November, 02 2009, 10:08am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Jane Kochersperger, Media Officer, Greenpeace, (202) 680-3798 cell;
Rick Hind, Legislative Director, Greenpeace, (202) 413-8513;
Mae Stevens, Policy Analyst, Greenpeace, (202) 319-2454
CLOROX to Eliminate Chlorine Disaster Risks to 13 Million Americans
Decision Makes Case for New Security Law as Vote Looms in Congress
WASHINGTON
Greenpeace applauded today's announcement by
Clorox to convert all of its factories using chlorine gas to safer
chemical processes. Clorox CEO Donald Knauss said the conversion will,
"strengthen our operations and add another layer of security." The
first plant will convert within six months and all others will phase
out chlorine gas over the next few years. Once the conversion is
completed at all seven U.S. Clorox plants, the company will have
eliminated catastrophic risks from chlorine gas to 13.6 million
Americans, living downwind of its facilities. This conversion will also
eliminate equally disastrous risks posed by the transport of 90-ton
rail cars of chlorine gas.
"By leading the way in eliminating
the potential consequences of a catastrophic terrorist attack or
accident, Clorox's announcement also provides Congress with compelling
new evidence to enact chemical plant security legislation," said Rick
Hind, Greenpeace legislative director. Coincidentally, chemical
security legislation (H.R. 2868) is slated for a vote in the House of
Representatives this Wednesday. If enacted it would require the highest
risk chemical plants to convert to safer cost-effective chemicals
wherever feasible just as Clorox plans to do.
"By ending the use of chlorine gas, Clorox also proves that eliminating
these risks is both technically feasible and a smart business
decision. Switching to safer substances not only reduces liability and
regulatory obligations, it also enhances profitability and long-term
job security. Eight years after the 9/11 attacks, the Clorox
announcement leaves no excuse for other industry giants such as Dow
and DuPont. Their plants put potentially millions of Americans at
risk. View Dow map and Dupont map. Given the time it can take to convert, it is urgent that these firms start following Clorox's lead now," said Hind.
In February, Greenpeace wrote Knauss asking for a meeting to discuss
ways to eliminate these risks. Greenpeace sent similar letters to Dow and Dupont.
Soon after, Knauss responded and invited Greenpeace to a meeting with
him and other executives at their Oakland, California headquarters in
May. At the meeting Knauss unveiled their plans and explained the
economic, security and safety benefits that executives factored into
their decision. Following the meeting, Greenpeace was also given a
tour of the Fairfield, California plant, which will be the first Clorox
production facility to convert.
Clorox's statement today includes the many benefits of converting that
Knauss cited such as: "minimizing business disruption, strengthening
operations, reducing potential supply chain constraints, complexity and
risks, increasing security, the company's costs, including volatility
and increases in raw materials...risks relating to the handling and/or
transportation of hazardous substances including but not limited to
chlorine..." https://investors.thecloroxcompany.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=420583
Because Clorox is a member of the National Association of Manufacturers
(NAM) which is lobbying against the House chemical security
legislation, Greenpeace also asked Clorox to support the pending
legislation. Clorox has not taken a position on the pending legislation.
However, the Association of American Railroads (AAR), some of whose
member companies are also NAM members, issued a strong statement on
this legislation in 2008 saying, "It's time for the big chemical
companies to do their part to help protect America. They should stop
manufacturing dangerous chemicals when safer substitutes are
available. And if they won't do it, Congress should do it for them."
The current law actually bars the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
from requiring the use of safer chemicals or processes. The current law
also exempts all (2,600) water treatment facilities, some of which use
large quantities of chlorine gas. "Just as we require airplanes to be
safer, clearly the chemical security law must be strengthened to ensure
the use of safer chemicals wherever alternatives are possible," said
Hind.
On October 1st, in testimony before Congress, the Obama
administration's DHS and Environmental Protection Agency officially
called for permanent legislation that requires the highest risk
chemical plants in all sectors to use safer more secure chemical
processes wherever possible. In 2006, when Senators Obama and Biden
championed nearly identical legislation that was opposed by the
chemical industry, Obama said, "We cannot allow chemical industry
lobbyists to dictate the terms of this debate. We cannot allow our
security to be hijacked by corporate interests."
The cost of converting a plant is insignificant compared to its
liability in the event of a terrorist attack or accident. According to
the New York City Comptroller, the economic impacts of the 9/11 attacks
were $94.8 billion. Safer chemical processes also ensure a more
reliable supply chain and fewer regulatory obligations. More than 87
percent of converted facilities surveyed reported conversion costs of
$1 million or less and one third expect to save money. The Center for
American Progress produced a report listing 284 examples of facilities
that have converted since 1999 at: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2006/04/b681085_ct2556757.html/chem_survey.pdf
Other companies have also recognized the potential profitability of
safer chemical processes. For example, K2Pure Solutions plans to build
safer bleach making facilities in California, New Jersey and Illinois.
For more information, see: www.K2Pure.com
Since the 9/11 attacks, chemical plants have been identified as one of
the most vulnerable sectors of U.S. infrastructure to terrorism. Over
100 million Americans are at risk from just 300 of the 6,300 chemical
facilities identified as "high risk" by DHS. The potential casualties
could range from 100,000 (U.S. Naval Research Laboratory) to 2.4
million (U.S. Army Surgeon General).
Non-disclosure agreement: Prior to the May meeting at Clorox
headquarters, Greenpeace agreed to defer disclosure of any of Clorox's
conversion plans until they were finalized and made public.
Disclaimer: Greenpeace does not endorse any company or products.
Greenpeace comments on Clorox's conversion are specific to the
elimination of catastrophic risks to communities surrounding its plants
and do not address any other Clorox practices or products.
Greenpeace is a global, independent campaigning organization that uses peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.
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'Important Step': EPA Finalizes Rule to Clean Up Forever Chemical Contamination
While praising the move, campaigners also said that the agency "must require polluters to pay to clean up the entire class of thousands of toxic PFAS chemicals, and it must ban nonessential uses."
Apr 19, 2024
Environmental and public health advocates on Friday welcomed the Biden administration's latest step to tackle "forever chemicals," a new Superfund rule that "will help ensure that polluters pay to clean up their contamination" across the country.
"It is time for polluters to pay to clean up the toxic soup they've dumped into the environment," declared Erik D. Olson, senior strategic director for health at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "We all learned in kindergarten that if we make a mess, we should clean it up. The Biden administration's Superfund rule is a big step in the right direction for holding polluters accountable for cleaning up decades of contamination."
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—called forever chemicals because they remain in the human body and environment for long periods—have been used in products including firefighting foam, food packaging, and furniture, and tied to various health issues such as cancers, developmental and immune damage, and heart and liver problems.
"This action, coupled with EPA's recent announcement of limits on PFAS in drinking water, are critical steps in protecting the public."
As part of the Biden administration's "PFAS Strategic Roadmap," the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule designates perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) as hazardous substances under the Superfund law—the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act.
"President Joe Biden pledged to make PFAS a priority in 2020 as part of the Biden-Harris plan to secure environmental justice. Today the Biden EPA fulfilled this important promise," said Melanie Benesh, vice president for government affairs at the Environmental Working Group (EWG).
David Andrews, EWG's deputy director of investigations and a senior scientist, has led studies that have found that PFAS are potentially harming over 330 species and more than 200 million Americans could have PFOA and PFOS in their tap water.
"For far too long, the unchecked use and disposal of toxic PFAS have wreaked havoc on our planet, contaminating everything from our drinking water to our food supply," he noted. "Urgent action is needed to clean up contaminated sites, eliminate future release of these pollutants, and shield people from additional exposure."
Walter Mugdan, a volunteer with the Environmental Protection Network and the former Superfund director for EPA Region 2, explained that the "landmark action will allow the agency to more strongly address PFAS contamination and expedite cleanups of these toxic forever chemicals while also ensuring that cleanup costs fall on those most responsible—the industrial polluters who continue to manufacture and use them."
"This action, coupled with EPA's recent announcement of limits on PFAS in drinking water, are critical steps in protecting the public from these harmful compounds," added the former official, referencing the first-ever national limits on forever chemicals in drinking water that the agency finalized earlier this month.
As an EWG blog post detailed in anticipation of the new rule earlier this week:
A hazardous substance designation allows the EPA to use money from its Superfund—the EPA's account for addressing this kind of contamination—to quickly jump-start cleanup at a PFOA- or PFOS-polluted site and to recover the costs from the polluters. If a company that contributed to the PFAS contamination problem refuses to cooperate, the EPA can order a cleanup anyway and fine the company if they fail to take action.
[...]
When a chemical is added to the list of hazardous substances, the EPA sets a reportable quantity. Any time a substance is released above that quantity it must be reported. By imposing reportable quantities, the EPA will get immediate information about new PFAS releases and the chance to investigate immediately and, if necessary, take actions to reduce additional exposures. This information is also shared with state or tribal and local emergency authorities, so it can reach communities more quickly.
"For years, communities that have been exposed to these chemicals have been demanding that polluters be held accountable for the harm they have created and to pay for cleanup," Safer States national director Sarah Doll highlighted. "We applaud EPA for taking this step and encourage them to take the next step and list all PFAS under the Superfund law."
Liz Hitchcock, director of Safer Chemicals Healthy Families, the federal policy program of Toxic-Free Future, similarly celebrated the EPA rule, calling it "an important step forward that will go a long way toward holding PFAS polluters accountable and beginning to clean up contaminated sites across the country."
Like Doll, she also stressed that "until we declare the full class of PFAS hazardous and prevent further pollution by ending the use of all PFAS chemicals in common products like food packaging and firefighting gear, communities will continue to pay the price with our health and tax dollars."
Mary Grant, the Public Water for All campaign director at Food & Water Watch, agreed that further action is necessary.
"Chemical companies have attempted to hide what they have long known about the dangers of PFAS, creating a widespread public health crisis in the process," Grant emphasized. "These polluters must absolutely be held accountable to pay to clean up their toxic mess."
"Today's new rules are a necessary and important step to jump start the cleanup process for two types of PFAS," she said. "While we thank the EPA for finalizing these rules, much more is necessary: The EPA must require polluters to pay to clean up the entire class of thousands of toxic PFAS chemicals, and it must ban nonessential uses of PFAS to stop the pollution in the first place."
Noting that it's not just the EPA considering forever chemicals policies, Grant called on Congress to "reject various legislative proposals to exempt for-profit companies, including the water and sewer privatization industry, from being held accountable to pay to clean up PFAS."
"It is an outrageous hypocrisy that large for-profit water corporations seek to privatize municipal water and sewer systems by touting themselves as a solution to PFAS contamination, and yet they want to carve themselves out of accountability for cleanup costs," she argued. "No corporation should have free rein to pollute."
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Green Groups Slam RFK Jr. as 'Dangerous Conspiracy Theorist and Science Denier'
"With so much at stake, we stand united in denouncing RFK Jr.'s false environmentalist claims."
Apr 19, 2024
A dozen national green groups on Friday published an open letter exposing what they say are the dangers of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s quixotic Independent U.S. presidential bid by highlighting his embrace of conspiracy theories and his use of language often spoken by climate deniers.
"Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is not an environmentalist. He is a dangerous conspiracy theorist and science denier whose agenda would be a disaster for our communities and the planet," the letter argues. "He may have once been an environmental attorney, but now RFK Jr. is peddling the term 'climate change orthodoxy' and making empty promises to clean up our environment with superficial proposals."
"The truth is, by rejecting science, what he offers is no different than Donald Trump," the signers asserted, referring to the former Republican president and presumptive 2024 GOP nominee.
The letter continues:
In the fact-free world that both he and Trump live in, objective reality simply does not exist. Their policy platforms are instead driven by what will benefit Big Oil and the greedy corporations that fund them. We know, however, that environmental progress depends on following scientific fact and putting people over politics.
With so much at stake, we stand united in denouncing RFK Jr.'s false environmentalist claims. We can't, in good conscience, let him continue co-opting the credibility and successes of our movement for his own personal benefit.
"RFK Jr. is a bleak reminder that our democracy is incredibly vulnerable," the letter adds. "Any support for this Kennedy-in-name-only will inevitably result in a second Trump term and the complete erosion of vital environmental and social gains made to date."
The letter is signed by the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund, Friends of the Earth Action, LCV Victory Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund, Climate Emergency Advocates, Climate Power, Earthjustice Action, Food & Water Action, NextGen America, Sierra Club Independent Action, Sunrise Movement, and 350 Action.
Earlier this month, the Kennedy campaign fired New York state director Rita Palma after she admitted that her "No. 1 priority" is to siphon votes from President Joe Biden—who she described as the "mutual enemy" of both the Kennedy and Trump voter.
Last month, More Perfect Unionreleased a video highlighting the ultrawealthy Republican donors and Trump backers who are also financing Kennedy's White House run, which many observers believe could play spoiler to Biden's reelection bid.
In a stinging rebuke, prominent members of the Kennedy political dynasty reaffirmed their support for Biden on Thursday. Numerous relatives have been urging Kennedy to drop out of the race.
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Youth Lead Global Strike Demanding 'Climate Justice Now'
"We are many people and youths who want to express our frustration over what decision-makers are doing right now: They don't care about our future and aren't doing anything to stop the climate crisis," one young activist said.
Apr 19, 2024
Ahead of Earth Day, young people around the world are participating in a global strike on Friday to demand "climate justice now."
In Sweden, Greta Thunberg joined hundreds of other demonstrators for a march in Stockholm; in Kenya, participants demanded that their government join the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty; and in the U.S., youth activists are kicking off more than 200 Earth Day protests directed at pressing President Joe Biden to declare a climate emergency.
"We're gathered here to fight, once again, for climate justice," Thunberg toldAgence France-Presse at the Stockholm protest, which drew around 500 people. "It's now been more than five and a half years that we've been doing the same thing, organizing big global strikes for the climate and gathering people, youths from the entire world."
"I lost my home to climate change. Now I'm fighting so that others don't lose their homes."
The first global youth climate strike, which grew out of Thunberg's Fridays for Future school strikes, took place on March 15, 2019. Since then, both emissions and temperatures have continued to rise, with 2023 blowing past the record for hottest year. Yet, according to Climate Action Tracker, no country has policies in place that are compatible with limiting global heating to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels.
"We are many people and youths who want to express our frustration over what decision-makers are doing right now: They don't care about our future and aren't doing anything to stop the climate crisis," Karla Alfaro Gripe, an 18-year-old participant at the Stockholm march, told AFP.
The global strikes are taking place under the umbrella of Friday's for Future, which has three main demands: 1. limit temperature rise to 1.5°C, 2. ensure climate justice and equity, and 3. listen to the most accurate, up-to-date science."Fight with us for a world worth living in," the group wrote on their website, next to a link inviting visitors to find actions in their countries.
Participants shared videos and images of their actions on social media.
European strikers also gathered in London, Dublin, and Madrid.
In Asia, Save Future Bangladesh founder Nayon Sorkar posted a video from the Meghna River on Bangladesh's Bola Island, where erosion destroyed his family's home when he was three years old.
"I lost my home to climate change," Sorkar wrote. "Now I'm fighting so that others don't lose their homes."
Also in Bangladesh, larger crowds rallied in Dhaka, Sylhet, Feni, and Bandarban for climate action.
"Young climate activists in Bandarban demand a shift to renewable energy and away from fossil fuels," said Sajjad Hossain, the divisional coordinator for Youthnet for Climate Justice Bangladesh. "We voiced urgency for sustainable energy strategies and climate justice. Let's hold governments accountable for a just transition!"
In Kenya, young people struck specifically to demand that the government sign on to the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
"As a member of the Lake Victoria community, the importance of the treaty in our climate strikes cannot be overstated," Rahmina Paullette, founder of Kisumu Environmental Champions and a coordinator for Fridays for Future Africa, said in a statement. "By advocating for its implementation, we address the triple threat of climate change, plastic pollution, and environmental injustice facing our nation."
"Halting fossil fuel expansion not only safeguards crucial ecosystems but also combats the unjust impacts of environmental degradation, ensuring a more equitable and sustainable future for our community and the wider Kenyan society," Paullette said.
In the U.S., Fridays for Future NYC planned for what they expected to be the largest New York City climate protest since September 2023's March to End Fossil Fuels. The action will begin at Foley Square at 2:00 pm Eastern Time, at which point more than 1,000 students and organizers are expected to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to rally in front of Borough Hall.
The strike "is part of a national escalation of youth-led actions in more than 200 cities and college campuses around the country, all calling on President Biden to listen to our generation and young voters, stop expanding fossil fuels, and declare a climate emergency that meaningfully addresses fossil fuels, creating millions of good paying union jobs, and preparing us for climate disasters in the process," Fridays for Future NYC said in a statement.
The coalition behind the climate emergency drive, which also includes the Sunrise Movement, Fridays for Future USA, and Campus Climate Network, got encouraging news on Wednesday when Bloomberg reported that the White House had reopened internal discussions into potentially declaring a climate emergency.
"We're staring down another summer of floods, fires, hurricanes, and extreme heat," Sunrise executive director Aru Shiney-Ajay said in a statement. "Biden must do what right Republicans in Congress are unwilling to do: Stand up to oil and gas CEOs, create green union jobs, and prepare us for climate disasters. Biden must declare a climate emergency and use every tool at his disposal to tackle the climate crisis and prepare our communities to weather the storm. If Biden wants to be taken seriously by young people, he needs to deliver on climate change."
The coalition is planning events leading up to Monday including dozens of Earth Day teach-ins beginning Friday to encourage members of Congress to pressure Biden on a climate emergency and Reclaim Earth Day mobilizations on more than 100 college and university campuses to demand that schools divest from and cut ties with the fossil fuel industry.
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