn’t much of a ban to speak of.
The manufacturers of asbestos products didn’t make a lot of money on the products. No, they made absolutely huge amounts of money. As you can imagine, they were not particularly interested in giving up their cash cow. No, they fought like mad to keep the products going out and the revenues coming in. While they were unable to stop the assault on their products, they were able to delay banning of asbestos for nearly two decades.
Asbestos was eventually banned on July 12, 1989. At least that is the accepted date. Unfortunately, it is a red herring of sorts. The problem is the manufacturers didn’t stop fighting. They challenged the ban in court. In 1991, they eventually convinced an appellate court to partially overturn the ban and things have remained the same to this day.
So, what is banned and what is not? Well, let’s start with the easy part of the issue. Any “new uses” of asbestos are banned. This means that the material cannot be used in products or manners that it historically has not been used. For instance, it could not be used in an iPad.
What about past uses? Ah, that is a disturbing subject. Essentially, asbestos manufacturers can continue to use it in all products in the market prior to 1989 with certain exceptions. They are flooring felt, rollboard, and corrugated, commercial, or specialty paper. That is it. Asbestos can still be used in other construction material, clothing and whatever. In short, we are talking about a very weak ban indeed.
So, is asbestos included in a lot of products today? Some, but not very many. The problem is not the ban. Instead, it is simply very difficult to sell products that have asbestos in them. Would you buy one? I wouldn’t! Where the asbestos ban of 1989 has proved fairly impotent, the reaction of consumers has made more of an impact. At least in the United States.
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