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Dear Jack,

Living in a community with a chemical facility is life-altering. Hazardous pollutants leaking into the air, land, and water causing nosebleeds, asthma, higher rates of birth defects and cancer, and the looming risk of explosion, heightened by storms and climate change are ever present. In reality, the public protections have never gone far enough, and to make matters worse, the previous administration weakened them even further.

The science has been sidelined and community advocates ignored. But now we have a new opportunity — the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is asking the public to comment on how to regulate these chemical facilities and the risks they pose, and you can join us in calling for strong, comprehensive, and just protections.

The EPA uses its Risk Management Plan (RMP) to regulate more than 12,000 chemical facilities, throughout the country and US territories. These facilities are disproportionately located in Black and Latinx communities and low-income areas. Racism and classism in planning and zoning practices, as well as the legacy of segregation, contribute to these conditions. This is environmental injustice.

And often we see cumulative risks. Multiple hazardous facilities and sites clustered near each other creating toxic, unsafe conditions for those living and working nearby. Storms, floods, and wildfires, which are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change, are compounding the problem — a recipe for disaster not adequately addressed in the current RMP.

There is no excuse for sacrificing human health and safety to protect corporate profits. Unfortunately, that is exactly what the United States has been doing for decades, leaving the health and safety of communities, workers, and first responders in the hands of the chemical industry. Yet when safety incidents and accidents do occur, facilities pay minimal fines, if anything at all, all the while making large profits.

Add your name and submit a comment today to help protect people from chemical disasters.

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Sincerely,

Union of Concerned Scientists

Paid for by Union of Concerned Scientists. Does not equal endorsement.

Daily Kos, PO Box 70036, Oakland, CA, 94612.