CONTACT: DKC News, MomsCleanAirForce@dkcnews.com
Harrisburg, PA — Moms Clean Air Force, Clean Air Action, the Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community (BCMAC), the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, and Physicians for Social Responsibility gathered at the Pennsylvania State Capitol today to urge Pennsylvania leaders to safeguard communities from petrochemical and plastics industry buildout.
Communities across Pennsylvania are already exposed to pollution from existing petrochemical facilities that harm public health and accelerate climate change. At the same time, the plastics supply chain is exposing families to toxic chemicals, including microplastics and PFAS, that are increasingly linked to serious health risks.
Advocates and experts are calling for protections. Proposed expansions would lock Pennsylvania into decades of additional plastic production, more fracked fossil fuel infrastructure, and greater pollution for frontline communities.
Watch the recording of the press conference HERE to hear from public health experts, environmental advocates, and community members dealing with the impacts firsthand.
QUOTES FROM SPEAKERS:
“Pennsylvania families are living in harm’s way,” says Rachel Meyer, Pennsylvania Field Organizer for Moms Clean Air Force. “Every step of the plastics supply chain releases hazardous pollutants from extraction of the fossil gases that become the building blocks of plastics to processing, production, transport, use, and disposal. Living near these operations puts our children at greater risk for negative health outcomes such as low birth weight and developmental issues, asthma, and cancer. But we can act and do something. Today we are here to urge the state of Pennsylvania to take the necessary and urgent steps to protect families and communities from this pollution.”
“As a mother of four in Beaver County, I think about the future my kids are growing up in every single day,” says Hilary O’Toole, Executive Director of BCMAC. “Plastic isn’t just trash, it’s pollution that’s harming their developing bodies and the air they breathe. Communities like mine, already overburdened with pollution, shouldn’t have to choose between raising our families where we grew up or keeping our children healthy.”
“The perpetuation of fossil-fuel derived plastic known as petrochemicals is a human issue,” says Emily Wildman, Legislative Advocate for Clean Air Action. “It is not political. As the deceptive fossil fuel industry, including its plastic-making (petrochemical) companies, seeks to expand, hardworking people and mother nature face serious consequences.”
“Even as a family physician for nearly 50 years, I did not know until recently how dangerous some plastics could be,” says Dr. Robert Little from Physicians for Social Responsibility. “Now we know that many of these products can shed tiny particles of microplastic that contain potentially toxic chemicals like PFAS which are linked to neurodevelopmental problems, metabolic disorders, various cancers, and reduced fertility.”
“Plastics when degraded transform into toxic chemicals, such as dioxins and other endocrine-disrupting substances that can interfere with hormonal systems, development, and long-term health,” says Nina Juntereal, PhD, RN, the Pennsylvania Nurse Advocacy Coordinator for Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments. “And that problem is growing. We are producing synthetic chemicals at a pace faster than our ability to test them for long-term safety. And even when we begin to understand the risks, there is often a delay in translating that science into effective protections.”