In 1989, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created the Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule.  However, this was then overturned in 1991 by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.  Many consumer products still contain asbestos.

Currently, the following asbestos products are banned in the USA:

• novel uses of asbestos
• special papers
• floor felt
• commercial paper
• rollboard
• corrugated paper

However, many asbestos-containing products are NOT banned in the USA:

• roof coverings
• non-roof coverings
• gaskets
• asbestos-cement corrugated sheets
• asbestos-cement flat sheets
• cloting made of asbestos
• roofing felt
• pipeline wrap
• vinyl-asbestos floor tiles
• millboard
• asbestos-cement shingles
• asbestos-cement pipes
• automatic transmission components
• friction materials
• clutch facings
• drum brake linings
• disc brake pads
• brake blocks

The above lists are not intended to be complete, and only provide a rough overview of this subject.

There is a document provided by the EPA that clarifies what products legally contain asbestos called the “EPA Asbestos Materials Bans:  Clarification.”

H.R. 3339:  Bruce Vento Ban Asbestos and Prevent Mesothelioma Act of 2007 did not become law.  The last action on this Bill took place on August 2, 2007 when it was referred to the Subcommittee on Health.