In July, Moms Clean Air Force and our partners met with an assistant administrator at EPA headquarters to urge the agency to prioritize vinyl chloride for risk evaluation. This is the first step toward a ban of this dangerous chemical.
EPA said they would decide about vinyl chloride this fall. Well, fall is upon us—with or without a government shutdown as early as Saturday.
Vinyl chloride is used almost exclusively to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic. PVC plastic is widely used to make many common household products, like pipes, floors, and toys. Vinyl chloride is carcinogenic, flammable, and explosive. And when transported, it puts communities at grave risk, as we saw in February when a train carrying vinyl chloride derailed in East Palestine, Ohio.
Vinyl chloride is manufactured near Black, Brown, and low-income communities, releasing toxic air pollution and putting these already overburdened neighborhoods at risk of chemical disasters.
It’s unfair and unjust that communities are forced to endure extreme risks to their health, all so we can produce PVC plastic—plastic the world does not need. It’s time to tell EPA to start the process of banning vinyl chloride ASAP-before time runs out.