Last week, EPA announced that it has selected vinyl chloride for “risk evaluation”—a critical first step toward banning this toxic petrochemical. Moms have been calling on EPA to ban vinyl chloride ever since 115,000 gallons were released into the East Palestine, Ohio, community following the infamous train derailment earlier this year.
- Vinyl chloride is used to make PVC plastic, a key ingredient in many shower curtains, plumbing pipes, children’s toys, and tons of other products that we use every day.
- This carcinogen can set off a “cascade” of health issues, says our Senior Policy Analyst for Petrochemicals, Cynthia Palmer, quoted in Chemical Analyst News and an Agence France-Presse article that ran in Yahoo! News and dozens of other outlets.
- Facilities that produce vinyl chloride and PVC spew hundreds of thousands of pounds of vinyl chloride pollution into the air, putting the health of nearby residents at risk. These facilities are predominantly sited in low-income and Black and Brown communities, Cynthia Palmer tells Packaging Dive, underscoring that banning vinyl chloride is an environmental justice imperative.
With plenty of safer alternatives available, EPA must end vinyl chloride production as soon as possible.
IN OTHER NEWS…
- EPA’s move to cut methane pollution from oil and gas sources continues to make news with an op-ed from National Field Director Patrice Tomcik in Ms. magazine, a quote from National Field Manager Celerah Hewes in the New Mexico Political Report, and Univision’s interview with Program Coordinator Danielle Berkowitz-Sklar.
- In an Invading Sea op-ed that ran in the Orlando Sentinel, Florida field organizer Emily Pickett explains how becoming a mother jump started her clean air and climate advocacy.
- Moms and partners gathered in Follansbee, West Virginia, to voice concerns about a chemical recycling plant poised to move into their community, the Weirton Daily Times reports. Our Ohio River Valley organizer, Rachel Meyer (pictured), talks to WTOV9 about the air quality issues that this new neighbor could bring with it.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Over the last couple of weeks, Moms and EcoMadres earned mentions in Word in Black, the Sacramento Observer, Beyond Plastics press releases about EPA’s vinyl chloride announcement and the West Virginia chemical recycling plant, and press releases from the offices of Congressman Lloyd Doggett and Senator Chris Van Hollen.
SPREAD THE WORD…
Help amplify our media hits by following @Moms_Press and sharing our posts on X (formerly Twitter):
- Cynthia in Yahoo! News
- Cynthia in Packaging Dive
- Patrice in Ms.
- Danielle on Univision
- Emily in Orlando Sentinel
- Celerah in New Mexico Political Report