was outlawed in 1999. the 2012 control of asbestos regulations, updating and replacing the previous 2006 law, state that owners of non-domestic buildings (e.g., factories and offices) have a "duty to manage" asbestos on the premises by making themselves aware of its presence and ensuring the material does not deteriorate, removing it if necessary. employers, e.g. construction companies, whose operatives may come into contact with asbestos must also provide annual asbestos training to their workers. united states researcher using a fiber length classifier to produce length-selected fibers of asbestos for toxological studies the united states remains one of the few developed countries to not completely ban asbestos. some american workers at chlorine plants frequently come in contact with the substance, and osha exempts these plants from random inspections through the voluntary protection program. in 1989 the united states environmental protection agency (epa) issued the asbestos ban and phase-out rule but in 1991, asbestos industry supporters challenged and overturned the ban in a landmark lawsuit: corrosion proof fittings v. the environmental protection agency. although the case resulted in several small victories for asbestos regulation, the epa ultimately did not put an end to asbestos use. the ruling left many consumer products that can still legally contain trace amounts of asbestos. six categories of asbestos-containing products are however banned: corrugated paper, rollboard, commercial paper, specialty paper, flooring felt and any new uses of asbestos. the clean air act also bans asbestos pipe insulation and asbestos block insulation on components such as boilers and hot water tanks, and spray-applied surfacing asbestos-containing materials. the consumer product safety act bans asbestos in artificial fireplace embers and wall patching compounds. the food and drug administration bans asbestos-containing filters in pharmaceutical manufacturing, processing, and packing. starting in 2014, washington has banned asbestos in automotive brakes. mexico since 1970, as a result of increased regulation of asbestos in europe and in the united states, there was a massive transfer of asbestos-processing enterprises to mexico. asbestos is used in many products – roofing, boilers, pipes, brakes, and wires, produced by over 2,000 mexican companies, many of them subsidiaries or subcontractors of us companies, and sold throughout the americas. in 2000, 58% of mexican asbestos-containing exports went to the united states, and 40% to central american countries and cuba. vietnam corrugated asbestos roof (with fibre cement) in vietnam, chrysotile asbestos is not banned and is still widely used. amphibole asbestos is banned from trade and use. vietnam is one of the top 10 asbestos users in the world, with an annual import volume of about 65,000–70,000 tons of chrysotile. about 90% of the imported asbestos is used to produce about 100 million m2 of cement roofing sheets (asbestos-cement). according to one study, among 300 families in yen bai, thanh hoa, 85% of households use asbestos roofing sheets, but only 5% know about the negative health effects. however, the master plan (for construction materials development to 2020 with orientation to 2030 submitted by the ministry of construction to the government in january 2014) still suggests continued use of chrysotile for a long time. substitutes for asbestos in construction fiberglass insulation was invented in 1938 and is now the most commonly used type of insulation material. the safety of this material has also been called into question due to similarities in material structure. however, the international agency for research on cancer removed fiberglass from its list of possible human carcinogens in 2001. a scientific review article from 2011 claimed epidemiology data was inconsistent and concluded that the iarc's decision to downgrade the carcinogenic potential of fiberglass was valid, although this study was funded by a sponsored research contract from the north american insulation manufacturer's association. in 1978, a highly texturized fiberglass fabric was invented by bal dixit, called zetex. this fabric is lighter than asbestos but offers the same bulk, thickness, hand, feel, and abrasion resistance as asbestos. the fiberglass was texturized to eliminate some of the problems that arise with fiberglass, such as poor abrasion resistance and poor seam strength. in europe, mineral wool and glass wool are the main insulators in houses. many companies that produced asbestos-cement products that were reinforced with asbestos fibers have developed products incorporating organic fibers. one such product was known as "eternit" and another "everite" now use "nutec" fibers which consist of organic fibers, portland cement and silica. cement-bonded wood fiber is another substitute. stone fibers are used in gaskets and friction materials. another potential fiber is polybenzimidazole or pbi fiber. polybenzimidazole fiber is a synthetic fiber with a high melting point of 760 °c (1,400 °f) that also does not ignite. because of its exceptional thermal and chemical stability, it is often used by fire departments and space agencies. recycling and disposal wailuku, hawaii post office sealed off for asbestos removal in most developed countries, asbestos is typically disposed of as hazardous waste in designated landfill sites. the demolition of buildings containing large amounts of asbestos-based materials pose particular problems for builders and property developers – such buildings often have to be deconstructed piece by piece, or the asbestos has to be painstakingly removed before the structure can be razed by mechanical or explosive means. one such example is the red road flats in glasgow, scotland which used huge amounts of asbestos cement board for wall panelling – british health and safety regulations stipulate that asbestos material has to be removed in specially adapted vehicles and taken to a landfill site with an appropriate permit to accept asbestos, via an approved route, at certain times of the day. in the united states, the epa governs the removal and disposal of asbestos strictly. companies that remove asbestos must comply with epa licensing. these companies are called epa licensed asbestos contractors. anytime one of these asbestos contractors performs work a test consultant has to conduct strict testing to ensure the asbestos is completely removed. asbestos can be destroyed by ultra-high-temperature incineration and plasma melting process. a process of thermal decomposition at 1,000–1,250 °c (1,800–2,300 °f) produces a mixture of non-hazardous silicon-based wastes, and at temperatures above 1,250 °c (2,300 °f) it produces silicate glass. microwave thermal treatment can be used in an industrial manufacturing process to transform asbestos and asbestos-containing waste into porcelain stoneware tiles, porous single-fired wall tiles, and ceramic bricks. the combination of oxalic acid with ultrasound fully degrades chrysotile asbestos fibers. abbreviations associated with asbestos acm: asbestos-containing material (technically, material containing more than 1% asbestos) aib: asbestos insulating board (aib)