FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 9, 2024
CONTACT:
Steven Fantes, Public Affairs Manager
617-817-1297 and steven.fantes@environmentalprotectionnetwork.org
Environmental Protection Network Commends EPA on Chemical Plant Emission Rule
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced steps to protect people from exposure to toxic emissions from chemical plants, furthering the administration’s environmental justice goals. Hundreds of chemical plants, most located near low-income or communities of color, must now reduce emissions of the cancer-linked compounds ethylene oxide and chloroprene and several other hazardous pollutants.
Jeremy Symons, Senior Advisor at Environmental Protection Network and former Climate Policy Advisor, EPA Office of Air and Radiation, released the following statement:
“EPA is doing the right thing by standing up for communities that have been exposed to toxic air for far too long. EPA Administrator Regan listened to frontline communities and made a promise to act, and he has kept that promise.
This action by EPA will reduce the number of people with elevated cancer risk due to their proximity to chemical plants that emit these dangerous toxic air pollutants by 96%. It will also require chemical plants to install fenceline air pollution monitors. Providing communities with transparent and enforceable air pollution data can be a powerful tool for environmental justice.
None of this would have been possible without the community leaders and citizens who have spoken up about the injustices they face and demanded better in order to protect the health of their families and neighbors.”
Jeremy Symons is available to speak to the media about the updated rule and its effects on public health and the environment.
###
About Jeremy Symons: Jeremy Symons is Principal of Symons Public Affairs and a Senior Advisor for the Environmental Protection Network. He is a former Climate Policy Advisor for the EPA Office of Air and Radiation.
###
ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION NETWORK
Founded in 2017, the Environmental Protection Network harnesses the expertise of more than 650 former EPA career staff and confirmation-level appointees from Democratic and Republican administrations to provide the unique perspective of former scientists and regulators with decades of historical knowledge and subject matter expertise.