thank you for pointing this out. it should get more attention here.
for the last forty or more years, the biggest pressure against the use of asbestos has been lawsuits, not government regulation.
many, many US companies were forced into bankruptcy by class action asbestos lawsuits which attached huge liabilities to them, even though their use of asbestos may have been quite limited.
the asbestos lawsuit proliferation was such a strain on US industrial businesses that, in the early 2000's, the Senate almost created a huge asbestos trust fund, administered by the government, funded by these companies (and probably also government) to offload the liability from companies so that they could avoid bankruptcy and continue doing business, employing people, etc. (the legislation never passed).
bottom line: companies would want more than just EPA approval to start cranking out loads of new asbestos products. EPA approval does little to protect them against these expensive lawsuits. what they would need is a rock-solid lawsuit shield.
> We (the US) still allow asbestos in certain scenarios
Very few scenarios allow it and there's active lobbying to remove it even in those usecases. The guide you linked to primarily cites old products still in circulation and not new products.
That article barely touches on the different types of asbestos or the relative dangers after different kinds of processing. It's not much of an answer to the question.
also factor in the costs to these companies of the lawsuits they will inevitably attract by introducing new asbestos products. EPA approval does not shield them.
That is how my grandfather got mesothelioma. He insulated ships in WWII and didn't have proper protection. He had a rather painful last year of his life.
At this point, I would only allow asbestos when there are no safer alternatives. I didn't know if any cases where asbestos is the only practical option.
Here in the UK if traces of asbestos are found the entire building is quarantined while a team of workers in hazchem suits and breathing apparatus removes it!
reply