Media Contact:
Sasha Tenenbaum
Senior Manager, Media and Public Engagement
stenenbaum@momscleanairforce.org
(917) 887-0146
WASHINGTON — Moms Clean Air Force and more than 100 partners in the #BreakFreeFromPlastic coalition submitted a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan yesterday demanding that EPA replace its “Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution” with an effective plan of action. The agency’s proposed strategy will not protect human health and the environment from toxic petrochemicals.
Senior Petrochemical Analyst for Moms Clean Air Force, Cynthia Palmer, who co-drafted the letter to EPA, issues the following statement:
“Toxic air pollution and toxic chemicals: These are the reasons more than 100 groups have signed a critique of EPA’s draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution. The strategy is an unfortunate missed opportunity for the EPA, whose job it is to protect people from the carcinogens released at every step of the plastics supply chain, from fossil gas fracking, transport, plastics production, use and incineration,” said Senior Petrochemical Analyst for Moms Clean Air Force Cynthia Palmer.
“Plastics are made from fossil fuels combined with phthalates, PFAS, flame retardants, heavy metals, and other toxic chemicals — and nearly half of the plastics produced are single-use disposables that we throw away in minutes. Global plastic production is on track to triple by 2060. The climate implications are unnerving, and for those living in the sacrifice zones surrounding petrochemical facilities, the cancer risks are off the charts.”
BACKGROUND
The emissions from plastic production and disposal are not only driving climate change, but are also causing cancers, respiratory ailments, endocrine disruption, neurodevelopmental conditions, reproductive disorders, and other ill effects. Addressing the harm from plastic requires a comprehensive strategy centered on the toxicity of plastics and the harm plastic causes at every step of the supply chain.
In the aforementioned letter, the #BreakFreeFromPlastic coalition calls upon the EPA to overhaul its strategy to:
- Measure, cap, and reduce plastic production, eliminating unnecessary single-use applications
- Measure and reveal all the toxic chemicals in plastics
- Ban the most toxic polymers and plastic chemicals
- Strengthen and enforce laws protecting people who endure the detrimental impacts of living and working near plastic production and incineration facilities
- Address the role of plastics in exacerbating the climate crisis.
RESOURCES
- Letter: Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution
- Q&A: What to Know About the Petrochemical Industry
- Fact Sheet: Petrochemical Pollution and Our Health
- Fact Sheet: “Advanced Recycling”
- Webpage: Plastics and Petrochemicals