Key Resources
- Key Reports & Resources
- Useful Websites
- News and Opinion
- Converting to Safer Chemical Processes
The Fertilizer Boom: America's Rapidly Growing Nitrogen Fertilizer Industry and its Impact on the Environment and Public Safety (Environmental Integrity Project, 2023)
Preventing Disaster: Three chemical incidents within two weeks show urgent need for stronger federal safety requirements (Coming Clean, 2022)
“Report Card” for Your Local Emergency Planning Committee
Chemical Accident Prevention: EPA Should Ensure Regulated Facilities Consider Risks from Climate Change (Government Accountability Office, 2022)
Top 10 RMP Chemicals by Flammability and Toxicity (James Belke, EPA, 2021)
Unprepared for Disaster: Chemical Hazards in the Wake of Hurricane Ida (Coming Clean, 2021)
A Toxic Relationship: Extreme Coastal Flooding and Superfund Sites (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2020)
Life at the Fenceline (Environmental Justice Health Alliance (EJHA, 2018)
La Vida Al Borde: Life at the Fenceline en Español (EJHA et al, 2018)
A Disaster in the Making (Earthjustice et al, 2018)
Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger Millions (Greenpeace report, 2016)
Living in the Shadow of Danger (Center for Effective Government, 2016)
Living in the Shadow of Danger: State Scorecards (Center for Effective Government, 2015)
Who's in Danger? Appendix C: Vulnerability Zones of 3,433 Chemical Facilities (EJHA, 2014).
Danger in the Dark (New Jersey Work Environment Council, 2014)
A Risk Too Great: Hydrofluoric Acid in U.S. Refineries (United Steelworkers, 2013)
Chemical Security 101 - What You Don't Have Can't Leak or be Blown Up by Terrorists (Center for American Progress, 2008)
Toxic Trains and the Terrorists Threat, How Water Utilities Can Get Chlorine Gas Off the Rails and Out of American Communities (Center for American Progress, 2007)
Preventing Toxic Terrorism: How Some Chemical Facilities are Removing Danger to American Communities (Center for American Progress, 2006)
Chemical accident risks in U.S. industry — A preliminary analysis of accident risk data from U.S. hazardous chemical facilities (James Belke, US EPA, 2000)
Below you will find a collection of websites with useful material related to chemical disasters. Scroll down on this tab to see federal agency data and state agency data.
Coming Clean: Safer Chemical and Facilities
Earthjustice: Defending Community Safety Protections from Chemical Disasters
Good Jobs First: Violation Tracker
United Steelworkers: Health, Safety and Environment
U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Risk Management Plan
U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration: Process Safety Management page
New Jersey Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act
RMP data from Data Liberation Project
Federal Agency Data
Chemical Safety Board Investigations
Coast Guard: National Response Center Database (spreadsheets by year)
National Transportation Safety Board Hazardous Materials Accident Reports
Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA): Incidents Database
PHMSA Pipeline Failure Investigation Reports
State Agency Data
Alaska Statewide Oil and Hazardous Substance Spills Database
Arizona Hazardous Materials Logbook
California HazMat Spill Release Reporting Database
Florida Hazardous Materials/Petroleum Spills
Illinois Emergency Management Agency Hazardous Materials Incident Reports
Maine Spills and Site Cleanup and Spills & Site Cleanup Monitoring and Reporting
Massachusetts Energy & Environmental Affairs Data Portal (includes enforcement and spills)
Missouri Environmental Incident Search
Nebraska Leaking Underground Storage Tanks and Surface Spills
New York State Spill Incidents Database
North Carolina Underground Storage Tank Databases and Reports
North Dakota Environmental Incidents Reports
Ohio - Spills and Reported Releases
Oregon Environmental Cleanup Site Information Database
South Dakota Environmental Events Database
Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation - Enforcement Program
Texas Air Emissions Report Database
Utah Environmental Incidents Database
Wisconsin Bureau for Remediation and Redevelopment Tracking System
Chemical exposure concerns growing across U.S. (NBC Nightly News, April 2023)
Philadelphia's Water Scare Highlights the Alarming Frequency of US Chemical Spills (Inverse, March 2023)
A spill outside Philadelphia adds to the growing list of chemical accidents this year (Grist, March 2023)
Here, there and everywhere: Chemicals that are near you (WKBN, March 2023)
‘Wakeup call’: Braintree chemical fire, Ohio derailment show need for stronger emergency planning, experts say (Boston Globe, March 2023)
Revealed: the US is averaging one chemical accident every two days (The Guardian, February 2023)
Recent Chemical Disasters Impel Stronger Federal Safety Regs (NRDC Expert Blog, October 2022)
The EPA Shows It Can Do Better Regulatory Analysis. Will Biden Follow? (Center for Progressive Reform, October 2022)
Safety advocates say EPA proposal not enough to protect vulnerable communities like Kanawha Valley from chemical disaster (Charleston Gazette Mail, October 2022)
EPA must do more to protect vulnerable communities from ‘double disaster’ (Op-ed from Allison Stevens & Katlyn Schmitt, The Hill, October 2022)
Report slams EPA's approach to chemical disasters(Greenwire, September 2022)
EPA will restore an Obama-era chemical disaster safety rule, but advocates say it doesn’t go far enough (Oil and Gas Watch, September 2022)
EPA’s Chemical Safety Rule Tests the Biden Administration’s Commitment to Environmental Justice (Environmental Health News, September 2022)
NGOs call on US EPA to tighten rules on storage of hazardous chemicals (Chemical Watch, September 2022)
Louisiana plant's 'egregious' record highlighted in national push for new chemical safety rules (The Advocate, September 2022)
Report: Explosive from Weaver fire could destroy a community but EPA looks the other way (Winston-Salem Gazette, September 2022)
EPA proposes changes to chemical disaster prevention rule that looms large in Kanawha Valley (Charleston Gazette, September 2022)
Healthcare Professionals Ask EPA to Protect Frontline Communities (Sarah Bucic, The Equation blog, June 2022)
Faith leaders call on EPA to strengthen chemical disaster rule (Coming Clean, Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform, May 2022)
Booker and Barragán Urge EPA to Implement Robust Prevention and Safety Standards to Prevent Chemical Disasters (Senator Cory Booker, April 2022)
EPA faces pressure to tighten chemical disaster rules (Politico/ E&E News, April, 2022)
Democrats Urge EPA To Treat Climate As ‘Threat Multiplier’ In RMP Update (Inside EPA, April 2022)
GAO Recommends RMPs Include Climate Risks (EHS Daily Advisor, March 2022)
Congressional watchdog warns of climate threats to chemical plants (Grist, March 2022)
GAO Report Bolsters Push To Strengthen RMP Rule, Environmentalists Say (Inside EPA, March, 2022)
Plant Fire Renews Calls For EPA To Regulate Ammonium Nitrate Under RMP (Inside EPA, February 2022)
EPA Under Renewed Pressure To Strengthen Chemical Facility Safety Rule (Inside EPA, January, 2022)
Strengthening this one rule could keep frontline communities safe from their toxic neighbors (Grist, January 2022)
Advocates ask EPA to tighten chemical disaster prevention rule to rein in possible polluters, including Suncor (Colorado Sentinel, January 2022)
Louisville officials sign letter to strengthen chemical disaster prevention rules (89.3 WFPL, January 2022)
More than 70 State Legislators Call on EPA to Prevent Chemical Disasters, Protect Workers and Prioritize Environmental Justice (Coming Clean, January 2022)
It’s Time to Stop Rolling the Dice on Chemical Disasters (The Revelator, January 2022)
Groundbreaking Report Exposes Threat Unregulated Chemical Storage Tanks Pose to Virginia and the Nation (Center for Progressive Reform, December 2021)
Chemical Hazards in the Wake of Hurricane Ida, One Month Later: New Report Profiles Three Toxic Chemical Incidents Caused by Ida and the Need for Stronger Federal Protections to Prevent Further Public Health Risks (Coming Clean, September, 2021)
Double Disaster in Ida's Wake: Will EPA Finally Ensure Industrial Facilities Prepare for Climate Change? (Center for Progressive Reform, September 2021)
Organizations Call on EPA to Protect Communities from Climate-Driven Chemical Disasters (Center for Progressive Reform, July 2021)
EPA’s New Path to Prevent Chemical Disasters is an Important First Step (Earthjustice, May 2021)
A common fertilizer can cause explosions. Uneven regulation puts people at risk (Center for Public Integrity, January 2020)
Maps of U.S. Facilities & Cumulative Risks (EJHA)
Press Release on RMP Rollback Rule (Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters, 2019)
Sen Biden Water Secrity Bill Release (Sen Biden, 2006)
Letter opposing use of CRA to overturn Obama RMP Amendments (EJHA, 2017)
Fact Sheet on Obama RMP amendments (Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters, 2017)
Chemical Break Down, an award winning 8 part investigative series (Houston Chronicle, 2016)
Examples of Joe Biden’s leadership in the U.S. Senate to advance policies to prevent catastrophic disasters at chemical plants and on railways:
Statement of Senator Biden and the text of his hazardous chemicals rail security bill, "Hazardous Materials Vulnerability Reduction Act of 2005" (S.256) on pages S.6743 to S.6746 of the Congressional Record (June 16, 2005)
Sen Biden Floor Amt to Re-Route Rail Trans of HazMats
Infographic: Converting to Safer Chemicals in Wastewater Treatment by Switching to Ultraviolet Light System (Coming Clean, 2022)
Transforming the Chemical Industry: Safer Substitutes and Solutions for a Non-Toxic Economy (Coming Clean, 2022)
A Risk Too Great: Hydrofluoric Acid in U.S. Refineries (United Steelworkers, 2013)
Clorox Converts to Safer Processes: First Announcement (Clorox, 2009)
Economic and Employment Benefits of the Chemical and Water Security Act of 2009 (Management Information Services Inc. (MISI), 2010)
MISI Report Summary (MISI, 2010)
MISI Report Fact Sheet (MISI,2010)
Chemical Security 101: What You Don't Have Can't Leak (Center for American Progress, 2008)
Toxic Trains and the Terrorists Threat, How Water Utilities Can Get Chlorine Gas Off the Rails and Out of American Communities (Center for American Progress, 2007)
Preventing Toxic Terrorism: How Some Chemical Facilities are Removing Danger to American Communities (Center for American Progress, 2006)