Stopping Mesothelioma, US May Ban Asbestos

Mesothelioma-Asbestos-Hazard

In 1989, the Environmental Protection Agency tried to ban the use of products containing asbestos, as it has been known to cause mesothelioma. Malignant mesothelioma is a relatively rare type of cancer, and may be caused by exposure to the substance known as asbestos.

In spite of the ban issued on products containing asbestos by the EPA during that time, the rule was soon overturned by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. In recent years, the attempts to reinstate laws that ban the use of the cancer-causing substance have not worked out all that well, though it seems that the EPA is taking action to ensure the use of asbestos is prohibited within the next ten years.

The ban on the use of asbestos will come about in two stages. First, it will be ensured that asbestos may not be used as a sealing agent as part of construction work, and secondly it will be banned from use in tiles, linings, and cement panels.

According to statistics by the World Health Organization, diseases such as mesothelioma which are caused by asbestos result in about 90,000 deaths each year. Recently in Spain, a company was ordered by the court to pay nearly $5 million in asbestos-related damages, causing nearby residents to incur a variety of health issues such as mesothelioma.