What Year Did They Stop Using Asbestos in Homes? No Single Year

What year did they stop using asbestos in homes?

No single year. AES says asbestos “was widely used up until the mid-1980’s in the manufacture of many building materials including ceiling and floor tiles, roofing materials, and even in car brakes.” Federal bans arrived in steps, and each covered only some products. A house from the early 1980s can still hold asbestos, so the safe move is to test the material, not trust the year.

The EPA’s own dates support that. It lists Libby, Montana vermiculite as sold through 1990, and its broad 1989 ban was overturned in 1991. The only reliable answer comes from a lab report on the exact material you plan to disturb.

What are the key dates?

Federal actions came one product class at a time. Read the table as a guide to when products were pulled from the market, not as the date your house became safe.

The CPSC found that “about half the patching compounds sold in 1977” for consumers were made with asbestos. Compound bought before the ban can sit in a garage and go on a wall years later. A ban date tells you when sales stopped, not when the last bucket was used.

Why does a single ban date not settle it?

Because each rule named a narrow class of products. The 1973 and 1978 EPA actions covered spray-applied surfacing. The 1975 action covered pipe and block insulation, and only the pre-formed friable or wet-applied friable kinds. The 1978 CPSC rule covered consumer patching compounds. None of them said that floor tile, sheet flooring, furnace insulation, roofing or siding were free of asbestos afterward. The EPA still lists “Vinyl floor tiles and the backing on vinyl sheet flooring and adhesives” among places asbestos may be found in homes.

The EPA’s 1989 rule would have banned most asbestos-containing products. A court overturned it in 1991. The EPA’s own page says “only a few asbestos-containing products remain banned.” After 1991 no broad federal ban stood on most products. That is one reason a house from the 1980s can still contain asbestos.

Does the 2024 chrysotile rule change what is in my walls?

No. The rule governs manufacture, distribution and use of chrysotile going forward. It does not test or remove what is already in a house. The EPA describes a prohibition on “manufacture (including import), processing, distribution in commerce, and commercial use and disposal of chrysotile asbestos.” Your 1960s floor tile is not a product in commerce. It is a building material that you may or may not disturb.

For homeowners, the rules that matter day to day are the work-practice rules. In Missouri those are the Department of Natural Resources inspection, notice and abatement rules for regulated projects. Our Missouri asbestos rules guide explains when they apply.

How old are St. Louis houses compared with these dates?

Most local homes fall in the ranges where asbestos can appear. The 2024 American Community Survey (1-year) counts 174,694 housing units in the city of St. Louis. Of those, 4,693 were built from 1980 to 1989. In St. Louis County, 57,129 of 447,542 units were built from 1980 to 1989.

Notice the last row. A house built in 1990 can have a 1950s door salvaged into it. A house built in 1925 can have a 1972 furnace. The materials have their own birthdays.

What should I do to find out what my house has?

Follow these steps, in order.

1. Write down the build year and all remodel years you can learn from the seller, previous owners or records.
2. List the jobs you plan to do. Remodeling, demolition and repair are the usual ways fibers get released, according to the EPA.
3. Leave material alone if it is intact and you will not disturb it. The EPA says there is no need to test it.
4. If you will disturb a material, or it is damaged, hire a certified inspector to sample it. The EPA says “Taking samples yourself is not recommended.”
5. Read the lab report for the material, not the house. Ask what the result means for your planned work.
6. Match the result to a choice: leave it, encapsulate it, or have it removed by a registered contractor.

Our asbestos testing page explains what AES inspectors look at. The asbestos survey page explains the survey types. For a step-by-step look at one home, read the testing guide for older St. Louis homes.

Where does asbestos from this era show up most?

Floor tile, floor glue, furnace and pipe wrap, ceiling texture, siding and shingles. Our asbestos in older St. Louis homes guide gives the full room-by-room list. For floors, see asbestos floor tile. Learn the terms friable asbestos and asbestos-containing material so you can read a lab report with confidence.

Next step

If your house is from the mid-1980s or earlier and you plan work, test first. Call Advanced Environmental Services at (314) 865-2662 or use our contact page to talk about asbestos abatement or testing. We will tell you plainly what the lab results mean for your project.