(Beyond Pesticides, January 14, 2010) Stating that current water-quality criteria does not reflect the latest scientific knowledge, The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish new water-quality criteria for numerous endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDC) under the Clean Water Act. If adopted, it will be a big step in regulating and eliminating persistent and widespread chemicals that damage reproductive functions in wildlife and humans. The Center for Biological Diversity formally requested that the EPA publish water quality criteria and information taking into account overwhelming science about the effects of EDC pollution on January 11. It says that under the Clean Water Act, EPA has a duty to periodically update water quality criteria to reflect the latest scientific knowledge. The petition presents scientific information on endocrine disrupting chemical pollution found in our waters and requests that the EPA promptly update water quality criteria reflecting this scientific information. Last month, legislation was introduced into Congress to explore linkages between hormone disrupting chemicals in the environment and everyday products and the dramatic increase of autism, hyperactivity, diabetes, obesity, breast cancer, prostate cancer and other hormone related disorders. After the identification of endocrine disruptors, the bill, The Endocrine Disruption Prevention […]

(Beyond Pesticides, January 13, 2010)The Coalition Against Bayer Dangers, based in Germany, is urging the multinational company Bayer to withdraw its most dangerous pesticides from the world market. The network specially is calling on Bayer to end sales of all products that contain active ingredients in the highest acute toxicity Class 1 of the World Health Organization (WHO) classification of pesticides. Bayer is the world market leader in sales of pesticides, many of which account for pollution and poisonings all over the world. The company acknowledges that “crop protection products may not always be used correctly under certain circumstances in some Third World countries.” Already in its 1995 Annual Report Bayer promised to “replace products with the Classification 1 of the World Health Organization with products of lower toxicity.” Public health advocates say that safe use of Class 1 (highest acute toxicity) pesticides is not possible, especially in countries where, because of poverty, illiteracy and other social conditions, as well as tropical climatic conditions, do not permit the wearing of protective gear. WHO estimates the number of people poisoned annually at three to 25 million. At least 40,000 people are killed accidentally by pesticides every year. The estimated number of […]

(Beyond Pesticides, January 12, 2010) Beyond Pesticides, along with Case Western Reserve University Medical School’s Swetland Center for Environmental Health and the local grassroots group Beyond Pesticides Ohio, will be hosting Greening the Community, the 28th National Pesticide Forum, April 9-10, 2010 in Cleveland, OH. This national environmental conference will focus on pesticide-free lawns and community spaces, organic community gardens and farming, cutting edge pesticide science, pesticides in schools, water contamination and more. Register online. Speaker Highlights ”¢ Cosmetic Pesticide Ban Organizers: In 2009, Ontario, Canada banned the use of over 250 pesticide products for cosmetic (lawn care) purposes. Forum participants will hear from Jan Kasperski, CEO of the Ontario College of Family Physicians, and Theresa McClenaghan, executive director of the Canadian Environmental Law Association, who fought to make this vision a reality. ”¢ “Food Sleuth” journalist: Registered dietitian, investigative nutritionist, and award-winning journalist Melinda Hemmelgarn will be addressing the benefits of eating organic and encouraging conference participants “think beyond their plates.” ”¢ Pesticide Researchers: The Forum will feature talks by several renowned pesticide researchers including Paul Winchester, MD, professor of clinical pediatrics Indiana University School of Medicine who authored the April 2009 study linking birth defects, pesticides and season […]

(Beyond Pesticides, January 11, 2010) Yet another study has been published that further supports the causative link between pesticide exposure and Parkinson’s disease. The study, funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), is published in the January issue of Epidemiology. The University of California, Los Angeles researchers looked at the association between Parkinson’s disease, organophosphate pesticides and the common gene variant, paraoxonase-1 gene Leu-Met 55 polymorphism (PON1-55 MM). The findings show that study participants with two copies of gene variant have a significantly increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease when exposed to certain organophosphate pesticides used in agriculture. The population-based case-control study examined the DNA of 351 incident cases and 363 controls from three rural counties in California. The researchers then used pesticide usage reports and a geographic information system (GIS) approach to determine the study participants’ residential exposure to organophosphates. The PON1 gene codes for an enzyme that metabolizes organophosphate pesticides. Individuals with the variant MM PONI1-55 genotype that are exposed to organophosphates exhibit more than twice the risk of Parkinson’s disease compared to carriers of wildtype or heterozygous genotype and no exposure. In regards to exposure to diazinon, carriers of variant MM PONI-55 genotype show […]

(Beyond Pesticides, January 7, 2010) Family farm groups across the Midwest are calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prioritize independent science as the agency begins reviewing the health and environmental threats posed by the herbicide atrazine. In a letter sent to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson on January 5, 2010, over a dozen groups maintain that only a completely transparent process that rejects biased research produced by the pesticide’s primary manufacturer, Syngenta, will result in a review that serves the interests of farmers, the general public and the environment. “As farmers on the front line of chemical exposure, we need EPA to make science-based decisions in the interest of our health, our family’s health and the health of our community,” said Paul Sobocinski, a southwest Minnesota crop and livestock farmer and Land Stewardship Project member. “Unfortunately, EPA has a track record of allowing agrichemical companies like Syngenta to hijack the process with bad science.” The letter to Ms. Jackson was accompanied by a new report, The Syngenta Corporation & Atrazine: The Cost to the Land, People & Democracy, jointly produced by the Minnesota-based Land Stewardship Project (LSP) and Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA). The report provides farmers […]

(Beyond Pesticides, January 6, 2010) The House Energy and Environment Subcommittee chairman asked federal regulators for an open discussion about the health and environmental impacts of two controversial chemicals- triclosan and triclocarban- commonly found in antimicrobial hand soaps and other consumer products. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is asking U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for answers to questions about triclosan and triclocarban. The synthetic antimicrobial chemicals are found in many soaps, toothpastes, deodorants and cosmetics. “Despite serious questions regarding the safety of these potentially dangerous products, these substances seem to exist in a regulatory black hole,” Rep. Markey said in a statement. “We must ensure that these products … kill germs without adversely impacting human health.” Read letter to EPA and FDA. In the letter to EPA, Rep. Markey questions whether the agency is reviewing existing data on the two chemicals, and if it has made a decision about further regulating them. He also asked if the agency has examined the impact of triclosan on wildlife, and whether it plans to evaluate the chemicals under its hormone-screening program, the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program. The lawmaker also pushed FDA on its plan for finalizing a […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 22, 2009) Currently, very few companies control most of the global food supply. But for the first time ever, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is calling for public comment on how big business controls food and farming. The DOJ’s Antitrust Division is collecting input in preparation for “agricultural workshops,” to be held jointly with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in early 2010, which will examine the extent of abusive anticompetitive behavior by agribusiness giants. The workshops, which were first announced by Attorney General Eric Holder and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Aug. 5, 2009, are the first joint Department of Justice/USDA workshops ever to be held to discuss competition and regulatory issues in the agriculture industry. The all-day workshops, which will begin in March 2010, will be held in Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Washington, D.C. and Wisconsin. According to DOJ, the goals of the workshops are to promote dialogue among interested parties and foster learning with respect to the appropriate legal and economic analyses of these issues, as well as to listen to and learn from parties with experience in the agriculture sector. Each workshop may feature keynote speakers, general expert panels, and break-out panels that […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 21, 2009) Earlier this month, Congressman Jim Moran of Northern Virginia and Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts introduced legislation to explore linkages between hormone disrupting chemicals in the environment and everyday products and the dramatic increase of autism, hyperactivity, diabetes, obesity, breast cancer, prostate cancer and other hormone related disorders. After the identification of endocrine disruptors, the legislation requires federal agencies with regulatory authority to report to Congress on the action it plans to take. For years, scientists have noted strange anomalies in fish and wildlife in locations where endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are found. A recent study found that an astounding 100 percent of small mouth bass in certain sites of the Potomac River basin have exhibited both male and female organs, a characteristic linked to EDCs. According to a 2009 study by the U.S. Geologic Survey, the occurrence of “intersex” fish is now found to be nationwide. “These fish are the proverbial ”˜canaries in the coal mine,’ a symptom of a larger sickness in our environment. The implications for humans are real and deeply troubling,” said U.S. Representative Moran, who worked with experts for roughly a year to craft the legislation. “We need facts driven […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 18, 2009) Biologists are finding that short-term, seasonal exposure to pesticides in rivers and basins limit the growth and size of wild salmon populations. Along with the widespread deterioration of salmon habitats, these findings show that exposure to commonly used pesticides continue to detriment the recovery of the salmons’ populations. The findings can be found in the study, “A fish of many scales: extrapolating sublethal pesticide exposures to the productivity of wild salmon populations,” in the December 2009 issue of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) journal, Ecological Applications. “Major efforts are currently underway to restore Pacific salmon habitats in an effort to recover depressed populations,” says David Baldwin, Ph.D., of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), who co-authored the study with NOAA colleagues, “However, not much research has been done to determine the importance of pollution as a limiting factor of ESA-listed species.” The researchers studied the impact of pesticides, such as diazinon and malathion, on individual salmon using pre-existing data, and then devised a model to calculate the productivity and growth rate of the population. They used several exposure scenarios to reflect realistic pesticide use across various landscapes and over time. “An important aim […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 17, 2009) Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced the availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that preliminarily concludes that there is no significant impact on the human environment due to granting nonregulated status to Roundup Ready (RR) alfalfa. Much to the dismay of environmentalists, the draft EIS outlines plans to allow unlimited commercial planting of genetically-engineered (GE) alfalfa that is resistant to the herbicide glyphosate, despite increasing evidence that GE alfalfa will threaten the rights of farmers and consumers, as well as damage the environment and the integrity of organic food. The agency prepared this draft EIS to comply with a February 2007 judgment and order by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, in which Judge Charles R. Breyer found that USDA violated federal environmental law by failing to conduct an EIS on GE alfalfa seeds before deregulating them in 2005. The lawsuit, originally brought on by The Center for Food Safety (CFS) and several other environmental and farming groups, including Beyond Pesticides and Sierra Club, led to a 2007 court order that the deregulation may have significant environmental impacts […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 16, 2009) The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published its Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals – the most comprehensive assessment to date of the exposure of the U.S. population to chemicals in our environment. CDC measures 212 chemicals in people’s blood or urine – 75 of which have been measured for the first time in the U.S. population. One of the new chemicals included in this report is triclosan, a common and hazardous antibacterial agent. In this Fourth Report, 75 new chemicals were added. Chemicals in the Fourth Report include metals such as lead, cadmium, uranium, mercury, and speciated forms of arsenic; environmental phenols such as bisphenol-A (BPA); acrylamide; perfluorinated chemicals; polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs); polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); volatile organic compounds such as benzene, styrene and methyl tert-butyl ether; pesticides; phthalates; and dioxins, furans and related chemicals. The data analyzed in the Fourth Report are based on blood and urine samples that were collected from approximately 2400 people who participated in CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2003 through 2004. NHANES is an ongoing national health survey of the non-institutionalized U.S. population that includes collecting and […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 15, 2009) Exposure to the endocrine-disrupting herbicide atrazine triggers the release of stress hormones in rats, according to a new study published in the December 2009 issue of the journal Toxicological Sciences. The researchers believe this may explain how the popular weed killer produces some its harmful reproductive effects. The study, “Characterization of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Response to Atrazine and Metabolites in the Female Rat,” was conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory. According to a December 4 analysis by Environmental Health Sciences, a foundation-funded journalism organization, the researchers discovered that female rats fed atrazine at the time of ovulation released a flow of stress hormones that are known to interfere with hormones essential for reproduction. The findings reveal one way atrazine may impact female reproduction. Elevated stress hormones can disrupt the hormone signals that spur ovulation. Such a stress response to atrazine could partially explain why previous studies find that the herbicide inhibits reproduction. The stress reaction is similar to that seen when the animals are restrained against their will. One of the most widely used agricultural pesticides in the U.S., atrazine can currently legally be applied before and […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 14, 2009) A new report links disinfectant chemicals with chronic illnesses and conditions such as asthma, hormone imbalance, and immune system problems. The report, Disinfectant Overkill: How Too Clean May Be Hazardous to Our Health, was released by the national environmental health group Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE), and cites more than 40 peer-reviewed reports and scientific studies that document the health impacts of chemicals found in household disinfectants. Chemicals reviewed in the report include chlorine bleach, ammonia, triclosan and triclocarban, ammonium quarternary compounds, and nano-silver. “Companies are working hard to convince consumers, and especially moms, that they need to regularly disinfect every surface in their homes to protect their families from illness. But that’s simply not true and it may not be healthy,” says WVE staff scientist and report author Alexandra Scranton. “We’re encouraging consumers to go back to basics for cleaning, with less of a focus on disinfection and more on non-toxic cleaners and a little elbow grease.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), frequent hand washing with hot water and regular soap is the best way to prevent infection and illness. “Antimicrobial chemicals available in the home today were […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 8, 2009) Following a recent recommendation by the international Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee to take “global action” to address health and environmental impacts, a broad coalition of 42 environmental, health, labor, and farming groups sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson urging EPA to finally take action to ban the antiquated insecticide. Acute poisoning from endosulfan can cause headaches, nausea, vomiting, convulsions, and in extreme cases, unconsciousness and even death. Studies have linked endosulfan to smaller testicles, lower sperm production, an increase in the risk of miscarriages and autism. Endosulfan is a potent environmental pollutant and is especially toxic to fish and other aquatic life. It also affects birds, bees, earthworms, and other beneficial insects. Endosulfan travels such long distances that it has been found in Sierra Nevada lakes and on Mt. Everest. This persistent pesticide can also migrate to the Poles on wind and ocean currents where Arctic communities have documented contamination. “It’s time for the U.S. to step up to the plate and get rid of endosulfan,” notes Karl Tupper, Ph.D., staff scientist with Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA). “EPA’s review of endosulfan has been dragging on for years. Since 2006 they’ve […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 4, 2009) Twenty-five years ago, a toxic cloud of gas from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, enveloped the surrounding city, leaving thousands dead. Anywhere between 50,000 to 90,000 lbs of the chemical methyl isocyanate (MIC) are estimated to have leaked into the air, killing approximately 8,000-10,000 people within the first three days, according to data by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Advocacy groups working with victims say that more than 25,000 have died to date, and more than 120,000 people still suffer from severe health problems as a result of their exposure. According to a Reuters piece on the anniversary of Bhopal, “India’s “death factory” leaves toxic legacy 25 years on,” there are still 40 metric tonnes of chemical waste stored in a warehouse inside the plant that still needs disposal. Dow Chemical, which now owns Union Carbide, denies any responsibility saying it bought the company a decade after Union Carbide had settled its liabilities to the Indian government in 1989 by paying $470 million for the victims. “After the disaster, Union Carbide did this botched site remediation and created a massive landfill,” said Rajan Sharma, a New York-based lawyer demanding that Dow […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 3, 2009) Pregnant women should reconsider applying insect repellent after a study finds a link to an increasingly common birth defect. European researchers have found an association between mothers who used insect repellent in the earliest phase of pregnancy and an increased rate of “hypospadias” in the penises of their male children. Hypospadias is the condition where the opening of the penis is in the wrong place – usually back from the tip and on the underside – and often requires corrective surgery. The condition is thought to affect around one to two baby boys in every 500. According to a report published online November 30 in Occupational and Environmental Medicine and entitled “Use of biocides and insect repellents and risk of hypospadias,” infants born to mothers who used insect repellent during the first trimester of pregnancy are more likely to have hypospadias (OR 1.81, 95% CI 1.06 to 3.11) after adjusting for other factors. The research includes 471 babies with hypospadias and 490 acting as a comparison group. Their mothers were asked a series of questions, including whether they had been exposed to insect repellents and biocide chemicals, such as pesticides or weedkillers. They were asked […]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 1, 2009) A new study published in the November 2009 issue of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, adds rhinitis, the inflammation of the mucous lining of the nose, to the long list of ailments linked to pesticide exposure. “Rhinitis associated with pesticide exposure among commercial pesticide applicators in the Agricultural Health Study,” examined data from 2,245 Iowa commercial pesticide applicators and evaluated the association between rhinitis and 34 pesticides used in the past year. Seventy-four percent of commercial pesticide applicators in the study reported at least one episode of rhinitis in the past year (current rhinitis), compared with about 20-30% of the general population. Pesticide exposure and rhinitis were assessed at enrollment using two self-administered questionnaires. The first, completed at enrollment, obtained detailed information on use of pesticides on the market at the time of enrolment as well as smoking history, current agricultural activity and demographics. The second questionnaire, sent one month later, more detailed information on the pesticides, as well as medical history, including rhinitis, conjunctivitis, sinusitis and asthma. Respondents reported using 16 herbicides, 11 insecticides, five fungicides and two fumigants in the past year. Five of the pesticides were significantly positively associated with current rhinitis: the […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 25, 2009) Although phased out from use in playground, deck and landscaping timbers, chromated-copper-arsenic (CCA), a hazardous wood preservative still allowed for use on utility poles, continues to be found on children’s playgrounds. Researchers at Tulane University sampled playgrounds from the city of New Orleans metropolitan area and found significant amounts of arsenic in the soils. Tulane University’s Center for Bioenvironmental Research Howard Mielke, PhD and his colleagues, concerned about risks to children posed by treated wood, used a portable X-ray fluorescence instrument to survey playgrounds for arsenic. Their results, presented at the 30th annual North American meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry and entitled “Soil arsenic surveys of New Orleans: Localized hazards in children’s play areas,” finds that 56.8% of wood sampled are treated with CCA and 78% of soils sampled from playgrounds contain levels of arsenic greater than the state “acceptable” level. One playground in particular contains CCA-treated wood that had been chipped and used as a cushioning ground surface around slides, swings and other equipment from which a child might fall. These chips contain high concentrations -813 to 1,654 ppm- of leachable arsenic. Note: The researchers informed the school of the […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 19, 2009) A three-year old child in Kenya died after eating the highly toxic pesticide carbofuran, according to a report attributed to the boy’s father, Nahashon Kigai. He said in an interview that, while he knew Furadan was toxic for pests, he had no idea it was so harmful to humans. Mr. Kigai said he had purchased Furadan a few months ago in preparation for planting vegetables at his small farm. Carbofuran is sold in Kenya in both a liquid form and a more widely available granular form, which farmers sprinkle around their seeds when planting crops. “I am sure he ate it, because he had [the pesticide] in his hand and in his mouth,” Mr. Kigai said. Mr. Kigai had put the Furadan into a small container, which his son later found. Soon after Kimutai apparently ate the Furadan, the boy began to show signs of paralysis and later became unconscious. Carbofuran is a toxic insecticide that does not meet current U.S. food safety standards, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving forward to implement the agency’s May 2009 final rule revoking tolerances, or residue limits, for the pesticide carbofuran. EPA says that it […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 18, 2009) A report released yesterday and authored by Charles Benbrook, PhD, chief scientist at The Organic Center (TOC), finds that the rapid adoption by U.S. farmers of genetically modified corn, soybeans and cotton has promoted increased use of pesticides, an epidemic of herbicide-resistant weeds, and more chemical residues in foods. The report, “Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on Pesticide Use in the United States: The First Thirteen Years,” explores the impact of the adoption of genetically modified (GM) corn, soybean, and cotton on pesticide use in the United States, drawing principally on data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The most striking finding, is that GM crops have been responsible for an increase of 383 million pounds of herbicide use in the U.S. over the first 13 years of commercial use of GE crops (1996-2008). The report identifies, and discusses in detail, the primary cause of the increase–the emergence of herbicide-resistant weeds. The steep rise in the pounds of herbicides applied with respect to most GM crop acres is not news to farmers. Weed control is now widely acknowledged as a serious management problem within GM cropping systems. The rise in herbicide use comes as […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 17, 2009) According to a new study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, exposure to low levels of the organophosphate insecticide chorpyrifos during pregnancy can impair learning, change brain function and alter thyroid levels of offspring into adulthood for tested mice, especially females. The study, “Long-term sex selective hormonal and behavior alterations in mice exposed to low doses of chlorpyrifos in utero,” was led by Beyond Pesticides board member and professor of zoology and environmental toxicology, Warren Porter, PhD. Read the full analysis of the study on the Rodale Institute website. On June 8, 2000, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Dow AgroSciences, reached an agreement to stop the sale of most home, lawn and garden uses for chlorpyrifos because of its health risks to children. However, its use continues in agriculture. According to advocates, this new study provides further evidence for the need to ban chlorpyrifos and fully protect farmworkers, their families, and rural communities from the toxic hazards of this outdated, unnecessary pesticide. According to the Rodale Institute, which provided part of the funding for the study, “The new animal study accentuates the risk of ultra-low levels of the common pesticide chlorpyrifos to cause […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 13, 2009) The Ohio Department of Agriculture is asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to allow an unregistered use of the neurotoxic and cancer causing insecticide propoxur in homes to fight bedbugs in what state officials are describing as an ”˜emergency’ situation. The chemical, o-isopropoxyphenyl methylcarbamate, is in the carbamate family and classified as a probable human carcinogen (Group B2) by EPA, and listed as a known human carcinogen by the state of California. Though EPA allows emergency exemptions for unregistered pesticide uses in agriculture and for public health reasons under a controversial waiver program (Section 18, Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, 40 CFR Part 166), it rarely issues such an exemption for an indoor pesticide use. Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati are all experiencing a surge of bed bug infestations. According to Richard Pollack, a Harvard University public health entomologist, this is probably due to the fact that bedbugs are becoming resistant to many pesticide products that are used today. The use of broad spectrum insecticides, which kill common household insects such as cockroaches, ants and other insects including bed bugs, has resulted in insect resistance to these chemicals. Many of the chemicals used against […]

(Beyond Pesticides, November 10, 2009) Eight years after the September 11th attacks, the U.S. House of Representatives approved on November 6, 2009 the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009, (H.R. 2868) by a vote of 230-193. The legislation was led by Representatives Thompson (D-MS), Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Waxman (D-CA), Markey (D-MA), Oberstar (D-MN) and Johnson (D-TX). This is the first time either house of Congress has approved permanent and comprehensive chemical security legislation. “Although it’s a compromise, this bill represents a historic first step toward protecting the 100 million Americans living in the shadow of high-risk chemical plants,” said Rick Hind, legislative director of Greenpeace. Attempts by House Republicans to weaken the legislation were voted down. “The day after a terrorist attack at a chemical plant kills thousands of Americans, any suggestion that we should not require the use of safer chemicals at these plants will be considered totally crazy. Republicans should have been offering amendments to strengthen this modest legislation instead of trying to cripple it,” said Mr. Hind. The Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act will require thousands of facilities where a toxic release endangers the surrounding community to assess their ability to “reduce the consequences of a terrorist attack” by […]