Safeguarding Public Health and the Environment

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Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

  UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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Growing Use of Third Parties to Certify Health and Safety Compliance Raises Troubling Questions

In May, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed two rules to protect the public from the risks of formaldehyde exposure. The first rule sets emissions standards for formaldehyde in composite wood products; the second establishes requirements for third-party certifications of products subject to those emissions limits. The use of third-party programs to assess regulatory compliance is growing as agencies try to stretch scarce resources, raising troubling questions about enforcement of important standards and safeguards.

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House Attack on Major Health Standards Likely Linked to Debt Ceiling Negotiations

Sep 20, 2013 by Ronald White

With a contentious political fight brewing in Congress over the debt ceiling, Republican members of the House have indicated they are considering several “riders,” or supplemental legislative language, that would significantly limit the government’s ability to set standards that are essential for protecting public health and welfare.

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EPA Withdraws Blocked Draft Chemical Rules, Access to Health Risk Information to Suffer

Sep 10, 2013 by Ronald White

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Sept. 6 that it is withdrawing two proposed rules regarding regulation of chemicals. The first rule would have allowed EPA to require chemical manufacturers to provide more information, both to the agency and the public, on several chemicals of particularly high health concern. The second rule would have clarified EPA’s policy regarding the ability of chemical manufacturers to claim certain chemical information as "confidential business information" (CBI).

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EPA Scientists Deem Benzo(a)pyrene a Cancer-causing Chemical

On Aug. 21, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a draft revised health assessment of the toxic chemical benzo(a)pyrene (BaP). This chemical is widely found in the environment and in a number of workplaces, and in its assessment, EPA declared that BaP causes cancer.

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E-Gov Spotlight: EPA's Climate Change Tool

Climate change has become the largest environmental concern in decades, and transparency and accountability will be critical in providing an effective response to combating it. As we move forward in making new policies related to climate change, it is critical that the public be well informed about the issue. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has an online tool offering users a means to explore the sources of greenhouse gas emissions.

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What's At Stake: Austerity Budgets Threaten Worker Health and Safety

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is tasked with ensuring that every working man and woman in America has "safe and healthful working conditions." Established in 1970 under Nixon's "new federalism," and housed in the Department of Labor, its enforcement staff comes from both federal and state agencies. The agencies responsible for worker health and safety have never been well funded, and with their budgets shrinking, their ability to achieve their mission is increasingly at risk. New cuts are likely to result in more unsafe workplaces, more accidents and injuries, and higher costs for business and society down the road.

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The Health and Safety of America's Workforce Are at Stake in Upcoming Budget Battles

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2013—In advance of Labor Day and the looming budget battles in Congress, the Center for Effective Government has published a report showing that the health and safety of America's workforce is on the line as lawmakers gear up for the fiscal debates ahead. The report notes that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is significantly underfunded and does not have the resources it needs to fulfill its mission. Looming cuts would set it back farther.

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Mine Safety Agency Ready to Finalize Black Lung Controls Pending White House Review

Aug 28, 2013 by Katie Greenhaw

The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) recently submitted for White House review a final rule to protect coal miners from black lung disease. Black lung, or coal workers' pneumoconiosis, is a preventable but often deadly occupational disease contracted by prolonged inhalation of coal mine dust.

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Proposed Rule to Protect Workers Released for Public Comment

Aug 27, 2013 by Katie Greenhaw

On Friday, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a long-delayed proposed rule to lower worker exposure to crystalline silica. Silica dust can be deadly; it kills hundreds of workers every year and sickens thousands more. Now, after more than a decade and a half in development and over two years of review, the proposal has been released and will soon be ready for public comment.

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Impacted Citizens and Environmental Leaders Speak Out On BLM Fracking Rules

The public comment period closed today for the Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) second version of its Proposed "Oil and Gas; Hydraulic Fracturing on Federal and Indian Lands" rule. BLM rules apply to more than 750 million acres of public lands and minerals: underneath Tribal lands, National Forests, Wildlife Refuges and other special places, beneath more than 50 million acres of privately-owned land, and drinking water sources for millions of Americans. These rules affect the health of communities and the environment, and the water and air upon which they rely.

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Resources & Research

Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards

People of color and people living in poverty, especially poor children of color, are significantly more likely...

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A Tale of Two Retirements: One for CEOs and One for the Rest of Us

The 100 largest CEO retirement funds are worth a combined $4.9 billion, equal to the entire retirement account savings of 41 percent of American fam...

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Blowing Smoke: Chemical Companies Say “Trust Us,” But Environmental and Workplace Safety Violations Belie Their Rhetoric

Large chemical companies a...

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Gasping for Support: Implementation of Tougher Air Quality Standards Will Require New Funds for State Agencies

New scientific research shows that the current levels of...

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