title: Take immediate action to protect communities and workers.
abstract: In many areas throughout America, thousands of industrial and military facilities and agricultural operations put large numbers of people at risk of serious injury or death due to accidental chemical releases, explosions, fires, and grossly inadequate occupational exposure standards. While some companies are moving toward "greener" production, many others do the minimum required by government agencies. As evidenced by the thousands of permit violations and accidental releases of hazardous chemicals, this means that facilities across the country consistently fail to meet regulations, incorporating the cost of fines and penalties into the cost of doing business and passing that cost on to consumers. Workers at such facilities and residents of the surrounding communities cannot wait for the eventual implementation and enforcement of federal environmental laws or adequate testing of the effect chemicals may have on the human population. Immediate action is needed to protect communities and workers at risk from chemical exposures that can compromise their health.
authors.affiliation: 190 Rhinebeck Rd. Cobleskill, NY 12043, USA. clean.bobbi@gmail.com
authors.forename: Roberta Chase
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Wilding
authors.forename: Sharon E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Lewis
mesh_terms: D002617:Chemical Industry / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000592:standards; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D015386:Hazardous Substances; D006801:Humans; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000517:prevention & control; D014481:United States; D014484:United States Environmental Protection Agency; D014489:United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration
chemical_list: D015386:Hazardous Substances