Do you know that asbestos was still used in many common building materials until the middle to late 1980s?
Do you know that is still legal to sell and install some asbestos containing building materials?
Do you know the dates when various materials were banned?
It is important not to view the dates of the laws / regulations which banned the materials listed below as absolute cut-off dates. In many cases, the laws / regulations allowed suppliers to sell their existing supplies, and the manufacturers may not have immediately been aware of the new laws / regulations. For example, we have spoken with a large manufacturer of drywall joint compound in southern California and learned that they were still manufacturing drywall joint compound with asbestos in the middle 1980s. Our experience inspecting thousands of buildings of all types also confirms that asbestos containing drywall joint compound was used in many buildings constructed in the middle 1980s.
[FONT=Arial]1) Spray applied fireproofing was banned by the 1973 Clean Air Act (CAA) Asbestos National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutant (NESHAP);
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Wet-applied and pre-formed (molded) asbestos pipe insulation and pre-formed (molded) asbestos block insulation on boilers and hot water tanks were banned by the 1975 Clean Air Act (CAA) Asbestos National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutant (NESHAP);
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Spray applied decorative ACM (e.g. acoustic ceiling texture) was banned by the 1978 Clean Air Act (CAA) Asbestos National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutant (NESHAP);
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Patching compounds which are used to cover, seal or mask cracks, joints, holes and similar openings in the trim, walls, ceiling, etc. of building interiors (also used to create textured effects) which a consumer can purchase (those where the sale or use of the product by consumers is facilitated, and those containing respirable free form asbestos which are used in residences, schools, hospitals, public buildings or other areas where consumers have customary access) were banned by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in 1978 - see 16 CFR 1304;
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Artificial emberizing materials (ash and embers) containing respirable freeform asbestos (generally packaged in an emberizing kit for use in fireplaces, and designed for use in such a manner that the asbestos fibers can become airborne under reasonably foreseeable conditions of use were banned by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in 1978 - see 16 CFR 1305;
6)Spray-on application of materials containing more than 1% asbestos to buildings, structures, pipes, and conduits unless the material is encapsulated with a bituminous or resinous binder during spraying and the materials are not friable after drying was banned by the 1990 Clean Air Act (CAA) Asbestos National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutant (NESHAP);
7)Asbestos paper products (flooring felt, roll board, and corrugated, commercial, or specialty paper) were banned by the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) - On July 12, 1989, the US EPA issued a final rule banning most asbestos-containing products. While most of that regulation was overturned by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans in 1991, the bans on these materials were affirmed; and,
Products that have not historically contained asbestos, otherwise referred to as “new uses” of asbestos were banned by the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) - On July 12, 1989, the US EPA issued a final rule banning most asbestos-containing products. While most of that regulation was overturned by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans in 1991, the bans on these materials were affirmed.
Various asbestos containing materials were specifically listed as NOT banned by the US EPA’s guidance document of May 18, 1999, but this list is far from comprehensive, as many other common materials which are not banned are not listed:
Troweled-on Surfacing Materials (e.g. cement stucco and gypsum plaster - watch out in Phoenix, as a regulator there told me of a wholesaler currently supplying asbestos to stucco contractors - I’ll bet there will be some angry building owners when they learn what they have!);
Asbestos-cement corrugated sheet, shingles, flat sheet, millboard, and pipe;
Asbestos clothing;
Pipeline wrap;
Roofing felt;
Vinyl-asbestos floor tile;
Automatic transmission components;
Clutch facings;
Friction materials;
Brake pads, linings, and blocks;
Gaskets;
Non-roofing coatings; and,
Roof coatings.
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