Advocates Call On EPA for Increased Chemical Safety, Security

Media Contacts

PennPIRG


Five Million at Risk from Pennsylvania Toxic Facilities

Philadelphia – On Thursday, in light of recent toxic chemical spills and accidents, PennPIRG called on the EPA to take action to protect the public from the dangers of high-risk chemical plants. Activists gathered today outside the EPA Region 3 offices in Philadelphia to release “Danger In Our Backyards: The Threat of Chemical Facilities to Millions”, a report that highlights two Philadelphia-area plants as posing significant threats to public safety. Over five million people live near a high-risk Pennsylvania chemical plant.

“The EPA has the authority to make our communities safe from another spill,” said Caroline Sorensen, PennPIRG campaign coordinator. “We can’t just sit around and wait for another Paulsboro spill or West, Texas explosion. It’s time for the EPA to act.”

President Barack Obama recently issued an Executive Order directing government agencies to coordinate efforts to improve safety and security at chemical facilities nationwide. Specifically the order calls for improved coordination among federal, state, and local agencies, and requires federal agencies to “modernize policies, regulations and standards” at the nation’s thousands of chemical facilities.

The EPA has the authority under the Clean Air Act to require certain chemical facilities to use safer alternatives and safer processing in plants wherever possible. In 2009, Clorox voluntarily began to convert its bleach-manufacturing facilities to a high-strength liquid alternative to chlorine gas, dramatically reducing the risks associated with a potential accident.

“With the President’s direction and a confirmed EPA Administrator, moving to safer alternatives should be an easy next step,” said Michael Bralow, a member of PennPIRG’s citizen outreach staff. “There are real solutions and safer alternatives available right now that we could already be using.”

Home to 11 high-risk chemical plants and crisscrossed by some of the busiest highways and railroad lines in the nation, the Philadelphia area faces a particularly high risk of a chemical accident.  A single accident at the Trainer Refinery, just a few miles from Philadelphia, could put up to 2.4 million people in danger.

Last winter, a train carrying vinyl chloride and other chemicals derailed near the town of Paulsboro, NJ, ten miles outside of Philadelphia. The accident caused no fatalities, but 71 people were sent to the hospital because of exposure to vinyl chloride, and the entire town was evacuated. Vinyl chloride exposure can cause dizziness, respiratory irritation, and organ damage.

“We’ve spoken with over 25,000 people about this issue across the state and the overwhelming majority of people want safer alternatives now,” said Bralow. 

PennPIRG is a member of the Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters that produced this report.

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PennPIRG, the Pennsylvania  Public Interest Research Group, takes on powerful interests on behalf of its members, working to win concrete results for our health and our well-being.