Washington, D.C., June 4, 2002 - Greenpeace is
posting four maps on its web site that depict worst-case toxic
disasters in New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore. The maps reflect
what would happen in these metropolitan areas if terrorists
attacked nearby chemical plants, or if the plants had accidents.
The maps are based entirely on reports submitted to the EPA by each
company as required by the Clean Air Act. Greenpeace gave advance
copies of the maps to the EPA's Office of Homeland Security in
early April.
The environmental group is pushing for the EPA to adopt measures
to require chemical plants to switch to inherently safer chemicals.
"Strong leadership from Capitol Hill and the White House can
prevent the kinds of disasters forewarned in these worst-case
scenario maps," said Rick Hind, Greenpeace Toxics Legislative
Director. "These maps should be a wake up call to industry and
government that chemical plants are ticking time bombs in the midst
of large residential areas."
Greenpeace is posting maps of:
A
Kuehne plant in South Kearny, New Jersey (within 5 miles of New
York)
A
Dupont chemical plant in Deepwater, New Jersey (a few miles
from Wilmington, DE andÝ Philadelphia, PA)
A second
Dupont chemical plant in Edgemore, Delaware (a few miles from
Wilmington, DE and Philadelphia, PA)
A
Condea Vista plant in Baltimore, MD.
As reported in the Wall Street Journal "New Alarms Heat Debate
on Publicizing Chemical Risks" by Ann Davis May 30, 2002, the
chemical industry is opposed to sharing information with the public
about the threats posed by chemical plants.
"Citizens have a right to know if they are prime terrorist
targets because their homes and schools happen to be located inside
chemical kill zones," said Hind. "Only by being aware of
unnecessary chemical hazards, such as chlorine, can communities
demand the use of widely available safe alternatives."
Sen. Jon Corzine (D-NJ) introduced a
bill (S.1602) that will be voted on in committee on June 27 to
require chemical plants to evaluate safer alternatives or show why
they cannot use them. The EPA is also working on a similar measure.
The Department of Justice is preparing a report on chemical
facility vulnerability to terrorism, which is now almost two years
overdue.