RECENT ASBESTOS LEGISLATION

The United States is one of the very few countries in the world that does not ban the use of asbestos in commercial products

On the subject of recent asbestos legislation, the two main bodies of law that currently govern asbestos in the United States are The Clean Air Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act (otherwise known as Code of Federal Regulations Title 40: Protection of Environment, Part 763).

Approximately 3,000 Americans die every year from asbestos-related mesothelioma, a deadly form of cancer linked to occupational asbestos exposure. Mesothelioma is a preventable cancer caused primarily by the negligence of employers and asbestos product manufacturers who deliberately overlooked work-site health safety to increase their profit margins.

RECENT ASBESTOS LEGISLATION

June 17, 2010 – Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) sponsored the most recent asbestos legislation, S.742: Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2007, to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act, which would have helped reduce cancer risks posed by asbestos-containing materials and products.

On October 4, 2007, the bill passed in the Senate by unanimous consent. But the bill never became law. Sessions of Congress last two years, and at the end of each session all proposed bills and resolutions that haven't passed both Houses are cleared from the books.

Congressional members often reintroduce bills that did not come up for debate under a new number in the next session. And that is the current fate of Senator Murray’s valiant effort to outlaw the use of asbestos in America.

Earlier ban-asbestos legislation

Sen. Murray’s bill was proposed in a previous session of Congress on February 6, 2003, when the senator delivered a speech in support of the legislation. At that time, Sen. Murray asked why our government suddenly abandoned plans to warn homeowners and workers about the dangers of Zonolite insulation, an asbestos-based insulation currently found in millions of homes.

Sen. Murray’s most recent asbestos legislation was part of her ongoing work to raise public awareness about asbestos and to protect workers and consumers from its fatal diseases.

Weitz & Luxenberg

The asbestos litigation law firm of Weitz & Luxenberg commends the tireless efforts of Sen. Murray to outlaw the use of asbestos in the United States, as most other countries have already done.

Weitz & Luxenberg is a legal force in the asbestos litigation field, having obtained dozens of record-setting verdicts and settlements for American workers seriously injured by job-related asbestos exposure.

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