The US has banned the only type of asbestos used or imported into the country. This comes decades after the majority of developed nations started to phase out the cancer-causing raw material.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took this action after trying unsuccessfully to ban asbestos more than thirty years ago.
Over 50 countries have already banned the carcinogen.
It has been connected to almost 40,000 fatalities in the US each year from mesothelioma, lung cancer and other cancers.
Although the carcinogen’s use has progressively decreased over time, millions of US homes and buildings still contain it as a building ingredient.
The only known variety of asbestos known to be imported for use in the US is chrysotile asbestos, sometimes referred to as “white asbestos,” according to EPA Administrator Michael Regan, who announced the restriction on Monday.
Businesses who continue to use white asbestos have up to 12 years to phase it out.
According to the EPA, white asbestos is still utilised by US businesses to make car brakes since it is fire resistant.
However, an expert informed the BBC that the prohibition on Monday does not apply to a number of other forms of asbestos.
The anti-asbestos movement gained momentum in the 1980s.
The EPA tried to ban asbestos in 1989 after obtaining solid proof of the material’s harmful effects.
However, the prohibition was overturned by a federal court two years later.
The efforts to ban asbestos in the U.S came to a standstill in 2017, after Donald Trump came to office.
Melissa Enoch
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