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Year

Environmental Justice and Health Alliance Statement on Chemical Facility Safety and Security Report: Time to put action to words

June 6, 2014

(Washington, DC) The federal Interagency Working Group on Chemical Facility Safety and Security released its report to President Obama, which includes recommendations for actions to prevent chemical disasters like the April 2013 explosion in West, Texas that leveled an entire neighborhood. The recommendations from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) were finalized following an extensive stakeholder process including public Listening Sessions around the country. Read More

Chemical Disasters and Environmental Racism: New report documents Black and Latino communities at higher risk for chemical catastrophe

May 1, 2014

(Washington, DC) A new report uses data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Census to demonstrate an association between lower average housing values, incomes, and education levels, and greater Black, Latino, and low-income populations living within chemical disaster “vulnerability zones” of 3,433 industrial facilities across the U.S. Read More

New Republican House Bill “Chemicals in Commerce Act” (CICA) Promotes Environmental Racism

March 3, 2014

(Washington, DC)  A new bill introduced by House Republican John Shimkus (R-Illinois) with the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday, called “The Chemicals in Commerce Act,” would insure that regulations on toxic chemicals continue to disproportionately harm people of color. Read More

Chemical Disaster in New Jersey? President Obama Executive Order “Listening Sessions”

February 27, 2014

(Newark, NJ) Hidden toxic chemicals that are manufactured, stored, and transported throughout New Jersey are the focus of the “Listening Sessions” in Newark, as directed by President Obama’s Executive Order 13650 - Improving Chemical Safety and Security. “Listening Sessions” are being held at various locations across the country. A chemical disaster in the New Jersey-New York area could kill or injure thousands of people within minutes according the US Naval Research Laboratory. Read More

Chemical Disaster in Baton Rouge? President Obama Executive Order “Listening Sessions”

February 17, 2014

(New Orleans, LA) Hidden toxic chemicals that are manufactured, stored, and transported throughout Louisiana are the focus of the “Listening Session” in Baton Rouge, as directed by an Executive Order  (EO) from President Obama called Executive Order 13650 - Improving Chemical Safety and Security. “Listening Sessions” are being held at various locations across the country. Read More

Toxic Threats to People of Color; Gathering of Environmental Justice leaders in Denver

February 11, 2014

(Denver, CO) Juan Parras, executive director of the Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (t.e.j.a.s.) in Houston, TX, is on the front line of a chemical disaster wiping out the entire Manchester community in Houston. Hundreds of chemical storage facilities in Houston are located in low-income communities and communities of color.  Parras explains, “Today is the 20th Anniversary of Executive Order 12898, to address Environmental Justice in 'Minority' and Low Income Populations, issued by President Clinton. We came to Denver to celebrate our successes, but more importantly, we came because the work is far from done.” Read More

Chemical Disaster in Houston? President Obama Executive Order “Listening Sessions”

January 21, 2014

(Houston, TX) Hidden toxic chemicals stored and transported throughout Texas are the focus of the “Listening Session” in Houston, as directed by an Executive Order (EO) from President Obama called Executive Order 13650 - Improving Chemical Safety and Security. “Listening Sessions” are being held at various locations across the country. The EO was created in response to the West, Texas explosion that killed 15 people in April, 2013. Since then, there have been a multitude of plant explosions and train derailments. On January 9th, a West Virginia chemical spill devastated the watershed of 9 counties leaving 300,000 people without drinking water. Just before Christmas, an explosion near Mossville, Louisiana sickened motorists driving by the plant, sending them to the hospital.  Read More

Chemical Disasters in California? President Obama’s Executive Order on Chemical Security “Listening Sessions”

January 6, 2014

(Sacramento, CA) In the wake of the chemical disaster that killed 14 in West, Texas, President Obama issued an executive order on August 1st, 2013, requiring the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Labor to coordinate their activities to propose new policies that will significantly enhance the safety and security of thousands of chemical facilities across the U.S.  Read More