The following is an excerpt. The full article is available from Environment and Energy Daily. A battle in the House Environment and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee over legislation that would place an outright ban on asbestos in certain products is sparking questions about whether such a restriction is feasible. Subcommittee Chairman Albert Wynn (D-Md.), who is leaving office in June, is pushing to keep a Senate exception that would allow up to 1 percent asbestos by weight in certain products out of House legislation. His committee is developing a bill that would ban asbestos in those products entirely. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) told E&E Daily she had to include the 1 percent exception in order to convince the Senate to pass S. 742 in October. That bill would amend the Toxic Substances Control Act, directing EPA to issue a ban on asbestos-containing materials. ... The European Union banned asbestos in 2005. More than 43,000 U.S. citizens have died of asbestos-related diseases since 1979, according to an Environmental Working Group study.