was banned in England, Scotland and Wales in 1999 by The Asbestos (Prohibitions) (Amendment) Regulations 1999. Asbestos was banned in Northern Ireland in 2000 by the Asbestos (Prohibitions) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000. United States The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has no general ban on the use of asbestos. However, asbestos was one of the first hazardous air pollutants regulated under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act of 1970, and many applications have been forbidden by the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The United States has extensive laws regulating the use of asbestos at the federal, state, and local level. Litigation One of the major issues relating to asbestos in civil procedure is the latency of asbestos-related diseases. Most countries have limitation periods to bar actions that are taken long after the cause of action has lapsed. For example, in Malaysia the time period to file a tort action is six years from the time the tort occurred. Due to several asbestos-related actions, countries such as Australia have amended their laws relating to limitations to accumulate starting from time of discovery rather than time when the cause of action accrued. The first employee claims for injury from exposure to asbestos in the workplace were made in 1927, and the first lawsuit against an asbestos manufacturer was filed in 1929. Since then, many lawsuits have been filed. As a result of the litigation, manufacturers sold off subsidiaries, diversified, produced asbestos substitutes, and started asbestos removal businesses. Brazil In June 2008, the Brazilian Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF), voted to maintain the law (12.684/07) which prohibits the use of any product which utilizes asbestos in São Paulo State. It is expected that the decision will be extended to include the whole country. South Africa The Lubbe v Cape Plc case [2000] UKHL 41 is a conflict of laws case, which is also significant for the question of "lifting the corporate veil" in relation to tort victims. Mrs Lubbe was exposed to asbestos while working for a South African subsidiary company of the UK parent company, Cape plc. The Richard Meeran-run Cape Plc case was settled in 2003. The Richard Spoor-run Gencor case was settled in 2003. 400 Swaziland ARD victims from the Havelock mine The Havelock chrysotile mine cases were suspended in 2003 because Turner and Newall, the company that owned the mine, had filed for bankruptcy in 2001. Swiss Eternit Group