The new statistics released by PEER were released as a result of a claim PEER and other groups have filed to compel the Chemical Safety Board to disclose industrial chemical releases as required by the Clean Air Act. A federal judge In 2019, it ruled that communities have a right to know what hazardous chemicals are being released nearby.
However, Trump’s EPA a public information tool last year was designed to inform communities about nearby risks. President Trump also tried to abolish the Chemical Security Council withholding of fundsalthough Congress continues to fund the agency.
Earlier this year, the administration proposed significantly weakening the RMP rules, which expire in 2024.”reduce regulatory burden” and accepted public comment on the rules until early May.
The Biden administration has strengthened RMP rules requires a number of measures to reduce the risk of catastrophic accidents, including the analysis of safer alternatives, independent analysis of the root causes of accidents, worker participation in accident prevention plans and climate change adaptation preparations.
An EPA spokeswoman said the agency is reviewing public comments and continues to work to complete the final rule by the end of 2026.
“EPA’s proposal is based on a rigorous analysis of RMP-reported incidents between 2014 and 2023, which show an unambiguously significant reduction in accidental releases over that period,” the spokesperson said. “This means that RMP-regulated facilities had successful prevention programs before the Biden EPA finalized its senseless and burdensome 2024 rule.”
The Biden EPA used the same data and came to the opposite conclusion, said PEER’s Ruch. Moreover, he added, “the conclusion that any reduction is due to industry prevention plans is an assumption that the current EPA does not have data to support.”
Meanwhile, it results in chemical accidents evacuations, injuriesor multiple losses continues to occur at least once a week.
“The risk increases with each passing year as the infrastructure continues to age,” Ruch said. At the same time, he said, “the federal response to this is diminishing.”
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