Misti Allison, a Moms Clean Air Force member from East Palestine, OH, was back on Capitol Hill last week to testify at the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s hearing in response to the East Palestine train derailment and chemical disaster.
- Misti told Senators that East Palestine residents don’t know if it’s safe to stay. These remarks were quoted in three different sections of The Washington Post: The Climate 202, Live Coverage, and Transportation.
- “This preventable accident has put a scarlet letter on our town,” Misti told the Senate, describing how the chemical disaster has devastated the local economy. CBS Mornings and Cleveland.com cover this part of her testimony.
- Kids are struggling too. Misti shares that her son has asked her if he is going to die from living in his own home. Watch this clip of her testimony on CBS Evening News.
- This is a “mom-partisan” issue. In an interview with CNN, Misti highlights that protecting children’s health is something that everyone can get behind, regardless of their politics. She’s seen this playing out in East Palestine, where leaders from both sides of the aisle have come together to support the community.
But wait, there’s more! Misti is also featured on Fox News, News 5 Cleveland, and ABC 6, and EcoMadres Program Manager Carolina Peña-Alarcón (above) discusses the impact of this petrochemical catastrophe with Radio Bilingue (interview is in Spanish).
IN OTHER NEWS…
EPA, say “no” to soot: Yesterday was the final day to submit a public comment on EPA’s proposed soot pollution standards, which Moms and leading medical groups agree should be strengthened. One Mom fighting hard for stronger soot protections is Arizona organizer Hazel Chandler.
- For Hazel, strong soot standards are a “matter of life and death.” Hazel says that exposure to pollution likely contributed to the health challenges she faces today–including stage 4 cancer. Read more about Hazel in her recent op-ed.
- Hazel says that she doesn’t need an air quality alert to know that the air is polluted–she can feel it. She tells Arizona Republic that air pollution was so bad last July that she developed spinal fractures from intense coughing. Hazel also speaks about the dangers of soot pollution in an on-camera interview with Arizona PBS.
Air pollution can trigger asthma: Michigan organizer Elizabeth Hauptman and New Mexico organizer Ana Rios recently talked to local media about the link between air pollution and asthma.
- Air pollution makes it hard for Elizabeth’s son, Oscar, to breathe. Oscar has asthma, and Elizabeth tells C & G Newspapers that she sometimes has to rush him to the emergency room if his rescue inhaler and nebulizer don’t help. This story also ran in Breathing Labs and about a dozen different local papers.
- Asthma is an issue for kids out in New Mexico too. Ana speaks more about this in an interview with Univision New Mexico (interview is in Spanish).
Kicking off Latino Advocacy Week: In honor of Latino Advocacy Week, EcoMadres leads Liz Hurtado and Carolina Peña-Alarcón joined Senior Policy Analyst Elizabeth Bechard for a conversation about climate change, mental health, and Latino communities.
- This conversation was promoted in reporting by Hispanos Unidos, La Conexión USA, Yahoo! Noticias, and Hola News.TELL EPA: BAN DANGEROUS VINYL CHLORIDE