The limitations in G.S. 99E-52 shall apply to any successor but shall not apply to any of the following:
(1) Workers' compensation benefits paid by or on behalf of an employer to an employee under the provisions of Chapter 97 of the General Statutes, or a comparable workers' compensation law of another jurisdiction.
(2) Any claim against a corporation that does not constitute a successor asbestos-related liability.
(3) Any obligation under the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 151, et seq., as amended, or under any collective bargaining agreement.
(4) A successor that, after a merger or consolidation, continued in the business of mining asbestos or in the business of selling or distributing asbestos fibers or in the business of manufacturing, distributing, removing, or installing asbestos-containing products which were the same or substantially the same as those products previously manufactured, distributed, removed, or installed by the transferor.