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Unsafe EPA Asbestos Experiment and the Federal Tort Claims Act

According to an internal audit conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of the Inspector General titled “EPA’s Alternative Asbestos Control Method Experiments Lacked Effective Oversight and Threatened Human Health,” asbestos removal experiments conducted by the EPA for more than a decade threatened both human health and the environment.

The OIG report, which was released on September 25, 2014, provides that experiments conducted between 2004 and 2012 to study alternative methods to demolish building containing asbestos may have exposed workers and the public to harm. Included in the OIG report are conclusions that the EPA used its enforcement discretion to ignore violations of environmental law, and that the EPA’s research lacked appropriate oversight and research goals.

If the AACM experiments caused harm, the government may be liable for damages under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). Basic information about the FTCA can be found in a previous post titled “Suing the Government For Negligence Under the Federal Tort Claims Act.”

Bottar Law, PLLC has decades of experience investigating, prosecuting and trying to verdict all types of severe personal injury cases, including asbestos exposure. To learn more about your rights, please feel free to contact the Firm by telephone, email, or by submitting an online contact form.

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