Asbestos and the law

The mineral asbestos is subject to a wide range of laws and regulations that relate to its production and use, including mining, manufacturing, use and disposal.[1][2][3] Injuries attributed to asbestos have resulted in both workers' compensation claims and injury litigation.[4][5] Health problems attributed to asbestos include asbestosis, mesothelioma, lung cancer, and diffuse pleural thickening.[6][7]

One of the major issues relating to asbestos in civil proceedings is the latency of asbestos-related diseases. Most countries have limitation periods to bar actions that are taken long after the cause of action has lapsed. For example, in Malaysia the time period to file a tort action is six years from the time the tort occurred. Due to several asbestos-related actions, countries such as Australia have amended their laws relating to limitations to accumulate starting from time of discovery rather than time when the cause of action accrued. The first employee claims for injury from exposure to asbestos in the workplace were made in 1927, and the first lawsuit against an asbestos manufacturer was filed in 1929. Since then, many lawsuits have been filed. As a result of the litigation, manufacturers sold off subsidiaries, diversified, produced asbestos substitutes, and started asbestos removal businesses.

Worldwide, 67 countries and territories (including those in the European Union) have banned the use of asbestos.[8][9] It is listed as a category of controlled waste under Annex I of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal [1992]. This means that parties to the convention are required to prohibit the export of hazardous wastes to parties which have prohibited the import of such wastes via the notification procedure in Article 13 of the convention. In places such as India, however, there continues to be a high use of friable or dust-based asbestos in compressed asbestos fiber (CAF) gaskets, ropes, cloth, gland packings, millboards, insulation, brake liners, and other products which are being exported without adequate knowledge and information to the other countries. Asbestos use is prevalent in India because there is no effective enforcement of the rules.

  1. ^ "Asbestos Laws and Regulations". EPA. United States Environmental Protection Agency. 12 March 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  2. ^ "ICOH Statement: Global Asbestos Ban and the Elimination of Asbestos-Related Diseases" (PDF). ICOH. International Commission on Occupational Health. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  3. ^ "Prohibition of Asbestos and Asbestos Products Regulations". Canada Gazette. 152 (1). Government of Canada. 6 January 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  4. ^ Lippel, Katherine (21 February 2012). "Preserving workers' dignity in workers' compensation systems: An international perspective" (PDF). American Journal of Industrial Medicine. 55 (6): 519–36. doi:10.1002/ajim.22022. hdl:10393/38654. PMID 22354856.
  5. ^ Slawotsky, Joel (2007). "International Product Liability Claims under the Alien Tort Claims Act". Tulane Journal of International & Comparative Law. 16: 164. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gevenois was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "National Asbestos Bans". ibasecretariat.org. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  9. ^ "Chronology of Asbestos Bans and Restrictions". ibasecretariat.org. Retrieved 2020-06-22.