Florida Lawmakers Update Asbestos Removal Policies

In the wake of the government’s partial asbestos ban, on April 11, 2025, Florida officials announced plans to overhaul key provisions of the state’s asbestos removal laws.

The Division of Air Resources Management plans to update and revise definitions, delete unnecessary definitions, simplify the asbestos remediation fee schedule, and make clarifying and corrective amendments. A proposed simplified, two-tiered fee structure will reduce costs for the owners or operators of asbestos removal projects, according to the agency. 

Most structures built before 1980 are laced with asbestos. Before the ban, owners could basically let sleeping dogs lie. If the asbestos wasn’t dangerous, remediation was essentially optional. Now, full asbestos remediation is mandatory, regardless of the danger level.

In March 2024, the EPA banned the use of chrysotile (white) asbestos in the United States. A year later, that ban still faces court challenges from both sides of the aisle. 

Conservative groups backed by big businesses claim the ban goes too far. Basically, these same groups made basically these same arguments in 1989, the last time the EPA made a similar rule. Then, asbestos industry lawyers found an obscure loophole in the equally obscure Toxic Substances Control Act. Those lawyers convinced a federal appeals court to overturn the ban.

About twenty-five years later, Congress finally closed that loophole. Although the stage was set for an asbestos ban that could hold up in court, the EPA did not act for several more years thereafter.

This foot-dragging illustrates an important point. Government bureaucrats can pass and enforce rules when they feel like doing so. But these rules do nothing to compensate asbestos exposure victims. Only a nationwide mesothelioma lawyer can do that.

Mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive form of lung cancer. Toxic asbestos fibers cause a tumor to form in the dense membranes of the mesothelium (area between the heart and lungs). Many diagnostic test devices cannot peer through these layers. Furthermore, when patients have lung cancer symptoms, like constant dry coughs, doctors look for tumors in the lungs, not near the lungs. The diagnosis delay significantly lowers life expectancy among mesothelioma victims.

This time around, most of these challengers claim the ban does not have a sufficient waiting period. This argument may not be as sound, but the same conservative court that overturned the 1990 ban is weighing the 2024 ban.

Meanwhile, liberal groups backed by large environmental advocacy groups claim the ban does not go far enough. Chrysotile is the most common form of refined asbestos in the United States, but it’s not the only kind. These groups fear that asbestos-using industries could easily switch to another form of refined asbestos and continue selling products laced with this deadly toxin.

Asbestos is no longer commonly used in domestically produced products. But it is a common ingredient in many imported goods, especially goods from China. Furthermore, environmental cross-contamination, such as asbestos-laced talcum powder, is a growing problem.

We discussed mesothelioma above. This disease is a particularly nasty form of a very nasty condition. Asbestos fibers often cause other diseases as well.

Pleural thickening is similar to mesothelioma. Asbestos fibers inflame the pleural layer that surrounds the lungs. In many cases, the inflammation is so bad that it almost literally crushes the victim’s lungs. A mesothelioma lawyer can obtain compensation for this lung disease as well.

Asbestosis is an asbestos exposure illness that directly affects the lungs themselves. Toxic fibers and dust burn airway linings inside the lungs, causing scar tissue buildup. Over time, the scar tissue blocks these airways. Substantial compensation is available for these victims as well.

Other asbestos exposure illnesses, such as abdominal cancer, are more indirect. Asbestos causes the free-radical particle level inside the body to rise. These particles are associated with all kinds of cancer.

Mesothelioma victims need and deserve significant compensation. For a confidential consultation with an experienced nationwide mesothelioma lawyer, contact the Throneberry Law Group. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start working for you.