Still Not a #BanAsbestos: Over 40 Years in the Asbestos Industry and the Ongoing Fight for Real Change
As we celebrate our country’s 249th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, recent events have caused us to spend some time reflecting on 37 years of business, and 43 years in the asbestos industry where we started, what’s changed, and what hasn’t. Back then, we relied on beepers, phone cards, and typewriters to keep the wheels turning. New York City Department of Environmental Protection’s (NYCDEP’s) “Not an Asbestos Project Form ACP5s” had to be ordered and picked up at NYCDEP and were typed by hand. Manuals were several inches thick, and navigating them required patience—and maybe a magnifying glass. Today, we have digital manuals, searchable PDFs, online filing systems (see our Training Library), smartphones that connect us instantly, and ACP5s that are filed online. Yet despite all the technology and efficiency, the core of our work hasn’t changed: workers still need respirators, still need to take showers after abatement, still need negative pressure in the containment area, and still need to wet materials to keep dust down. The tools have evolved, but the risks and the protocols remain stubbornly the same. And the biggest constant of all? Asbestos is still here. When we first opened our doors, people told us the asbestos problem would be solved in 5 or 10 years. That was the thinking at the time—because how could a substance so toxic, so dangerous, remain legal in any form? (see our blog post “Future Environment Designs Celebrates 30 Years in Business in October. What the heck is SNUR?”). Yet here we are, over 40 years later, and we’re still talking about it. Not only has asbestos not been banned, but what we’re now calling a “ban” – specifically, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Part 1 Final Rule on Chrysotile Asbestos – isn’t a ban at
