On January 26, 2021, several public health advocacy organizations and scientists (Petitioners) filed a notice of intent (NOI) to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to compel it “to perform its non-discretionary duty to address the use and disposal of ‘legacy’ asbestos” in its risk evaluation for asbestos under Section 6(b) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  As reported in our January 4, 2021, memorandum, “EPA Publishes Final Risk Evaluation for Asbestos, Part 1:  Chrysotile Asbestos,” Part 1 of the risk evaluation for asbestos does not consider any legacy uses and associated disposal for chrysotile asbestos or other asbestos fiber types.  According to the NOI, because EPA “provided no specifics” about how it would conduct a future Part 2 evaluation focused on legacy uses, and did not set a schedule for completing it, “EPA failed to complete a full asbestos risk evaluation in accordance with TSCA by the June 19, 2020” deadline under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Act).  The NOI states that because the asbestos evaluation was required to assess the risks to human health of the use and disposal of legacy asbestos under TSCA as construed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families v. EPA, “EPA is in violation of a non-discretionary duty under [TSCA] section 20(a)(2).” For more information, please read the full memorandum.

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