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)

Reducing the Potential Scope of Chemical Catastrophes in the U.S. Chemical Industry: Evidence from the EPA’s Risk Management Planning Program (Paul Orum, 2022)

Top 10 RMP Chemicals by Flammability and Toxicity  (James Belke, EPA, 2021)

Tanks for Nothing: The Decades-Long Failure to Protect the Public from Hazardous Chemical Spills  (Center for Progressive Reform, 2021)

 Unprepared for Disaster: Chemical Hazards in the Wake of Hurricane Ida (Coming Clean, 2021)

Preventing "Double Disasters". How the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can protect the public from hazardous chemical releases worsened by natural disasters (Center for Progressive Reform, Earthjustice and Union for Concerned Scientists, 2021)

A Toxic Relationship: Extreme Coastal Flooding and Superfund Sites (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2020)

Congressional Research Service data request: Number of Compliant, Update Overdue, and Total RMP Facilities in Each State, by Potentially Affected Population in EPA-Defined “Worst Case” Scenarios (2019)

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)

Blowing Smoke: Chemical Companies Say “Trust Us,” But Environmental and Workplace Safety Violations Belie Their Rhetoric (Center for Effective Government, 2015)

Chemical Hazards in Your Backyard: Do Your First Responders Have the Information They Need in an Emergency? (Center for Effective Government, 2015)

Kids in Danger Zones: One in Three U.S. Schoolchildren at Risk from Chemical Catastrophes (Center for Effective Government, 2014)

Who's in Danger? Race, Poverty and Chemical Disasters, A Demographic Analysis of Chemical Disaster Vulnerability Zones (EJHA, 2014)

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

NOAA: Incident News

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

Connecticut Spill Incidents

Florida Hazardous Materials/Petroleum Spills

Hawai’i Incidents

Illinois Emergency Management Agency Hazardous Materials Incident Reports

Indiana Spills List

Kansas Spills Map

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

Nevada Site Cleanup Database

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

Vermont Spills List

Washington State Spills Map

Wisconsin Bureau for Remediation and Redevelopment Tracking System

Wyoming Spills and Complaints

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)

Health Experts and Healthcare Workers Call for Strong Chemical Safety Safeguards (Union of Concerned Scientists, Coming Clean, EJHA, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, 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)

Federal Watchdog: EPA Should Assess Climate Change Risk to Facilities with Hazardous Substances (Indiana Environmental Reporter, 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)

Winston-Salem fertilizer fire reveals regulatory loopholes, spurs hard questions about building and workplace safety (NC Policy Watch, February 2022)

Thousands evacuated after US fertilizer plant fire sparked fears of explosion (The Guardian, February 2022)

Local officials call for tougher chemical safety regulation (Chemical & Engineering News, January 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)

Texas legislators eye tougher rules on chemical tanks to prevent explosions, spills during storms (Texas Tribune, 2021)

A common fertilizer can cause explosions. Uneven regulation puts people at risk (Center for Public Integrity, January 2020)

Fact Sheet and Photos from a Philadelphia refinery HF fire and explosion (U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), 2019)

 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)

Statements by Obama & Biden in Senate & their administration supporting IST to make chemical plants safer (2006-2013)

Rand Beers Department of Homeland Security support IST at House Energy & Commerce Committee hearing (2011)

Fact sheets on safer alternatives & list of 554 water treatment plant conversions (Center for American Progress, 2010-2006)

Texas City BP Refinery Disaster Report and Video (U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, 2005) (also available in Spanish and other languages)

Poll Shows Bi-Partisan Support for New Rules to Prevent Chemical Disasters (Coalition to Prevent National Disasters, 2015)

Examples of Joe Biden’s leadership in the U.S. Senate to advance policies to prevent catastrophic disasters at chemical plants and on railways:

Statements by Senators Biden (D-DE) and Jeffords (I-VT) and the text of their bill "Community Water Treatment Hazards Reduction Act of 2006" (S.2855) on pages S.4805 to S.4807 of the Congressional Record (May 18, 2006)

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

Sen Biden Quotes on Chemical Safety & Security (2005-2007)

Sen Biden Water Secrity Bill Release (May 19 2006)

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 Full Report (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)