text: Total bans are always the easy road to take in complicated situations. But it is usually the wrong road. As the dangers of asbestos have become known over the last 30 years its use in construction and materials has plummeted. It now remains mainly "locked up" between the walls of old buildings as insulation. It is harmful if inhaled, but just as cigarettes are safe as long as they remain in the packet, so asbestos in old buildings is safe if  sealed and left alone. Banning asbestos would inevitably lead to a surge in removal from old buildings that could increase, rather than decrease, exposure to workers. Better to keep tightening the regulations on new use and safely and slowly remove old asbestos in small quantities as necessary.