National Asbestos Legislation

The dangers of asbestos are well known in the United States. Although few would dispute the major health hazards related to asbestos exposure, America does not have a comprehensive federal law addressing asbestos related issues. Indeed, sweeping national legislation about asbestos has proved a struggle. Instead, those issues largely are left in the hands of individual states, which often have different approaches to dealing with asbestos risks and claims.

Most federal and state asbestos legislation in the United States was motivated by the same two concerns: public safety and economic concerns. The evolution of these concerns can be traced back to the early 20th century. By then, U.S. use of asbestos had surpassed that of the rest of the world.

By the 1930s, medical evidence had already linked asbestos exposure with deadly diseases. Although asbestos manufacturers knew about the early evidence, many of them did not warn workers or the public about the dangers and potential future health issues. Routine use of asbestos in construction and industrial products continued.

Because asbestos related diseases do not surface until decades after exposure, the health hazards created by this exposure did not receive widespread public attention until the late 1960s and the 1970s. That is when victims increasingly filed lawsuits against asbestos manufacturers for their injuries, claiming those manufacturers knowingly made them sick. Soon, the health risks of asbestos were too big to hide.

Through the late 1980s, much of the attention to asbestos related issues focused on abatement. Asbestos abatement involves removing or containing asbestos from existing buildings. There were also calls for laws to ban the use of asbestos. During the 1970s, the U.S. government issued guidelines to limit asbestos exposure. These guidelines were followed by more federal, state and local public safety laws during the 1980s.

Much of the attention recently shifted to managing the legal claims of those who claim to have been injured by asbestos exposure. More than 750,000 asbestos claims have been filed across the country, and new claims are expected to emerge for several more decades. As asbestos manufacturers filed for bankruptcy protection, those damaged by mesothelioma, asbestosis and other asbestos disease worried that adequate compensation would not be available for them for others who develop diseases in the future. Lawmakers in some states let their courts figure out the best way to deal with asbestos claims. Others proposed, and passed, laws during the past decade to limit the number of asbestos claims.

U.S. Asbestos Legislation

Although the U.S. government has taken some action on asbestos, it has faced criticism for not acting on two issues: banning asbestos and developing a system to compensate those injured by asbestos exposure.

For instance, the federal government adopted policies to promote safety related to asbestos. Like most countries, however, the United States does not have a universal ban on asbestos. So far, an estimated 55 countries have substantially banned the use of asbestos.

Federal legislation to ensure that asbestos claimants can be compensated for sickness, loss of life and loss of wages has also been limited. Federal laws were passed to create compensation systems for other types of claimants; the Black Lung Benefits Act, for example, created a benefits program for U.S. coal miners. However, a similar program has not been established for people who are sick because of asbestos exposure.

Here is a summary of major legislation that has been considered at the federal level. As noted below, some of these measures were heavily debated, but never became law:

Clean Air Act of 1970

Congress first identified asbestos as a hazardous air pollutant under this law. The Clean Air Act has been amended over the years and resulted in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations governing the use and disposal of asbestos. The law has been followed by other federal measures to protect workers and the public from asbestos exposure, such as Consumer Product Safety Act provisions and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. Although asbestos is still used in certain products, its identification as a pollutant has helped reduce the use of asbestos.

Toxic Substances Control Act of 1979 (TSCA)

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) gave the EPA the power to regulate not only new commercial chemicals, but also existing chemicals that pose unreasonable health or environmental risks, such as asbestos. The EPA attempted to use this authority in 1989 by issuing a final rule that would have banned most asbestos-containing products. Known as the "Asbestos Ban and Phaseout Rule," it would have prohibited manufacturing, importing, processing or distributing most of these products.

However, a group of interested corporations successfully challenged the rule in court. A 1991 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit eventually rejected much of the rule. The following chart shows which products remained banned under the EPA's rule and which bans were lifted after the Fifth Circuit's decision:

Impact of 1991 Fifth Circuit Opinion on 1989 EPA Asbestos Ban and Phaseout Rule

Banned Not Banned

• corrugated paper
• rollboard
• commercial paper
• specialty paper
• flooring felt
• new uses of asbestos after 1989

asbestos-cement corrugated sheet, asbestos-cement flat sheet, asbestos clothing, pipeline wrap, roofing felt, vinyl-asbestos floor tile, asbestos-cement shingle, millboard, asbestos-cement pipe, automatic transmission components, clutch facings, friction materials, disc brake pads, drum brake linings, brake blocks, gaskets, non-roofing coatings, and roof coatings

Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act of 1986

This law ordered the EPA to establish regulatory standards for inspections and proper abatement of asbestos in schools. The EPA's regulations require all public and private school systems to inspect facilities for asbestos and develop plans for containing and, in rare instances, removing asbestos. The agency also provides guidelines and technical assistance to help school districts.

Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1994

The U.S. Bankruptcy Code was amended in 1994 to allow companies with significant asbestos liabilities to seek bankruptcy protection for future claims. Sometimes called the "Manville Amendments," the provisions provided an option for asbestos manufacturers like the Johns Manville Corporation, which had been sued many times and faced more asbestos liabilities in the future. These companies filed for reorganization to protect their assets. Modeled after the Manville Trust, the 1994 amendments established a way for the companies to settle future claims through the creation of special asbestos bankruptcy trusts.

Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act of 2006 (the "FAIR Act")

The FAIR Act represents Congress's most comprehensive effort to address the issue of compensation for asbestos claimants. Federal lawmakers have introduced multiple versions of the bill in both the House and the Senate during the past decade. The most recent version was introduced in 2006 and would have done the following:

• Establish an office within the Department of Labor to handle asbestos injury claims;
• Provide fair compensation to eligible claimants in a non-adversarial manner;
• Determine compensation amounts based on the severity of the claimant's disease; and
• Bring most pending claims in state and federal courts to a standstill.

The FAIR Act never became law.

Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2007

Like the FAIR Act, multiple versions of the Ban Asbestos in America Act were introduced in Congress during the past decade. The most recent version, introduced in 2007, never became law.

The bill would have done the following:

• Revise the TSCA to include additional materials in that law's definition of asbestos;
• Direct a number of federal entities, including OSHA and EPA, to conduct various scientific studies about the relationships between certain asbestos materials and diseases;
• Require the EPA to report to Congress on various recommendations for protecting human health from asbestos exposure;
• Authorize the EPA to issue more regulations banning the importing, manufacture, processing, or distribution of asbestos products; and
• Appropriate money for research of asbestos-related diseases.

Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) sponsored the Senate version of the bill (S. 742). In 2009, she also sponsored a bill that led to recognition of September 26 as National Mesothelioma Awareness Day. Senator Murray, a longtime advocate for asbestos awareness and research, continues to list these issues among her legislative priorities. Please visit Asbestos.com for updates on whether she and other lawmakers introduce more asbestos-related legislation in the future.

More About the History of Asbestos Laws

Find more information about the history of asbestos lawsuits and asbestos bankruptcy trusts within this section. You can also request a free informational packet about asbestos exposure and related illnesses.