"Emergency plans for natural gas pipelines are effectively withheld from the public and industry watchdogs because the U.S. government's pipeline safety agency itself doesn't have copies. Because the government doesn't have the plans, the public can't use the nation's open records law to request them...Officials in San Bruno and San Mateo County said PG&E didn't share its emergency plan for the pipeline with their emergency response agencies prior to the disaster. They said it is information they'd like to have."
Sen. Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced the Secure Water Facilities Act and the Secure Chemical Facilities Act, which will "close a gap that leaves millions of families vulnerable to an attack on America's chemical plants and water treatment facilities." According to Lautenberg, this legislation will "ensure a thorough review of risk, and help us move toward more secure plants and safer communities."
The EPA has launched an initiative to help communities more effectively participate in government decisions related to land cleanup, emergency preparedness and response, and the management of hazardous substances and waste. The Community Engagement Initiative (CEI) plan lays out steps to provide communities with information and opportunities to influence decisions on environmental cleanups. Read the plan.
More than 40 million Americans are no longer at risk from a poisonous cloud of gas released from a terrorist attack on water treatment plants thanks to process changes at the plants, according to data analyzed by the Center for American Progress (CAP). However, millions more remain at risk and the Senate is poised to take on this issue.
A new report, Murky Waters? Corporate Reporting on Water Risk, faults many large companies for not disclosing the risks they face from growing worldwide water scarcity. Many water-intensive companies are not including material water risks and performance data in their financial filings, nor local-level water data or supply chain water data.
Dec. 3 marks the 25th anniversary of the most catastrophic industrial accident in history: the leak of poisonous gas from a pesticide plant in the Indian city of Bhopal. Twenty-five years after the tragedy, much progress has been made, but much remains to be done to provide a minimum level of protection against chemical releases.
OMB Watch today posted updated information about the risks of serious public harm posed by thousands of chemical facilities nationwide. RTK NET's RMP database is available here.