Greenpeace

With the memory of BP’s failed "fail safe" shut-off valve fresh in our minds, one can only begin to imagine the nightmare that millions of pounds of chlorine gas could bring to the Delaware valley thanks to DuPont. The inspection report we gave to DuPont on May 21st was the culmination of weeks of work. For example, we photographed 90-ton rail cars parked outside their fence line. Just one of these rail cars can put millions of people at risk of sudden death or serious injury 20 miles down wind. From our airship we saw many rail cars of chlorine gas inside their plants.

As former DuPont CEO Charles Holliday told the media in 2007, there’s little anyone can do to prevent a plane from flying into one of their plants. But what DuPont can do is switch to safer processes. Even Dow Chemical is doing that at one of their plants. They partnered with K2Pure Solutions and will eliminate the storage and transport of 90-ton rail cars of chlorine gas by switching to a small batch process. Clorox is also doing the same company-wide. And the railroads, which bring the chlorine to DuPont, no longer want to haul these cargoes. The Association of American Railroads says if these plants won’t convert, Congress should make them.


Inside the Edge Moor, DE DuPont plant we met DuPont spokesman Rick Straitman. He didn’t dispute the inherent danger of their chlorine gas and assured us that they were looking for safer alternatives. But he wouldn’t comment on why DuPont is lobbying Congress to kill legislation that would prevent chemical disasters.

Together 300 U.S. chemical plants put 110 million Americans at risk. Yet 40 million Americans no longer face these risks thanks to the conversion of 500 plants to safer chemical processes. But at the current rate of conversions it will take over 40 years for the highest risk plants to convert. The Senate needs to adopt legislation (H.R. 2868) passed by the House last year. They need to make sure that the highest risk plants use safer alternatives where ever possible. Let your Senator know today.

Today there are still 300 chemical plants that together put 110 million Americans at risk of a disaster worse than Bhopal or 9/11 because each of these plants has enough poison gas on site to kill or injure potentially millions of people living down wind. In June of 2002, the Bush EPA drafted rules for chemical plants as part of a proposed chemical security program to encourage the use of safer chemical processes to eliminate catastrophic hazards. It was so encouraging that the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee voted unanimously for a bill that would have required high risk chemical facilities to use safer chemical processes. Had either the EPA or the Senate bill been adopted they would have been fully implemented by 2004. Unfortunately the Bush White House scuttle the EPA proposal and the Congress let the EPW bill die.

Today we might be evaluating the success or failure of that program. Instead we are relying on a 740 word temporary law passed in 2006 that gave Congress three years to enact a comprehensive law. At a March 3rd Senate hearing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) admitted that they will not complete inspections of the 229 highest risk plants until the end of 2010. Yet Republican leaders, backed by the chemical lobby, want to extend this temporary law for five years!

Let's review the temporary law that chemical makers like so much. It exempts 2,400 water treatment plants and 500 port facilities. It bars the DHS from requiring the use of "any particular security measure." That's like prohibiting fire proofing and prevention systems that are required in public buildings. In this case it would mean requiring the use a safer chemical processes.

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) calls these safer chemical processes "the only foolproof way to defeat a terrorist determined to strike a chemical facility." Instead the current law is based on voluntary industry programs and it doesn't even provide one dollar to assist facilities with conversion costs.

Meanwhile the DHS is spending time and money on "smell phones" to detect poison gas releases and report them via text messages. They might as well buy 100,000 body bags.

The good news is that in November the House of Representatives passed a bill (H.R. 2868) that for the first time would require the use of "foolproof" processes to eliminate these unbelievable risks. Days before the vote, Clorox announced that they were converting all of their U.S. plants to safer processes just as hundreds of other plants have done over the last decade. Those conversions have eliminated chemical disaster risks for 40 million Americans but not at the 300 plants that put 110 million of us in jeopardy.

Senator Lautenberg (D-NJ) is expected to introduce a bill like the House passed bill very soon. Recently, there was a story in Politico that unearthed this sad history and the status of legislation in the Senate.

Please tell your Senator to take action today!

We can't let the chemical industry lobbyist win! They've been blocking strong chemical security legislation for nine years. These “big business” lobbyists are pulling out all the stops to prevent safety from prevailing. In 2008 Greenpeace identified 169 lobbyists registered to keep Congress from enacting a strong chemical security law. We can’t let them win!

Do you have a few minutes to help us win this important campaign? All you have to do is pick up your phones and call your Senators. It’s easy to do and makes a big difference.

Step 1: Pick up your phone and call the Senate switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Ask for your Senator and you'll be transferred to their office line. If you don't know your Senator, the switchboard will help you find that out. Step 2: When the receptionist answers the phone tell them your name and where you're from (city, state). Step 3: Ask if you can leave a message for your Senator. Here is an example of a message that you can leave, "As a concerned citizen and one of your constituents, I’m calling to ask you to co-sponsor and support Senator Lautenberg's Secure Chemical and Water Facilities Act when it's introduced and comes up for a vote. Putting millions of Americans needlessly at risk when there are safer alternatives readily available is dangerous and doesn't make sense." Step 4: Once you’ve made the call, brag about it! Tell us you made the call and we’ll jump for joy.

It’s just unbelievable that one in three Americans are put at an unnecessary risk from dangerous chemical plants. It’s time for all of us to do our part to get the word out. Thank you so much for your help.

--Rick

 

One in three Americans is currently at unnecessary risk from dangerous chemical plants. One in three!

And, if you think that’s crazy, wait until you read this. There are safer alternatives to keep us out of harm’s way, but they’re not being used. What’s the holdup? While Congress has the opportunity to change all this, chemical security lobbyists are pulling out all the stops to put profits and politics above our safety and security.

We've proven that we can take on these chemical lobbyists. Last November, the House of Representatives passed comprehensive chemical security legislation. Now, it’s the Senate’s turn. But, we need YOU to take action once again, telling your Senators to get tough on chemical security.

Your help is urgently needed because just this week Senators are meeting to discuss taking up the House bill and to kick off the process. We need to make sure that the bill that comes out of the Senate does as much to protect Americans as the version that passed the House.

Putting millions of Americans needlessly at risk when there are safer alternatives readily available just doesn’t make any sense. Your Senators have a chance to end this insanity by supporting comprehensive chemical security legislation this year. Please take action today.

Tomorrow, Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee will consider inserting loopholes into their own bill on behalf of the chemical industry. If adopted, these amendments will gut the Chemical Facilities Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009 (H.R. 2868).

In particular, these amendments will tie the hands of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), perpetuate disastrous risks to communities and employees, and burden business and government with redundant studies. In addition, they could also exempt many of the highest-risk plants in the country — roughly one hundred plants, each of which puts over 1 million Americans at risk — from the best security measures. Read more here.

We don’t need more loopholes and inaction, we need a law that protects the 110 million Americans who are still at risk because the existing law ties the hands of the DHS. These amendments would only serve to continue tying the hands of the folks whose job it is to protect the American public, which is why we are trying to make sure they do not pass.

We the people can speak up and demand strong chemical security legislation without loopholes that favor industry. If you can call members of Congress on this committee ASAP, tonight or first thing in the morning tomorrow, it will really help. Just follow these steps:

1. Call (202) 225-3121, the House switchboard.
2. All of the members of these Homeland Security Committee members need to hear from us: Dent (R-PA), King (R-NY) and Lungren (R-CA), Pascrell (D-NJ), Carney (D-PA), Richardson (D-CA), Clarke (D-NY), Cleaver (D-MO), DeFazio (D-OR), Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Sanches (D-CA), Thompson (D-MS). Pick one and ask the operator to be put through to their office. If you're actually a constituent of one of these Reps, all the better. Representative Charlie Dent (R-PA) is among the lead sponsors of the loophole amendments, so if you're not a constituent of one of the Reps, he'd be a good one to call.
3. A staffer will pick up. Tell them you're calling to give the Rep. a message. Here's a script you can use:
   
   

   I'm calling to urge the Rep. to support a strong chemical security bill by voting against dangerous loopholes proposed for H.R. 2868, the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009. We need a law that protects the 110 million Americans who are still at risk due to the fact that the existing law ties the hands of Homeland Security, and these amendements would only continue to do so.

Thanks in advance for making a call. It's very important that we speak up and make our voices heard. The members of the House of Representatives were elected by us to represent us, not the chemical industry. That's why it's so important that they hear from us.