Last week, the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its rollback of chemical disaster prevention requirements by proposing to eliminate Risk Management Program safeguards.
Below is a statement from Darya Minovi, a senior analyst for the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
Lana Cohen
“Dismantling these hard-won protections puts workers, first responders, and millions of people living at the fenceline of hazardous chemical plants in danger. Serious chemical incidents continue to occur across the country, causing preventable injuries, deaths and costly damage to surrounding communities, which are disproportionately low-income and communities of color.
“Rolling back requirements for safer technologies, planning for extreme weather events, emergency preparedness, and worker safety protections ignores both the scientific evidence and lessons learned from past disasters. Additionally, it moves the EPA further away from its responsibility to use the best available science and data to reduce foreseeable harm and protect public health. People deserve confidence that federal policy is working to reduce risks – not increase them.”