Discuss the legal implications of asbestos and mesothelioma.
Since the early 1970’s, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have recognized asbestos as a cancer-causing agent. These agencies have tried to pass asbestos laws to ban or limit the use of this deadly material.
Many asbestos producers began to pressure the U.S. government in preventing any asbestos laws that would restrict asbestos use because they feared the loss of profits. But by 1989, most products containing asbestos were banned.
Today, the EPA regulates the emission of asbestos from factories and also from building demolitions. OSHA also upholds asbestos laws limiting the amount of asbestos fibers found in the air and in the workplace. As a result of these regulations, many law firms are now set up to assist mesothelioma sufferers in processing claims to receive the compensation for which they are entitled.