Eleven AGs Filed Lawsuit against EPA Over Refusal to Strengthen Asbestos Reporting Requirements

JUNE 28, 2019

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra led a coalition of 11 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its denial of the states’ January 2019 petition to close loopholes in the agency’s data reporting requirements for asbestos. In their complaint, the attorneys general noted that the EPA’s decision to deny their petition violates its statutory obligations under the Toxic Substances Control Act’s Chemical Data Reporting rule, which requires the agency to fully evaluate and mitigate the risks associated with toxic substances that pose a known danger to human health and the environment. The petition would have forced the EPA to address a significant loophole in its current asbestos data reporting requirements that applies to the majority of asbestos-containing materials that are imported into the United States. The provision of this data would be consistent with the “right to know” intent of the Toxic Substances Control Act, and would provide states with critical information needed to keep their communities safe.