Fifteen AGs Petitioned EPA to Improve Data Collection on Asbestos

JANUARY 31, 2019

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra led a coalition of 15 attorneys general in petitioning the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to close a data-reporting loophole for importers of asbestos, a dangerous mineral with no safe level of exposure for humans. Asbestos is a regulated substance under the Toxic Substances Control Act, which requires the EPA to collect comprehensive data on the mineral and assess its potential harm to human health and the environment. Importers are currently exempt from reporting asbestos under the agency’s Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule. In their petition, the attorneys general asked the EPA to close its “naturally occurring substance” exemption for asbestos reporting, and to subject all imported products or materials containing asbestos to the CDR rule’s reporting requirements.