Asbestos Still Legal, Dates of Bans

[Stephen Masek]

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.

1) Spray applied fireproofing was banned by the 1973 Clean Air Act (CAA) Asbestos National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutant (NESHAP);

2) 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);

3) 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);

4) 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;

5) 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.

[wward]

asbestos is ok at levels of .01 % per Cubic Centimeter.
I learned that from rescent lab results.
</IMG>

[Stephen Masek]

Originally Posted by wward

asbestos is ok at levels of .01 % per Cubic Centimeter.
I learned that from rescent lab results.
</IMG>

You are apparently referring to the OSHA permissible exposure level (PEL) and related short-term exposure level (STEL) to airborne asbestos fibers. Yes, exposures below those levels are indeed legal, and if you multiply out the number of cubic centimeters of air breathed by eight hours, the PEL works out to millions of fibers. The OSHA regulations are as follows:



1926.1101(c)

Permissible exposure limits (PELS).

1926.1101(c)(1)

Time-weighted average limit (TWA). The employer shall ensure that no employee is exposed to an airborne concentration of asbestos in excess of 0.1 fiber per cubic centimeter of air as an eight ( hour time-weighted average (TWA), as determined by the method prescribed in Appendix A to this section, or by an equivalent method.

1926.1101(c)(2)

Excursion limit. The employer shall ensure that no employee is exposed to an airborne concentration of asbestos in excess of 1.0 fiber per cubic centimeter of air (1 f/cc) as averaged over a sampling period of thirty (30) minutes, as determined by the method prescribed in Appendix A to this section, or by an equivalent method.

[Caoimhín P. Connell]

Mr. Masek’s post is mostly correct (to be honest, I didn't read it all the way through...).

There is an huge public misconception of the Federal asbestos phase-out/rule-out ban – which managed to exclusively ban children’s clothes that contained asbestos. The only reason that portion of the “ban” was permitted to remain in effect by the courts, was because there were NO children’s clothing products on the market anyway that contained asbestos.

For many years, I used to be the TRO’s CTR for the US Dept. of Commerce at the NBS (doncha just love the way the US Gov. uses all those TLAs? (Three Letter Acronyms) … and... DANG... I just plain forgot what I was going to say … DANG I hate that... Had something to do with asbestos since I was their asbestos guy...

In any event, some years ago, I was involved in one project wherein the property owner spent thousands of $$$$ on asbestos abatement removing ceiling spray that contained 3% asbestos. They then hired a contractor to come back in and respray acoustical ceiling material – he did: it contained 5% asbestos! The building owner tried to sue; they thought asbestos was banned and the contractor had violated federal regs. The contractor won, since he had not violated any regulations and the building owner never specified that the spray back had to be asbestos free. As far as I know, that asbestos is still on that ceiling….

If I remember what I was going to say, I'll post it.

Cheers,
Caoimhín P. Connell
Forensic Industrial Hygienist
www.forensic-applications.com

(The opinions expressed here are exclusively my personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect my professional opinion, opinion of my employer, agency, peers, or professional affiliates. The above post is for information only and does not reflect professional advice and is not intended to supercede the professional advice of others.)

AMDG

[ldapkus]

Where is Asbestos, Canada???? Do they still mine this mineral and is it coming back to the U.S. in flooring products to be re-installed into our schools?? YUP!!

[ldapkus]

What was Steve McQueen's cause of death???

[Stephen Masek]

[quote=Caoimhín P. Connell]$$$ on asbestos abatement removing ceiling spray that contained 3% asbestos. They then hired a contractor to come back in and respray acoustical ceiling material – he did: it contained 5% asbestos! [/quote] Your post reminds me of the building owner who paid an abatement contractor to remove a large quantity of asbestos floor tile and mastic, only to have to call them back after his people got a "deal" on a discontinued pattern of floor tile from a wholesale.

Mostly correct? I would appreciate specific information if what I posted is anything less than 100% correct. That information (and more) is contained in all of our survey reports.

[Caoimhín P. Connell]

Hello Mr. Masek:

My interp of your post was that you were suggesting that asbestos clothing was not banned. As I mentioned in my follow-up post, children’s clothing that contained asbestos was successfully banned.

I didn’t really scrutinize the rest of the post – that just caught my eye.

Cheers,
Caoimhín P. Connell
Forensic Industrial Hygienist
www.forensic-applications.com

(The opinions expressed here are exclusively my personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect my professional opinion, opinion of my employer, agency, peers, or professional affiliates. The above post is for information only and does not reflect professional advice and is not intended to supercede the professional advice of others.)

AMDG

[Stephen Masek]

Originally Posted by Caoimhín P. Connell

children’s clothing that contained asbestos
AMDG

OK - as far as I know, no asbestos clothing for children was ever produced, so the reference is to the adult asbestos clothing which was produced.