States File Lawsuit Against EPA Over Asbestos Regulation

A coalition of attorneys general from 10 states and the District of Columbia has filed a federal lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency seeking increased scrutiny on asbestos products. The lawsuit is challenging the EPA’s reluctance to initiate tighter controls or an outright ban of asbestos within the Toxic Substances Control Act, which was revised in 2016. At issue is the EPA’s denial of a petition filed by 15 attorneys general in January that would have required more data collection and tracking of chemicals, including asbestos, coming into the U.S. The lawsuit says the data collection is necessary to provide the information needed to more closely regulate asbestos under the Toxic Substances Control Act. The EPA dismissed the concern, announcing its own tighter regulations the same month. Federal law still allows very limited uses of asbestos. The EPA’s latest regulation already gave it more power to review all asbestos products no longer on the market before they could be sold again in the U.S. An estimated 10,000 people within the U.S. die each year from asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis. A spokesman for the EPA said the agency does not discuss pending litigation and declined to comment on the latest development. The attorneys general, though, wanted their thoughts to be known. “While it’s troubling that we must once again take the EPA to court to force the agency to do its job, we won’t pull any punches,...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Source Type: news