CONTACT: Sasha Tenenbaum
Senior Manager, Media and Public Engagement
[email protected]
(917) 887- 0146
“The City of Albuquerque Environmental Health Department has now declared that the plastics fire that erupted Sunday in Albuquerque is over. ‘The fire has been contained as of last evening,’ the city tweeted. ‘It is safe to be outside.’
“As a longtime resident of Albuquerque and a National Field Manager of Moms Clean Air Force, I remain concerned for myself, my family, and our neighbors. The two-alarm fire at a plastic storage facility south of Albuquerque created unsafe, dirty air for our community. While the plumes of black smoke filling the sky were alarming, the threat of breathing hazardous air from burning plastic is even more concerning. Plastics are toxic when they burn, which is why the city issued a health alert and said that ‘everyone should limit outdoor activity.’
“Families deserve to know what is in the air when these emergency situations take place and the City of Albuquerque should have been more proactive in alerting families to the risks–especially given the concern of many nearby families of running their swamp coolers and blowing toxic air into their homes while temperatures outside were in the 90s. We demand that the city address concerns about air quality, backed by scientific data, to demonstrate that the air is truly safe for our families, as well as revise their emergency alert system to keep families safe.
“Sadly, this fire is far from unique. Plastics contain hundreds of toxic chemicals, including heavy metals, phthalates, flame retardants, bisphenol A, and PFAS. Burning plastics releases chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects, and other serious health harms. These fires are just one more reason why we must take action and go beyond petrochemicals. Our government must do more to protect us from this harmful pollution and to crack down on the plastics industry to prevent petrochemical disasters, protect people from petrochemical pollution, and significantly increase funding to enforce plastics industry regulation.”