READ Act

Summary: Reducing Exposure to Asbestos Database Act of 2015 or the READ Act This bill amends the Asbestos Information Act of 1988 to require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish and maintain a database of asbestos-containing products. The database must be accessible through EPA's website, publicly available, and searchable. An asbestos-containing product is any product to which asbestos is deliberately or knowingly added or in which asbestos is deliberately used or knowingly present in any concentration. Any person who manufactured, processed, distributed, sold, imported, transported, or stored an asbestos-containing product must report to the EPA each year to identify the characteristics and location of the asbestos-containing products.  Civil penalties are imposed upon any person who knowingly: (1) manufactured, processed, distributed, sold, imported, transported, or stored an asbestos-containing product and who did not submit a report; or (2) provides false or inaccurate information in a report or fails to provide required information. The Government Accountability Office must report on the utility of the database. The report must contain recommendations for measures to increase use of the database by consumers and further reduce the harm caused by exposure to asbestos.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Reducing Exposure to Asbestos 
Database Act of 2015'' or the ``READ Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
        Agency has classified asbestos as a category A human 
        carcinogen, the highest cancer hazard classification for a 
        substance;
            (2) the International Agency for Research on Cancer has 
        classified asbestos as a class 1 human carcinogen;
            (3) despite the enactment of the Asbestos Information Act 
        of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 2607 note; Public Law 100-577), which sought 
        to improve transparency and public awareness of the presence of 
        asbestos in commercial materials and products, many people in 
        the United States still incorrectly believe that--
                    (A) asbestos has been banned in the United States; 
                and
                    (B) there is no risk of exposure to asbestos 
                through the use of new commercial products;
            (4) asbestos is still being imported and used, and is 
        otherwise present as a contaminant, in some consumer and 
        industrial products in the United States;
            (5) according to the Environmental Protection Agency, the 
        manufacture, importation, processing, and distribution in 
        commerce of many asbestos-containing products are not banned in 
        the United States, including--
                    (A) cement corrugated sheet;
                    (B) cement flat sheet;
                    (C) clothing;
                    (D) pipeline wrap;
                    (E) roofing felt;
                    (F) vinyl floor tile;
                    (G) cement shingle;
                    (H) millboard;
                    (I) cement pipe;
                    (J) automatic transmission components;
                    (K) clutch facings;
                    (L) friction materials;
                    (M) disc brake pads;
                    (N) drum brake linings;
                    (O) brake blocks;
                    (P) gaskets;
                    (Q) non-roofing coatings; and
                    (R) roof coatings;
            (6) consumers and workers are at risk of asbestos exposure, 
        and families of workers are also put at risk because of 
        asbestos brought home by the workers on the shoes, clothes, 
        skin, and hair of the workers;
            (7) the Environmental Working Group estimates that as many 
        as 10,000 citizens of the United States die each year from 
        mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases;
            (8) the National Institutes of Health reported to Congress 
        that mesothelioma is a difficult disease to detect, diagnose, 
        and treat;
            (9) mesothelioma responds poorly to conventional 
        chemotherapy, and although new combination treatments for 
        mesothelioma have demonstrated some benefits--
                    (A) the median survival period for mesothelioma is 
                only 1 year after diagnosis of the disease; and
                    (B) the majority of mesothelioma patients die 
                within 2 years of diagnosis of the disease; and
            (10) until asbestos is completely banned from being used in 
        or imported into the United States, transparent and accessible 
        information about the location and identity of asbestos and 
        asbestos-containing products in the United States is necessary 
        to better protect consumers, workers, families, and the people 
        of the United States.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF ASBESTOS-CONTAINING PRODUCT DATABASE.

    The Asbestos Information Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 2607 note; Public 
Law 100-577) is amended--
            (1) in section 4--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (7) as 
                paragraphs (4) through (8), respectively; and
                    (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
            ``(3) Asbestos-containing product.--The term `asbestos-
        containing product' means any product (including any part) to 
        which asbestos is deliberately or knowingly added or in which 
        asbestos is deliberately used or knowingly present in any 
        concentration.'';
            (2) in section 2, by inserting ``(referred to in this Act 
        as the `Administrator')'' after ``Administrator of the 
        Environmental Protection Agency''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 5. ASBESTOS-CONTAINING PRODUCT DATABASE.

    ``(a) In General.--Using funds otherwise made available to the 
Administrator, the Administrator shall, in accordance with this 
section, establish and maintain a database of asbestos-containing 
products (referred to in this Act as the `database') that is--
            ``(1) publicly available;
            ``(2) searchable; and
            ``(3) accessible through the website of the Administrator.
    ``(b) Submission of Detailed Implementation Plan to Congress.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall submit to 
        the appropriate congressional committees a detailed plan for 
        establishing and maintaining the database, including plans for 
        the operation, content, maintenance, and functionality of the 
        database.
            ``(2) Integration.--The plan described in paragraph (1) 
        shall detail the integration of the database into the overall 
        information technology improvement objectives and plans of the 
        Administrator.
            ``(3) Implementation.--The plan described in paragraph (1) 
        shall include--
                    ``(A) a detailed implementation schedule for the 
                database; and
                    ``(B) plans for a public awareness campaign 
                conducted by the Administrator to increase awareness of 
                the database.
    ``(c) Date of Initial Availability.--Not later than 180 days after 
the date on which the Administrator submits the plan under subsection 
(b)(1), the Administrator shall establish the database.
    ``(d) Submission of Information on Asbestos-Containing Products.--
            ``(1) In general.--Beginning on the date that is 270 days 
        after the date of enactment of this section, and not less 
        frequently than annually thereafter, any person who 
        manufactured, processed, distributed, sold, imported, 
        transported, or stored an asbestos-containing product in the 
        immediately preceding calendar year shall submit to the 
        Administrator a written report, in a form to be determined by 
        the Administrator, containing information sufficient to 
        identify the characteristics and location of the asbestos-
        containing products.
            ``(2) Contents.--The report under paragraph (1) shall 
        include--
                    ``(A) the type or class of asbestos-containing 
                product;
                    ``(B) the manufacturer of the asbestos-containing 
                product;
                    ``(C) any applicable import history of the 
                asbestos-containing product;
                    ``(D) the name and street address of any location 
                accessible by the public in which the person has 
                reasonable knowledge that the asbestos-containing 
                product has been present within the immediately 
                preceding calendar year; and
                    ``(E) any additional information the Administrator 
                determines is appropriate to enable consumers and 
                workers to avoid exposure to asbestos-containing 
                products.
    ``(e) Organization of Database.--The Administrator shall--
            ``(1) categorize the information available on the 
        database--
                    ``(A) in a manner consistent with the public 
                interest; and
                    ``(B) in such manner as the Administrator 
                determines will facilitate easy use by consumers; and
            ``(2) ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that the 
        database is sortable and accessible by--
                    ``(A) the date on which information is submitted 
                for inclusion in the database;
                    ``(B) the name of the asbestos-containing product;
                    ``(C) the model name;
                    ``(D) the name of the manufacturer;
                    ``(E) the name of the importer, if applicable;
                    ``(F) the name of the reporting person;
                    ``(G) the name and street address of any location 
                in which an asbestos-containing product is reported to 
                have been present; and
                    ``(H) any other element the Administrator considers 
                to be in the public interest.

``SEC. 6. PENALTIES.

    ``(a) In General.--Any person who knowingly manufactured, 
processed, distributed, sold, imported, transported, or stored an 
asbestos-containing product in the immediately preceding calendar year 
and who did not submit a report to the Administrator under section 5 
shall be liable for a civil penalty of $10,000 for each day after the 
deadline under section 5(d)(1) the report has not been submitted.
    ``(b) False or Inaccurate Information.--Any person who knowingly 
provides false or inaccurate information in a report under section 5 or 
who knowingly fails to provide information required in a report under 
section 5 shall be liable for a civil penalty of $10,000 for each 
violation of this paragraph.''.

SEC. 4. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORT.

    Not later than 2 years after the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency establishes the database of asbestos-containing 
products under section 5(a) of the Asbestos Information Act of 1988 (15 
U.S.C. 2607 note; Public Law 100-577) (referred to in this section as 
the ``database''), the Comptroller General of the United States shall 
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that 
contains--
            (1) an analysis of the utility of the database, including--
                    (A) an assessment of the extent of use of the 
                database by consumers, including--
                            (i) whether the database is accessed by a 
                        broad range of the public; and
                            (ii) whether consumers find the database to 
                        be useful; and
                    (B) efforts by the Administrator to inform the 
                public about the database;
            (2) recommendations for measures to increase use of the 
        database by consumers; and
            (3) recommendations for measures to further reduce the harm 
        caused by exposure to asbestos, including bans on the 
        importation and use of asbestos-containing products.