As one of his first acts in office, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt decided to put on hold the implementation of new regulations to improve the safety of chemical facilities around the country. Those regulations, finalized in 2017, called for consideration of safer technologies, better information for communities and first responders that are on the front lines of accidents and other incidents, better planning for accidents and disasters, and improvements in response capabilities including coordination and practice sessions with local first responders. These changes were made to update the so-called Risk Management Plan rule, last significantly modified in 1996. Read more >

Members of the Kentucky National Guard receive a brief on extracting the mock injured and wounded during the early stages of their external evalutation at Muscatatuck Urban Training Center in Butlerville, Ind. May 23. The purpose of the exercises and evaluation is to prepare the Kentucky Guard’s chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) teams to respond to such attacks and disasters. Photo: Spc. David Bolton, Public Affairs Specialist, 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, Kentucky Army National Guard/CC BY 2.0 (Flickr)
Five Things You Should Know About EPA’s Proposed Giant Step Backward on the Safety of Chemical Facilities
Andrew Rosenberg, director, Center for Science & Democracy
May 17, 2018 5:18 PM EDT
Avoiding Chemical Disasters, Managing Risks: EPA Addresses Chemical Safety
Yogin Kothari, Former Washington representative, Center for Science and Democracy
March 28, 2016 5:12 PM EDT
In response to the 2013 West, Texas disaster that killed 15 people, injured 200 more, and impacted thousands in the community, President Barack Obama asked the federal government to modernize its chemical safety rules. Nearly three years later, the Environmental Protection Agency has finally proposed changes to the Risk Management Program (RMP) Rule. Read more >
8 Times Your Voice has been Silenced by the Trump Administration
August 23, 2019 11:00 AM EDT
As my colleagues and I have investigated the Trump administration’s continued attacks on science, we have noticed an insidious pattern. The administration has, time and again, approved rules for which the public overwhelmingly voiced opposition. Allow me to present eight times where the Trump administration not only ignored science, but potentially disregarded the will of the American people as indicated by the public comments. Read more >