Controlled Use

"Controlled use" is the asbestos industry's long-standing argument that asbestos can be handled safely if workers follow engineering controls, dust limits, protective equipment rules, and work practices. Industry trade groups and producers used this doctrine for decades to oppose outright bans and to keep asbestos products on the market even after the health hazards were well documented.

Origin

The phrase rose to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s as governments began considering bans. The Asbestos Institute of Canada (founded 1984, later the Chrysotile Institute) and producer groups like the Asbestos Information Association of North America formally adopted "controlled use" as their public policy position, particularly to defend continued mining and export of chrysotile asbestos.

Significance in Asbestos Context

For patients, "controlled use" is often at the heart of why their exposure happened at all. Manufacturers and employers used this doctrine to justify continuing to sell, install, and work with asbestos long after the dangers were known internally. In litigation, defendants may still invoke versions of this argument to claim they followed the standards of their time or that the patient's specific exposure was within "safe" limits. Documents showing that the same companies promoting controlled use privately knew their thresholds were inadequate are powerful evidence of knowledge and conduct, and your legal team will likely look for product literature, safety data sheets, and industry memos from the era of your exposure.

Example Sentence

The defense expert argued the plant followed a "controlled use" program, but internal memos from the 1970s showed management knew the dust levels routinely exceeded what their own industrial hygienist considered safe.

Related Terms

Threshold Limit Value (TLV), Chrysotile Institute, State of the Art Defense, Asbestos Information Association, OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit, Sophisticated User Doctrine

Notes

• If you worked in an industry that claimed to follow "controlled use" practices (shipyards, refineries, power plants, asbestos-cement plants, brake shops), ask your legal team to request employer industrial hygiene records, air sampling data, and respirator fit-test records for the years you worked there.
• Preserve any product packaging, warning labels (or lack of them), safety data sheets, and training materials you may still have. These directly contradict or confirm employer claims about controlled-use compliance.
• Tell your attorneys about coworkers who can describe actual dust conditions on the job; testimony about visible dust, missing ventilation, or unavailable respirators is often more persuasive than the company's paper compliance program.
• Be aware that Canada, Russia, and several other producer countries continued to promote controlled use of chrysotile into the 2000s, which is relevant if your exposure involved imported products or work abroad.