So I asked my dad's oncologist point blank last week if asbestos is still legal and being used in products today and honestly the answer was more complicated than I expected.
He said it's not banned in the US the way people think it is. Like there's no comprehensive ban. Certain products got phased out in the 80s and 90s, chrysotile asbestos (the white stuff) got mostly restricted but not completely, and some forms are still allowed in specific industrial applications. He mentioned that new products occasionally get flagged by EPA but it's slow and manufacturers can basically request exemptions.
What really got me is that he said it's actually being imported in raw materials and components, so even if American companies aren't mining it anymore we're still getting exposure pathways from other countries. And renovation work on older buildings is still a huge source because all that old insulation and drywall tape and floor tiles from the 60s through 80s are still out there, getting disturbed when people do construction.
My dad worked construction in Chicago from 1978 to 2004 so he hit the worst decades for it. But the doc basically said asbestos exposure is still happening today, just differently. People doing demolition, HVAC work, plumbing in old buildings, roofing repairs. It's not like it disappeared.
I know this doesn't help anyone diagnosed right now but I felt like I needed to actually know if this was some ancient thing or if people are still getting exposed. Seems like both are true.