News and Media

Faith leaders call on EPA to strengthen chemical disaster rule

May 10, 2022

Over 100 faith leaders and organizations sent a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan today, urging the agency to strengthen and expand its Risk Management Plan (RMP) rule, which is intended to prevent chemical disasters at high-risk facilities nationwide and is currently being updated. Chemical releases, fires, and explosions are shockingly common in the United States. In just ten years, there have been over 1,500 reported chemical releases or explosions at facilities regulated under the RMP rule, causing 17,000 reported injuries and 59 reported deaths. But deadly chemical incidents could be prevented if RMP facilities were required to transition to safer processes, faith leaders state in the letter. Their calls echo those of health professionals, security experts, and members of Congress who have also demanded meaningful reforms to the RMP rule in recent months. Read More

More Than Half of Dollar Store Items Tested Contain Toxic Chemicals

April 22, 2022

In the seven years since the Campaign for Healthier Solutions published their initial report on toxic chemicals in dollar store products, Bravo has seen “light years” worth of progress in addressing the issue. While 53 percent of products tested still contained chemicals of concern in 2022, that number was 80 percent of 164 products tested in 2015. Further, when the campaign has gone back and tested items that previously tested positive for lead, they have found that they tested negative the second time.“They are not going to claim that it was us,” Bravo said, “we’ll claim that it was us.” 

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Groups push Congress to pass climate package before Memorial Day

April 21, 2022

A coalition of more than 20 climate, labor and social justice groups is planning a nationwide mobilization to push Congress to pass robust climate legislation before Memorial Day, according to details shared exclusively with The Climate 202. Manchin, who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said in late December that he could not support the roughly $2 trillion package amid rising consumer prices and growing federal debt...But Michele Roberts, national co-coordinator of the Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform, urged lawmakers not to let Manchin strip any of the climate provisions from the version of the bill that passed the House in November. "All of these pieces in totality … must be voted on and passed and not negotiated at all," Roberts told The Climate 202. "Enough is enough." Read More

Health Experts and Healthcare Workers Call for Strong Chemical Safety Safeguards

April 20, 2022

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is updating the Risk Management Plan (RMP) Rule, a policy meant to protect community members who live and work near high-risk chemical facilities. In a new letter, hundreds of health professionals are calling on EPA to set the strongest possible standards, demanding reforms that bring chemical-safety rules in line with the demands of both science and justice. While more than 200 million people in the U.S. live, work, or attend school near an RMP-covered facility, the threat these facilities pose is more severe for low-income households and communities of color, who are more likely to live near the fence line of one or more hazardous facilities.  Read More

Harmful chemicals found in toys and canned food at US discount stores

April 12, 2022

An alarming number of products purchased at US dollar stores, including many children’s toys, contain harmful chemicals, according to a report released today. Researchers tested 226 products purchased at five popular retailers for chemicals, including phthalates and lead, and found that 120, or more than half, had at least one chemical of concern. Among the products that tested positive were colorful baby toys and Disney-themed headphones.“As a parent, I should be able to buy a product without expecting to poison my child,” said Jose Bravo, national coordinator at the Campaign for Healthier Solutions, a coalition that calls on dollar stores to phase out hazardous chemicals from their products. Read More