Citizen Health & Safety

Even More Health and Safety Impacts of the Government Shutdown: Why You Should Care

Oct 15, 2013 by Ronald White

Because the scope of health and safety protections provided by the federal government is vast, it’s easy to not fully appreciate the impacts of a government shutdown on our daily lives. Early into the current shutdown, I blogged about some of the less obvious potential health and safety impacts that could be affected by lack of government oversight. An Oct.

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New Poll Shows Strong Bipartisan Support for Federal Requirements to Prevent Chemical Plant Disasters

WASHINGTON D.C.– A diverse coalition of more than 100 health, labor, community, environmental justice and public interest organizations released a new national poll today showing that, in the wake of the West, Texas, chemical plant explosion, American voters strongly support new federal requirements to prevent disasters at facilities that store hazardous chemicals.

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Three Dangerous Myths About the Debt Ceiling

Oct 10, 2013 by Guest Blogger

You’ve all heard by now that the U.S. will reach its borrowing limit (aka the dreaded debt ceiling) on or around October 17th. While there’s nothing we enjoy more than writing about the debt ceiling over and over again, let’s skip the backstory and dive into some dangerous debt ceiling myths.

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A Three-Month Review of the President's Climate Action Plan: Strides Made in Implementing Rules, Threats Emerge in Congress

In June, President Obama revealed his climate action plan, delivering on a promise he made during his State of the Union Address in February that he would take action to address climate change if Congress failed to do so. The plan outlines near- and long-term policies that the Obama administration will implement to address climate change: cutting carbon pollution, preparing the U.S. for climate change impacts, and leading international efforts to take action.

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Clarity on Clean Water Protection Is Coming, But How Long Will it Take?

Last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announced they were moving forward with a much-needed rulemaking to clarify which waters are protected under the Clean Water Act (CWA). Enforcement of the law has been hindered by years of uncertainty about agencies' regulatory jurisdiction over certain wetlands and waterways. On Sept. 17, agencies submitted a draft joint rulemaking for interagency review that would provide greater clarity and help ensure vital waters are covered by the CWA. However, protracted review processes and industry pushback could further extend the uncertainty and leave some waters unprotected.

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Chlorine Gas Is a Major Risk across the Country, but Needn't Be

Currently, over 2,700 facilities nationwide store large amounts of toxic chlorine gas, putting millions of Americans at risk of serious harm in the event of an explosion or leak. In the past 15 years, over 600 accidents injuring almost 800 people have occurred at these facilities. However, safer alternatives are available, and many facilities have already turned to them, showing that these alternatives can be commercially successful. Check our new interactive map to see if there are facilities with chlorine gas in your community.

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New California Regulations Lead the Way in Protecting Consumers from Toxic Chemicals

The nation's federal toxic chemicals law, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), has a number of significant shortcomings. Among other things, it does not generally require companies to test chemicals for possible health effects before using them in consumer products. And though the federal Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act limits the amount of lead and bans certain chemicals known as phthalates in children's products, it doesn’t restrict the use of other toxic substances in consumer goods. To respond to this gap in addressing the use of toxic substances in consumer products, California adopted new regulations on Oct. 1 designed to create safer substitutes for hazardous ingredients in products sold in the state.

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New California Regulations Lead the Way In Protecting Consumers From Toxic Chemicals

Oct 7, 2013 by Ronald White

The nation's federal toxic chemicals law, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), has a number of significant shortcomings. Among other things, it does not generally require companies to test chemicals for possible health effects before using them in consumer products.

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More Health and Safety Impacts of the Government Shutdown

Oct 3, 2013 by Ronald White

I blogged last week before the federal government shutdown started about potential health and safety ramifications that could result should the shutdown occur. Now that the shutdown is a reality, it’s important to consider some of the health and safety concerns that may be less than obvious.

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State Toxic Chemical Regulations at Risk in Upcoming Trade Negotiations

Oct 3, 2013 by Katie Weatherford

On Oct. 7, the United States and European Union will resume negotiations that began earlier this year over the Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA).  Since tariffs and quotas between the U.S. and EU are already quite low, the negotiations will focus primarily on reducing “non-tariff barriers” (such as differences in standards and regulations) to expand trade across the Atlantic.

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