The Environmental Protection Agency (Environmental Protection Agency) on Thursday weakened a rule on how companies store chemical products. These standards were issued by President Barack Obama after the explosion in West Texas in 2013. It resulted in 15 deaths, including 12 emergency personnel.
Under the new standards, companies will not have to provide the public with information about the types of chemicals stored on their premises. They also do not have to take several measures aimed at preventing accidents, such as analyzing safer technologies and procedures, conducting "root cause analysis" after major chemical spills, or obtaining third-party audits when accidents occur.
US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler (Andrew Wheeler) said in a statement that the revised "risk management plan" rules address concerns raised by safety experts, who are concerned that publishing the location of chemical warehouses in the United States may be Terrorists and others provide road maps. Wheeler’s predecessor at the EPA, Scott Pruitt, suspended the Obama-era rule in the first month of his tenure, after chemical companies and refineries complained that the 2017 guidelines gave They bring too much burden.
Wheeler said: "Under the leadership of the Trump administration, the EPA listened to our first responders and homeland security experts. "Today's final action addresses the long-standing concerns of emergency responders and maintains important public safety. At the same time, it saves Americans about 88 million U.S. dollars each year. "
Michael P. Walls, vice chairman of the American Chemistry Council for regulatory and technical affairs, said in an email that his team praised the EPA for ensuring the federal government’s risk management program "Continue to achieve solid results in monitoring the safety of chemical facilities."
On April 7, 2013, more than 80,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate caught fire in a fertilizer warehouse in Westtown, Central Texas, causing 15 deaths and 160 injuries. Federal regulators tried to strengthen the protection of flammables and poisons. Chemical processing procedures. Federal investigators concluded in 2016 that although arson was the direct cause of the fire, the company stored ammonium nitrate in an unsafe manner.
In a document released by the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday, the agency said that one of the reasons it decided to review the standards, which applies to more than 12,000 facilities nationwide, was that the 2013 fire was caused by a criminal act (arson) rather than an accidental result. ."
Mason G. Lindsay, chairman of the Calcasieu Parish Local Emergency Planning Committee in Louisiana, Calcasieu Parish Local Emergency Planning Committee, said in a statement that the changes to the regulations “will help us collect emergency contacts, Conduct exercises, review plans and events".
However, environmental and public health organizations said that these changes will make chemical and oil refining businesses possible accidents in the future.
"Given that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is primarily a public health agency, it is unreasonable. The Trump administration will critically protect the intestinal tract from emergency rescuers and nearby residential facilities to handle potentially hazardous chemicals," said Elena. Healthy senior director of the Environmental Protection Fund. "We need more detailed emergency plans, increased transparency and safer technology. It is clear that the cost of chemical disasters is far greater than maintaining the safety of the community, and this action is going in the wrong direction."
Dangerous accidents continue to occur in American chemical plants. Last week, nearly 40 House Democrats wrote to Wheeler asking him to maintain the Obama-era regulations, stating that 73 accidents and leaks have occurred since the suspension of the regulations.
Last year, a grand jury sued Arkema North America and its two executives. Federal officials said they released toxic chemicals "recklessly" during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The company denied the allegations in a statement at the time, saying "it is hard to believe that anyone would seek criminal conviction for a facility that was affected by such a severe natural disaster."
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