CONTACT: Sasha Tenenbaum
Senior Manager, Media and Public Engagement
stenenbaum@momscleanairforce.org
(917) 887-0146
Moms Clean Air Force Founder Dominique Browning on the vinyl chloride exposure in the community: “It can take years for toxic chemical harm to appear”
Timed to President Joe Biden’s visit to East Palestine, Ohio–the site of the tragic train derailment last year that led to the release and then the burn off of multiple toxic chemicals, including more than 115,000 gallons of carcinogenic vinyl chloride –Moms Clean Air Force’s Director and Co-Founder Dominique Browning is available to speak to media about how this tragedy connects to the larger issue of petrochemicals, which pose an ever-present threat to the health and safety of our families.
Ever since last year’s train derailment and chemical disaster in East Palestine, Moms have been working overtime to demand that our leaders prevent future disasters like this one by establishing strong petrochemical protections. So far, Moms have submitted nearly 21,500 comments to EPA in support of banning vinyl chloride–the deadly petrochemical that was released and then burned in the East Palestine community in the wake of the derailment.
In response to news of President Biden’s scheduled visit to East Palestine, Ohio tomorrow, Moms Clean Air Force’s Director and Co-Founder Dominique Browning released the following statement–
“As Moms, we are glad that President Biden will visit East Palestine, and demonstrate attention to what is truly a double tragedy. President Biden knows deeply the devastation caused by environmental exposures to toxic chemicals. We hope he will address two tragedies. One is the terrible damage caused to a community because of the derailment and detonation of a truly toxic chemical, vinyl chloride. The people of East Palestine must be part of long term health studies.
“But the other tragedy is how much of our plastic is made of that toxic chemical. 99% of vinyl chloride becomes PVC. And that is in our children’s toys, toys they chew on. Teething rings. Barbie dolls. It is in our food packaging. It is in our homes—pipes and vinyl flooring and siding have made our homes much more flammable over the last few decades. All that PVC has severely shortened the amount of time we have to flee from a burning home, and burning PVC is toxic for firefighters and first responders who come to the rescue. We are demanding safe alternatives.
“We applaud Biden’s EPA for agreeing to review vinyl chloride, a known human carcinogen, and hope that EPA will move with urgency towards a ban.
“As he continues to prioritize environmental justice, President Biden must tell his EPA to urgently address the big national issue of toxic chemicals in our everyday stuff. Moms can no longer trust the chemical companies or the manufacturers who make all of our things. Parents in East Palestine will worry, for decades, about what’s in their bodies, their soil, their water. It can take years for toxic chemical harm to appear. And whether or not we have trains running through our towns, all of us are all impacted by the toxic chemicals they carry. That derailment, and that terrible explosion, could have happened anywhere.”
RESOURCES:
- Statement: Moms speak out about Ohio train derailment, calling on EPA and government to protect communities from petrochemical pollution
- Fact Sheet: Petrochemical Pollution and Our Health
- Fact Sheet: Vinyl Chloride 101
- Blog Post: Ohio Train Derailment Highlights Toxic Plastic Pollution
- Blog Post: EPA Takes First Step Toward Banning Cancer-Causing Vinyl Chloride