WASHINGTON — Labor, lawmakers and environmental advocates gathered this week to voice opposition to proposed federal rules that would roll back protections for people living near hazardous facilities across the country.
“This is just the latest example of this administration going to great lengths to prioritize industry profits over the health and safety of workers, first responders, and the communities that allow businesses to survive in the first place,” Democratic Rep. Paul Tonko of New York said at a press conference on March 25 at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. The event was sponsored by the Chemical Hazard Prevention Coalition, a coalition of community, environmental and labor organizations working to strengthen federal regulations to prevent chemical hazards.
In 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Safer communities through chemical accident prevention regulationsthis is the agency’s risk management program (RMP) was established in 1996 to better protect communities from catastrophic chemical releases and explosions by requiring facilities to identify safer technologies and chemical alternatives, implement safety measures, investigate incidents more thoroughly, and conduct third-party audits.
It also called for a notification system to increase transparency by warning communities about releases of toxic chemicals, assess natural disaster risks, and provide communities with access to facility information.
Most of the new safety measures in the rule apply to more than 11,000 facilities across the United States and are scheduled to go into effect in 2027.
But in February, the Trump EPA proposed instead: Common sense approach to chemical accident prevention regulationsThis would rescind or modify most of the accident prevention changes finalized in 2024 and rescind most of the provisions to make facility information more publicly available, among other changes. The EPA’s website says the proposed rollback will reduce regulatory burden on facilities, provide clarity, and remove regulatory requirements it considers redundant or unnecessary.
“The proposed amendments will ensure long-term access to information to the public to facilitate community response planning and preparedness, while balancing on-the-ground security concerns,” the agency’s website says.
Once finalized, EPA estimates the rollback will result in annual cost savings. More than $200 million difference. agency has extended comment The proposed rule is valid until May 11th.
The industry has expressed support for the rollback. Rebecca O’Donnell, associate director of process safety and occupational health at the American Chemistry Council (ACC), said at the March 10 meeting. public hearing In 2024, ACC member states reported the lowest number of unplanned chemical releases on record. 22% decrease since 2017.
But critics point to the millions of Americans who live near dangerous facilities and recent accidents as evidence that America needs more protection, not less.
Estimation 177 million Americans – More than half of the U.S. population – lives in “.”vulnerability zone” high-risk industrial facilities are at risk in the event of a chemical accident. Between 2004 and 2020, More than 19,000 people injured, 90 killed According to the Earthjustice group, this is due to incidents at these facilities. According to a 2014 report by the Center for Effective Government: 1 in 3 children in the US Attend schools in vulnerable areas. The report was released on the heels of a 2013 fertilizer plant explosion in West Texas that killed 15 people, injured more than 200 and destroyed more than 150 buildings, including three schools.
More than a decade later, many communities continue to live in the shadow of factories that reportedly lack proper safety measures.
Narelli Hidalgo Community Outreach Organizer for Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (Tejas) Groupsaid at a press conference Wednesday that Harris County, Texas, where she lives, has more than 200 facilities that handle hazardous chemicals.
Recent incidents in other communities have highlighted the continuing concerns of many residents as plans wind down.
Earlier this month, the Silfab Solar facility in Fort Mill, South Carolina, 2 leaks in 1 week – First, potassium hydroxide solution, which can cause severe burns, and then hydrofluoric acid, which can cause severe tissue damage and extreme airway irritation.
Both the company and county officials blame the leak. do not pose a threat to the publicSilfab Solar resumed operations after being evaluated by the state Department of Environmental Services and the EPA, but state regulators say the facility will cease operations using the two leaked chemicals until the company signs a contract to work with an engineer who will provide information to regulators about future leaks.
The facility is just sitting A few hundred yards from the elementary schoolwas closed for two days after the second breach.
And just this week, on the night of March 23, an explosion at the Valero refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, reportedly shook the community and injured the worker who filed the complaint. lawsuit The company argued Wednesday in state district court that it did not properly maintain the facility.
Philip Stagg, a process safety expert and vice president of the local chapter of the United Steelworkers union, said at a news conference that he was home at the time of the explosion and felt the house shake. Stagg said he is concerned about how insufficient regulation of hazardous chemical plants will impact local communities. He said his children attend a school 600 feet from another facility in the area.
“When there’s an explosion or a chemical release, that gate isn’t a magical barrier that stops everything,” Stagg said. “We feel that what these companies need to show is transparency. We’re not asking for trade secrets. I feel that even if a safer alternative is put on the table and the companies reject it, people have a right to know.”
Featured image: Environmental justice advocate Narelli Hidalgo speaks at a press event in Washington, DC. (Credit: Shannon Kelleher/The New Lede)
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Shannon Kelleher is a staff reporter at The New Lede. Shannon earned her master’s degree in science journalism from Boston University in 2015, and her research has appeared in The Guardian, Environmental Health News, Mongabay, The Atlantic, and more. She has been a guest on the radio show Living on Earth and is a member of the Environmental Journalists Association and the DC Science Writers Association. Prior to joining TNL in 2022, Shannon wrote news articles and press releases for the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She lives in Washington, DC.
