Lead story
Asbestos and the law: what is banned, what buildings owe you, and why the clock starts at diagnosis
Photo: SELİM ARDA ERYILMAZ / Unsplash Most people assume asbestos was banned decades ago. In the United States it was not — not completely, and not until recently. That gap between public assumption and legal reality is where a great deal of avoidable harm still happens. What the science settled a long time ago The World Health Organization is unambiguous: all forms of asbestos, chrysotile included, are carcinogenic to humans. Exposure causes lung cancer, laryngeal cancer, ovarian cancer and mesothelioma, alongside asbestosis and other chronic respiratory disease. WHO attributes more than 200,000 deaths a year to occupational asbestos exposure — over 70% of all work-related cancer deaths — and roughly four million disability-adjusted life years of illness. There is no safer variety. WHO's stated position is that the most efficient way to prevent these diseases is to stop using all forms of asbestos, and more than 50 member states have already legislated a prohibition. ...
