The chemical industry is asking the Environmental Protection Agency, now helmed by industry-friendly Trump appointee Lee Zeldin, to hide chemical facilities at the highest risk of disaster and their safety records from public view.
On Jan. 30, more than a dozen chemical industry groups sent a letter to Zeldin demanding he take “urgent action” to roll back Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) oversight of facilities that are at the highest risk for chemical disasters. The trade groups also requested the agency “immediately shut down” a government website that makes public where these facilities are located and what dangerous toxins they hold.
Each year, dozens of chemical accidents occur at these high-risk facilities, sometimes forcing entire communities to evacuate or shelter in place. In June 2023, a massive chemical fire at one of these plants in Southwest Louisiana, a region where such chemical accidents are particularly frequent, sent a plume of toxic gas into the air and forced residents within three miles of the facility to shelter in place. Yet reducing EPA oversight of these facilities has for years been a priority for chemical lobbyists.
