Many uses of asbestos have been banned in the United States. However, the chlor-alkali industry still relies on the use of asbestos to produce chlorine, sodium hydroxide, and hydrogen (https://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/jillian/how-asbestos-invaded-the-chlorine-industry.htm).
The chlor-alkali industry has long been using dangerous materials like asbestos and mercury to manufacture these chemicals. A safer alternative has been introduced that uses a polymer, rather than asbestos or mercury, in the production process. Unfortunately, many plants are resisting the transition to this newer, safer method due to the time and cost involved in converting their plants (https://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/jillian/how-asbestos-invaded-the-chlorine-industry.htm).
Not surprisingly, there are actually several effective alternatives to asbestos, you can read about them here. These alternatives have been beneficial to other industries that are no longer able to use asbestos because they were able to switch to the available safer alternatives. Switching to safer alternatives means a safer working environment for thousands of people, which is worth the time and cost.
Recent amended chemical laws have led to the review of asbestos and other chemicals (http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/asbestos-dry-cleaning-agent-10-chemicals-review-50701172). This review may mean changing regulations for industries like the chlor-alkali industry that still rely on hazardous materials, which might bring about a positive change for workers as they are forced to transition to safer alternatives.
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