In 1973, EPA banned spray-applied surfacing asbestos-containing material for fireproofing/insulating purposes. See National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) at 40 CFR Part 61, Subpart M
Asbestos use banned in the United States
In 1975, EPA banned installation of asbestos pipe insulation and asbestos block insulation on facility components, such as boilers and hot water tanks, if the materials are either pre-formed (molded) and friable or wet-applied and friable after drying. See National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) at 40 CFR Part 61, Subpart M
In 1978, EPA banned spray-applied surfacing materials for purposes not already banned. See National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) at 40 CFR Part 61, Subpart M
In 1977, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) banned the use of asbestos in artificial fireplace embers and wall patching compounds. (See 16 CFR Part 1305 and 16 CFR 1304)
In 1989, the EPA issued a final rule under Section 6 of Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) banning most asbestos-containing products. However, in 1991, this rule was vacated and remanded by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. As a result, most of the original ban on the manufacture, importation, processing, or distribution in commerce for the majority of the asbestos-containing products originally covered in the 1989 final rule was overturned.
See 40 CFR 763 Subpart I.
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2011-title40-vol8/xml/CFR-2011-title40-vol8-part61.xml
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2011-title16-vol2/pdf/CFR-2011-title16-vol2-part1305.pdf
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2011-title40-vol31/pdf/CFR-2011-title40-vol31-part763-subpartI.pdf
Asbestos use banned in Europe
Working within the guidelines of the European Union, the member states in the EU have banned productionand use of asbestos, although Russia and the ‘stans have not. European legislation has sought to prohibit the use of asbestos, and to set strict standards for the protection of workers when they may be exposed. The following are some of the relevant directives.
Step by step the European Union has developed its asbestos regulation:
• Council Directive 83/477/EEC of 19 September 1983 on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to asbestos at work,
• modified by Council Directive 91/382/EEC of 25 June 1991,
• and amended by Council Directive 98/24/EC of 7 April 1998.
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=LEGISSUM:c11134
Asbestos use banned in Japan
In Japan, asbestos use continued after the bans in the U.S. and the EU; however beginning tin the 1990’s, Japanese bans and removal began. The Industrial Safety and Health Law since 1995 has required any company planning to dismantle or renovate a building to check for the presence of asbestos and to remove friable asbestos (which crumbles easily) to a sealed-off area. Similarly, since 1996 the Air Pollution Control Law has stipulated that any planned demolition or renovation involving the removal of sprayed asbestos must be reported in advance to prefectural authorities. Since 1992, the Waste Disposal and Public Cleaning Law has regulated precisely what can and cannot be done with waste material containing asbestos.
https://www.env.go.jp/en/air/asbestos/summary_caa.pdf