Asbestos Litigation

The Supreme Court of India recently declined to ban asbestos in the country.

While India still allows for the manufacturing of the materials containing the carcinogenic substance, the country's highest court did direct the federal government and state governments to create agencies to help regulate the production and use of asbestos, according to the Hindu.

The news source reports that Chief Justice S. H. Kapadia also asked certain state governments to follow a 1995 Supreme Court ruling that put in place some guidelines for the use of asbestos in building materials.

Asbestos has been used around the world for centuries because of its utility as an insulator and flame resistant properties. However, by the mid-1960s it became known that the naturally occurring mineral could cause asbestosis, lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma, a rare cancer affecting the thin membrane that lines the chest, abdomen and many of the body's internal organs.

While asbestos has been banned in more than 50 countries around the world, not including the U.S., the hazardous mineral is still used in many nations.