 In 1989, the EPA created the ban and phase-out rule, which would have eventually led to a complete ban of asbestos-containing material. The last asbestos mine in the United States closed in 2003. And still, the legacy of asbestos exposure looms large, where an estimated quarter million people a year die from complications due to asbestos exposure, mostly from cancers like mesothelioma. What was once touted as the miracle mineral that could solve almost any problem has now become the enemy.