Reports & Papers

CPR White Papers and Issue Alerts offer timely and thoughtful analysis on current policy issues, spanning the full range of environmental, health, safety and regulatory issues.

Chemical Detox for the Workplace

Inadequately regulated chemical hazards are at their deadliest in the workplace. People exposed to toxics at work tend to encounter dangerous substances more frequently, for longer durations, and at higher levels than the public at large. Workers are at substantial risk across dozens of sectors including agriculture, domestic cleaning, hair and nail salons, home repairs, building construction, and chemical manufacturing. Read CPR's Detox for the Workplace handbook to see how workers can protect themselves.

Type: Reports (April 10, 2019)
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Author(s): Thomas McGarity, Sidney Shapiro, Rena Steinzor, Katie Tracy
Toxic Floodwaters: The Threat of Climate-Driven Chemical Disaster in the James River Watershed

The James River watershed in Virginia is particularly vulnerable to the consequences of climate change. It faces higher than average sea-level rise, intensifying precipitation rates, and increased hurricane risks. As major storms cause serious and potentially toxic flooding in the James River watershed – and elsewhere in the United States – residents are reminded that the industries surrounding them are not doing enough to plan and adapt to our changing world.

Type: Reports (March 7, 2019)
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Author(s): David Flores, Noah Sachs
The Truth About Torts: Closing the Courthouse Door

In recent years, efforts to rein in excesses of corporations have run head-long into an assault on individuals' right to bring suit against manufacturers whose products or activities cause them harm. This push for what its backers call “tort reform,” has been driven by a seemingly endless stream of thinly fact-checked anecdotes about frivolous lawsuits and by a brazen effort to blame the rising costs of health care on malpractice lawsuits. CPR’s Member Scholars have conducted extensive research on the implications of "tort reform," and in a series of reports have debunked most of industry’s claims about the need for such measures.

Type: Reports (Jan. 1, 2019)
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Civil Justice in the United States: How Citizen Access to the Courts Is Essential to a Fair Economy

Americans depend on our civil courts to keep the economy on a fair and firm foundation, but a decades-long campaign to limit access and tamp down awards to injured parties has left courts with diminished power. In an era of rising economic insecurity and inequality that has left many individuals and communities struggling to overcome disadvantages beyond their control, we need legislators and policymakers at all levels of government to take action to promote greater access to justice.

Type: Reports (Sept. 19, 2018)
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Author(s): Sidney Shapiro, Martha McCluskey, Thomas McGarity, Karen Sokol, James Goodwin
From Surviving to Thriving: Equity in Disaster Planning and Recovery

CPR's new report brings together leading legal scholars to offer analysis and policy recommendations in From Surviving to Thriving: Equity in Disaster Planning and Recovery.

Type: Reports (Sept. 5, 2018)
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Author(s): Rebecca Bratspies, Maxine Burkett, John Echeverria, Daniel Farber, Victor Flatt, David Flores, Alyson Flournoy, Alice Kaswan, Christine Klein, Joel Mintz, Sidney Shapiro, Karen Sokol, Joseph Tomain, Katie Tracy, Robert Verchick
Halftime for the Chesapeake Bay

The long-running effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay to health has reached a critical juncture. The current restoration effort known as the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for the Bay established 2017 as the first of two key deadlines. By then, the state and federal partners were to have in place 60 percent of all projects, practices, and policies needed to reach final pollution reduction targets by 2025.

Type: Reports (May 28, 2018)
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Author(s): David Flores, Evan Isaacson
The Congressional Review Act: The Case for Repeal

The Congressional Review Act: The Case for Repeal, CPR Report 1801, by Thomas O. McGarity, Rena Steinzor, James Goodwin, and Katherine Tracy, May 2018.

Type: Reports (May 2, 2018)
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Author(s): Thomas McGarity, Rena Steinzor, James Goodwin, Katie Tracy
CRA by the Numbers

In the 115th Congress, the GOP majority’s push to dismantle safeguards for health, safety and the environment, no tool has been more useful than the once-obscure Congressional Review Act (CRA). The law allows for the repeal of duly enacted regulatory safeguards using procedures that bypass meaningful deliberation and scrutiny – skipping committee consideration and sidestepping the Senate’s 60-vote cloture requirement.

Type: Reports (April 5, 2018)
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Author(s): James Goodwin
Pollution Trading in Maryland: Three Fundamental Flaws in MDE’s Regulations

A short summary of key points from Trading Away Clean Water Progress in Maryland.

Type: Reports (Dec. 18, 2017)
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Trading Away Clean Water Progress in Maryland

Trading Away Clean Water Progress in Maryland, a joint publication from CPR and the Environmental Integrity Project, by CPR's Evan Isaacson and EIP's Abel Russ, with contributions from CPR's Rena Steinzor and Victor Flatt, December 2017.

Type: Reports (Dec. 18, 2017)
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Author(s): Evan Isaacson

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