Conn. joins multistate suit against EPA over asbestos
HARTFORD — Connecticut and a coalition of states are suing the federal Environmental Protection Agency to force more control over asbestos, a known cancercausing substance.
“Asbestos is a dangerous and deadly carcinogen,” Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said last week as he joined litigation led by California and Massachusetts.
Connecticut, 10 other states and Washington, D.C., filed suit against the EPA to force the agency to collect more data about the importation, processing and use of asbestos and asbestoscontaining products in the U.S.
“Without comprehensive data on where asbestos is processed and used, we simply cannot adequately protect the public from this toxic threat,” Tong said.
The EPA earlier this
year rejected a petition from states to implement reporting requirements to document products containing asbestos, their origin and who is making them.
The information could help gauge the danger posed to the public or to argue for an outright ban, activists have said.
EPA officials declined comment on the lawsuits while saying protecting the public from dangerous substances remains a top priority.
‘No safe level’
Asbestos is a carcinogen that health experts say claims 15,000 lives a year and is linked to mesothelioma, fibrosis, lung cancer, gastrointestinal cancer and other lung disorders and diseases.
Limited use of asbestos is still allowed, although the 2016 Federal Toxic Substances Control Act created a process to enact tighter regulation.
Asbestos was once widely used as fire retardant and as insulation. But health concerns led to bans against those uses and the substance is now routinely removed from older homes undergoing renovation to prevent it from becoming airborne.
But asbestos is still used in products such as brake pads, clutches, hood liners, gaskets, valves, cement and tiles.
Tong noted there is no safe level of exposure, noting the EPA refused to even collect data about the use of asbestoscontaining products.
“We have filed this lawsuit to force the EPA to fulfill its obligations under federal law,” Tong said.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the EPA’s refusal meant states had to take the lead.
“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,” Becerra said in a release.
Also joining the legal action are Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington.
The EPA in April issued a new rule to restrict some asbestos use but refused to enact an outright ban. The move marked the first new action regarding asbestos in 30 years.