According to a news report, Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has plans to phase out the use of asbestos within the next decade.
Lin Chien-hui, director of Taiwan’s EPA Department of Environmental Sanitation and Toxic Substance Management, said the ban on asbestos will be enforced in two stages.
On July 1, 2015, regulations will be in place to make sure asbestos is no longer used as a sealing material in construction projects. On July 1, 2020, asbestos will be banned for all uses in tiles, linings and extruded cement panels.
The plan to ban asbestos in Taiwan marks a big step towards lowering the incidence of asbestos-related disease. One of these conditions is malignant mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer almost exclusively caused by asbestos exposure. As with other asbestos-related diseases, there is no cure for mesothelioma. Mesothelioma patients typically do not survive more than two years after being diagnosed.
More than 50 countries across the world have elected to ban asbestos. In 1989, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency attempted to issue a ban on asbestos-containing products. However, in 1991, the ban was overturned by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. The new ruling resulted in only six types of asbestos products being banned in the United States.
Within the last few years, several organizations have collaborated on introducing legislative bills to ban asbestos in the United States. While none of these bills have been issued into effect, the continuing push for a ban has kept the campaign alive. With more countries across the globe electing to ban asbestos, the pressure rises on the remaining governments that have yet to outlaw use of the toxic substance.
Additional information on mesothelioma and asbestos exposure may be found through the Mesothelioma Center.
Retraction: An earlier version of this article mistakenly referred to the Taiwan EPA as the U.S. EPA.