CONTACT: Sara Klein, sara_klein@dkcnews.com;
Sasha Tenenbaum, stenenbaum@momscleanairforce.org, (917) 887-0146
WASHINGTON, DC—Today, EPA announced the final version of the New Source Performance Standards for the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry and Group I & II Polymers and Resins Industry. This rule will address dangerous pollution from chemical manufacturing facilities, limiting exposure to cancer-causing air toxics for people who live near more than 200 covered facilities across the country. Some of these facilities are as large as hundreds of football fields. They produce hazardous chemicals used to make plastics, paints, synthetic fabrics, pesticides, vinyl flooring, and other petrochemical products. In response, Moms Clean Air Force Senior Analyst for Petrochemicals Cynthia Palmer released the following statement:
“Communities living near chemical manufacturing plants know all too well that toxic air pollution from these facilities can cause cancer and other devastating health harms. Today’s rulemaking will reduce the pollution burden for communities living near some of the most dangerous petrochemical facilities in the nation. It is an important step forward for environmental justice.”
“This rule is also deeply personal for me. My best friend grew up near nine of the chemical manufacturing facilities in Texas that will be covered in this new rulemaking. She died of cancer when her children were in preschool. Far too many people in impacted communities have died from their exposures to toxic pollution. Moms Clean Air Force thanks EPA for taking meaningful action to protect communities from petrochemical pollution, and we will continue to advocate for every community’s right to breathe clean air.”
Moms Clean Air Force will be providing additional in-depth analysis of the rule and what it means for families living proximate to chemical manufacturing facilities.
Moms Clean Air Force field organizers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia – who know first hand the dangers of these facilities – provided these statements in response to the rule.
OHIO
Moms Clean Air Force Ohio Field Organizer Tracy Sabetta says:
“EPA’s decision to strengthen protections for chemical and petrochemical manufacturing plants is a huge win for Ohioans—especially for the families and communities living near and working in the facilities covered by today’s rulemaking.
“My own family history has been shaped by the chemical industry: my father worked for decades at a chemical plant in northern Ohio. He survived a 1986 explosion at the plant that killed two of his closest friends, injured 18, and sent a green chemical cloud into the air. Though the doctors said he was fine, our community would never look at those chemical plants the same way again. People need protections from these polluting facilities.
“EPA’s chemical manufacturing rule will help reduce air toxics and related cancer risks for workers and communities living near the more than 200 covered facilities, twelve of which are in Ohio. More than 80% of these facilities have violated pollution laws in the last three years. The stronger protections finalized today mean accountability for polluters and they mean safer, healthier, stronger communities for all of us.”
PENNSYLVANIA
Today’s rulemaking is an important step forward for Pennsylvania communities living in the shadows of chemical and petrochemical manufacturing plants, including the AdvanSix facility in Philadelphia and Montgomery Chemicals in Conshohocken, both of which will be covered by the rule finalized today. Moms Clean Air Force Pennsylvania Field Organizer Brooke Petry says:
“My home in Philadelphia is just 7 miles away from the chemical manufacturing facility, AdvanSix. Like others of its kind, this plastic-producing facility creates health-harming, planet-warming toxic air pollution. As a mother to a child living with asthma in a city already burdened by poor air quality, this additional chemical manufacturing exposure is especially worrisome. There are many in my community living closer to the AdvanSix facility who bear an even greater burden of its pollution: it’s located near predominantly Black and Brown and low-income neighborhoods, and within just a mile, you’ll find a rec center, two playgrounds, and four schools. I am hopeful that today’s announcement puts plants like AdvanSix– which also has a history of violations–on notice. Today’s decision signals to families like mine and countless others that our kids and communities deserve a fighting chance at a healthier life.”
Petrochemical manufacturing is one of the heaviest polluting industrial sectors in the country—and stronger emissions controls for the facilities covered by today’s rulemaking means healthier, safer, and more vibrant Pennsylvania communities. Moms Clean Air Force Ohio River Valley Field Organizer Rachel Meyer says:
“I know all too well what it is like to live in the shadows of petrochemical pollution: my own home is located near a Shell ethane cracker plant in Independence Township, and we have experienced multiple high pollution events during times of start up, shut down, and malfunctions. I worry how all of this pollution is impacting my four year-old daughter, and fear that it is affecting her developing lungs and putting her at a higher risk for cancer. No family should have to worry about whether the air they breathe at home puts their children at risk for illness.”
WEST VIRGINIA
Moms Clean Air Force West Virginia Field Organizer Lucia Valentine says:
“As a native West Virginian, I’m grateful for EPA’s decision to strengthen protections against pollution from chemical and petrochemical manufacturing facilities. Four facilities in our state will be covered by the rule finalized today, including the Altivia chemical facility in Institute, WV.
“Today’s rulemaking is also a critical step towards environmental justice: Institute is one of the few majority-Black communities in West Virginia. In majority-Black census tracts, the estimated risk of cancer from toxic air emissions is more than twice the risk found in majority-white tracts. EPA analysis shows that communities living near the plants covered under today’s rulemaking are disproportionately African American, Latino, or low-income. These disparities are unfair and unjust—and the stronger protections finalized today can help reduce harm to communities already overburdened by petrochemical pollution. They’ll also benefit West Virginia children, whose developing bodies are more vulnerable to toxic air emissions.”
RESOURCES:
- Fact Sheet: Petrochemical Pollution and Our Health
- Fact Sheet: Plastics and Climate Change
- Q&A: What to Know About The Petrochemical Industry
- Webpage: Petrochemical Pollution