Campaigns and Projects
Chemical Disaster Prevention Program
Chemical fires, explosions and toxic releases are shockingly common in the US. Communities of color and low-income communities are most at risk.
Across the United States, over 12,000 high-risk chemical facilities put 39% of the US population (124 million people) who live within three miles of these sites at constant risk of a chemical disaster. The full vulnerability zones for these industrial and commercial sites can extend up to twenty-five miles in radius. Many communities of color and low-income communities face disproportionate risk from these facilities, and often face other health hazards as well, such as high levels of toxic pollution, and higher rates of hospitalization and mortality from COVID-19.
But commonsense solutions exist that can prevent chemical disasters and protect workers and communities at the fenceline.
The EPA’s Risk Management Plan (RMP) Rule regulates these 12,000 high-risk chemical facilities nationwide and is currently being updated. Coming Clean and the Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform (EJHA) are mobilizing a broad coalition of stakeholders to demand a stronger rule that will protect workers and communities, and prevent chemical disasters.
Op-eds
Strengthening this one rule could keep frontline communities safe from their toxic neighbors
By State Representatives Attica Scott (KY) and Larry Lambert (DE)
"For decades our constituents have lived under the constant threat of explosions or toxic releases in our neighborhoods, never knowing what or when the next disaster will be... This week we joined more than 70 elected officials from 16 states and territories nationwide in writing a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan urging him to place disaster prevention and environmental justice at the center of an updated rule."
It's time to stop rolling the dice on chemical disasters
By Pam Nixon (WV)
"Have you ever watched somebody shake a can of soda, and then get ready to crack open the top? You know it’s going to explode, but you don’t know when, or how bad it will be. That’s what it’s like living near a chemical plant. Except the consequences can be deadly. As a lifelong resident of Kanawha County, West Virginia — an area that has been home to dozens of industrial facilities making everything from pesticides to plastics — I know this uncertain feeling all too well."
Explore the data: has there been a chemical incident near you?
Data from Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters shows that chemical incidents such as fires, explosions and toxic releases happen every other day in the US.
Highlighted Reports & Resources
- Preventing Disaster: Three chemical incidents within two weeks show urgent need for stronger federal requirements. This report profiles three chemical incidents that occurred within two weeks in January 2022 and recommends specific safety measures that the EPA should require in its Risk Management Program (RMP) rule in order to prevent future chemical disasters.
- Transitioning to Safer Substitutes. Our infographic shows how a water reclamation plant in Albuquerque, New Mexico was able to stop storing dangerous quantities of chlorine gas on site by switching to an ultraviolet light disinfection system, after residents took action.
- The Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters maintains an ongoing list of chemical incidents in the United States- there have been over 600 dangerous chemical incidents since 2020. Learn more.
- Unprepared for Disaster: Chemical Hazards in the Wake of Hurricane Ida. In this 2021 report, we profile three facilities in Louisiana that put communities at risk by releasing toxic chemicals into the environment after being hit with high winds and flooding from Hurricane Ida. We recommend several ways the EPA could meaningfully update its Risk Management Program to prevent chemical disasters from happening in the first place.
- Read the public comments submitted by Coming Clean, EJHA and over 80 organizations submitted to calling for a stronger Risk Management Plan (RMP) rule, and watch the testimonies of advocates and frontline community members affected by past chemical disasters.
- The Louisville Charter for Safer Chemicals is our roadmap for transforming the chemical industry, endorsed by over 125 organizations. Safer chemicals and processes exist. We must phase out the production of chemicals that put communities in danger and contribute to climate change - and take immediate action to strengthen and restore communities that have have borne the brunt of legacy and ongoing contamination by the chemical industry.
Watch: Life At the Fenceline
Louisville, Kentucky. Richmond, California. Charleston, West Virginia. Wilmington, Delaware. Houston, Texas. What do these communities have in common? They have all endured explosions, leaks and spills at chemical plants or chemical storage facilities that have threatened the health and safety of thousands or even millions of people nearby. Who’s in Danger from chemical disasters? Our research shows that the people most at risk live in communities of color and low-income communities.
Related News
Over 270 hazardous chemical incidents have occurred in the United States this year alone, highlighting need for stronger chemical safety regulations
November 9, 2023
Over 825 hazardous chemical incidents – including fires, explosions and harmful chemical releases – have occurred since the beginning of 2021, and over 270 incidents have occurred this year alone, according to data published today by the Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters. Data included in the coalition’s online Chemical Incident Tracker is sourced from news reports. “Preventable chemical incidents are happening far too often across the country,” said Maya Nye, Federal Policy Director of Coming Clean, a member of the Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters. “Communities shouldn’t have to leave their homes, shelter in place, or worry for the safety of their air and water because chemical plants can’t contain their toxic chemicals. Hazardous facilities must be required to do more to protect workers and communities.”
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EPA Needs to Act to Close Regulatory Gaps that Fail to Prevent Chemical Disasters
October 7, 2023
Coming Clean's Federal Policy Director Maya Nye spoke to PBS News about the urgent need for EPA to finalize a strong new Risk Management Plan rule to help prevent chemical disasters (which occur on average every other day across the US). Fenceline communities, workers, national security advocates, and many others have called on EPA to require transition to safer chemicals and processes whenever possible.
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Chemical exposure concerns growing across U.S.
April 18, 2023
There is a chemical explosion, fire or toxic release every other day in this country. "That is just too much," said Dr. Maya Nye, Federal Policy Director of Coming Clean. "You can't smell cancer- these chemicals can do harm, either immediately or over a period of time." The Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters is calling for stronger EPA regulations, including mandating facilities to switch to safer alternatives.
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EPA Action to Reduce Cancer-Causing Air Pollution Is Critical and Long Overdue
April 6, 2023
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a rule to significantly reduce emissions of toxic and other harmful air pollution from chemical plants, intended to reduce air toxics-related cancer risks in fenceline communities. Coming Clean and the Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform (EJHA) applauded the EPA for committing to take action to dramatically reduce emissions of cancer-causing chemicals from chemical and polymer plants. Under the proposed rule, these facilities will be required to conduct fenceline air monitoring to ensure compliance with new regulations, a priority for fenceline communities who have testified and submitted comments to the EPA in recent years.
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In toxic Ohio derailment, other Americans see echoes of their fights
March 19, 2023
The unusually high profile of the East Palestine derailment — which prompted the railroad to send a massive black plume into the air, went viral on social media and became a political flash point — drew national attention to federal rules governing toxic chemicals, railroad safety and chemical transport. While activists who talked to The Washington Post said heightened awareness of chemical risks is good, watching an emergency unfold can also be difficult. “Every time they happen, they remind you of the disasters that you’ve experienced,” said Maya Nye, a West Virginia activist and federal policy director at Coming Clean, a nonprofit organization that advocates for preventing chemical disasters. “It’s just yet another reminder of the protections that aren’t there that people in my community have been fighting for for so long,” Nye said. Some have also noted that the incident in East Palestine, a majority-White town of 4,700 people, drew more attention than those in their communities of color. In Houston, advocates’ frustration was compounded by the news that some of the toxic waste excavated in East Palestine would be trucked to a Southeast Texas facility. “We have become the dumping ground for the rest of the nation,” said Ana Parras, co-director of the Houston-based group Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services, which advocates for people living near rail tracks and chemical facilities. Her organization and others protested the movement of the derailment waste to Harris County, Tex.
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