Latest News

Release: Groups Sue EPA Over Decades-Long Failure to Protect Communities from Most Dangerous Chemical Spills

March 21, 2019

New York, N.Y. – The Environmental Justice Health Alliance, Clean Water Action, and Natural Resources Defense Council today filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency for its failure to pass regulations requiring the most dangerous chemical facilities to develop plans to prevent and respond to worst-case scenario spills of hazardous substances, including spills triggered by natural disasters that put people’s health at risk. Congress mandated such regulations in 1990 – but more than 25 years later, EPA has failed to act. Read More

Blog: Our New Website - Frontline Voices and Action for Environmental Justice and Health

March 19, 2019

Release: Victory for Environmental Justice Communities as Court Orders Disclosure of Emissions from Chemical Facility Incidents

March 12, 2019

Environmental justice community members celebrated a ruling which will require chemical facilities to disclose unpermitted toxic chemical emissions to the public. Read More

News: Croda gas leak reportedly among worst of its kind in country this year

December 22, 2018

It took nearly a month after a toxic gas leak shut down the Delaware Memorial Bridge on one of the busiest travel weekends of the year for company and state officials to shed some light on what went wrong.

It remains unclear who will pay for the hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost tolls, who will fix any environmental harm, and who will address any lingering health effects that travelers, first responders and neighbors may have been exposed to that Sunday night... Read More

Blog: Fighting for Chemical Security - Raising Our Voices for Health & Justice for People at the Fenceline

November 15, 2018

Imagine being woken up early in the morning by a siren blaring loudly. You turn on the news to learn that there is a massive fire at the oil refinery in town. Residents are instructed to “shelter in place,” so you make sure all the windows are closed, but you know there is not much more you can do. You realize that your 8-year-old child is having a very hard time breathing, so you head to the hospital as soon as you can. It turns out that sulfuric acid and nitrogen dioxide gases were released from the refinery because of the fire. Read More

News: Croda gas leak highlights risks to poorer Delaware communities

November 27, 2018

As emergency crews worked to contain a gas leak that shut down the Delaware Memorial Bridge for six and a half hours Sunday night, some nearby residents had not been notified of the incident. That highlights the danger of industrial sites in close proximity to residential areas, according to a Delaware environmental group... Read More

Press Release: Dollar Store Chains Lag on Toxic Chemicals, while 21 Retailers Make Progress to Protect Consumers

November 14, 2018

Los Angeles, CA — A report released today reveals that major retail companies are making slow but meaningful progress at improving the chemical safety of the products, food, and packaging they sell, but nearly half of those scored — including the 99 Cents Only discount retail chain — have failed to take any public measures to help eliminate toxic chemicals from the products they carry. The third annual Who’s Minding the Store? A Report Card on Retailer Actions to Eliminate Toxic Chemicals evaluated and graded the chemical policies and practices of 40 of the largest North American retailers, including grocery and fast food chains, as part of Safer Chemicals Healthy Families’ Mind the Store campaign and the Campaign for Healthier Solutions. Read More

Report: Dollar Stores Score Failing Grades for Second Year

November 14, 2018

Just before the holiday shopping season, the Campaign for Healthier Solutions and the Mind the Store Campaign released an annual report card on retailer’s actions to protect customers from toxic chemicals in consumer products. While several retailers have shown substantial leadership on toxic chemical policies and improved their grades over last year, dollar stores continue to earn grades well below the curve. Read More

Informe: Cadenas de Tiendas de Dólar Se Quedan Atrás en Cuanto a Sustancias Químicas Peligrosas, Mientras que 21 Comercios Minoristas Muestran Avances para Proteger a Consumidores

November 14, 2018

LOS ANGELES, CA — Un informe publicado el día de hoy revela que las grandes empresas de minoristas están logrando avances lentos pero significativos en cuanto a la mejora de seguridad química en los productos, alimentos y empaques que venden, pero casi la mitad de los que se calificaron — incluyendo la cadena de tiendas de descuento 99 Cents Only — han fracasado en llevar a cabo medidas públicas para ayudar a eliminar sustancias químicas de los productos que surten.  La tercera boleta anual ¿Quién está Cuidando la Tienda? Una Boleta de Calificaciones sobre las Medidas de Comercios para Eliminar Sustancias Químicas Tóxicas (Who’s Minding the Store? A Report Card on Retailer Actions to Eliminate Toxic Chemicals) evaluó y calificó a las políticas de sustancias químicas y las prácticas de los 40 comercios de minoristas más grandes de norte américa, incluyendo supermercados y cadenas de comida rápida, como parte de la campaña de Cuida la Tienda de Sustancias Químicas más Seguras de Familias Sanas (Safer Chemicals Healthy Families’ Mind the Store) y la Campaña para Soluciones Saludables (Campaign for Healthier Solutions). Read More

Delaware Online news story: 'It's our turn': Southbridge residents say they're tired of being a dumping ground

November 7, 2018

Marie Reed’s first thought when she heard a grinding company had plans to build an industrial facility in south Wilmington was, “Here we go again.”

Reed, president of the Southbridge Civic Association, knew she wasn’t alone. The whole neighborhood “has been through so much,” she said. “We’ve had enough.” Read the full story on Delaware Online. Read More

Consumidores Exhortan a Dollar Tree a Implementar Medidas Sobre Sustancias Químicas Toxicas en sus Productos, Comida Chatarra “Áreas de Snacks” en la Junta Anual de Accionistas

June 14, 2018

Norfolk, VA—Hoy, los consumidores y accionistas de Dollar Tree hicieron un llamado por políticas comprensivas sobre sustancias químicas peligrosas durante la junta anual de accionistas. Preocupados por sustancias químicas peligrosas halladas en productos y alimentos adquiridos en las tiendas de Dollar Tree (o las tiendas Family Dollar, que pertenecen a Dollar Tree )—incluyendo sustancias per/polifluorados (PFAS por sus siglas en inglées) en palomitas de microondas, bisfenol-A (BPA por sus siglas en inglés) en comida enlatada, arsenico en cereal infantil de arroz, y metales pesados y ftalatos en productos para el consumidor—padres de familia dueños de acciones en la empresa y expertos en la salud pidieron a los ejecutivos que adoptaran políticas amplias sobre sustancias químicas peligrosas y que las compartieran con el público, así como lo han hecho otras tiendas. Read More

Press Release: New Interactive Online Map Shows Who Lives in Chemical Disaster Zones

September 26, 2018

Our new interactive map and report, titled, Life at the Fenceline, shows that people living within a three-mile 'fenceline' zone of hazardous chemical facilities are disproportionately people of color, impoverished, and suffer a greater risk of cancer and respiratory illness caused by air pollution. The mapping and analysis found that over 124 million Americans (39%) live in constant threat of catastrophic explosion or poison gas release within a fenceline zone of one or more hazardous chemical facilities. Read More

Report: Life at the Fenceline - Understanding Cumulative Health Hazards in Environmental Justice Communities

September 26, 2018

Across the United States, almost 12,500 high-risk chemical facilities put 39% of the US population (124 million people) who live within three miles of these facilities at constant risk of chemical disaster. The full vulnerability zones for these industrial and commercial sites can extend up to twenty-five miles in radius. Read More

Press Release: Customers Urge Dollar Tree to Act on Toxic Chemicals in Products, Junk Food "Snack Zones" at Annual Shareholder Meeting

June 14, 2018

Dollar Tree customers and shareholders called for comprehensive hazardous chemical policies at Dollar Tree’s annual shareholder meeting. Concerned about hazardous chemicals found in products and food purchased from the Dollar Tree stores (or Dollar Tree owned Family Dollar stores), stock-holding parents and health experts asked executives to adopt comprehensive hazardous chemical policies and share them with the public, as other retailers have already done. Read More

Press Release: Wilmington ‘Environmental Justice Communities’ Suffer Disproportionate Health Risks from Multiple, Overlapping Toxic Exposures

October 19, 2017

Wilmington, DE — Today, the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Environmental Justice Health Alliance, and local community organizations released a new analysis of public health and mapping information showing all of seven ‘environmental justice communities’ studied in the Wilmington area face substantially higher risk of developing cancers and respiratory illnesses linked to toxic pollution in or near their neighborhoods. Read More

Report: Environmental Justice for Delaware - Mitigating Toxic Pollution in New Castle County Communities

October 19, 2017

Studies show that people in poverty are exposed to more environmental pollution, and our own research shows Blacks and Latinos are far more likely to live next to hazardous facilities which are often its source of this pollution - but these studies simply confirm the experiences of exposure, illness, and death that too many people living in the shadow of industrial chemical pollution know so well. That's why Coming Clean worked with Delaware community groups and the Union of Concerned Scientists to issue a new report showing that all seven 'environmental justice communities' we studied in Wilmington face dramatically higher risk of developing cancers or respiratory illnesses linked to this pollution. Read More

Press Release: The Environmental Justice Health Alliance Commends Senator Booker's New Bill to Address Environmental Injustices

October 24, 2017

Newark, NJ — Senator Cory Booker was joined by Michele Roberts, National Co-Coordinator of the Environmental Justice Health Alliance (EJHA), to introduce a new legislation seeking to address some environmental injustices communities across the nation face.  'Environmental justice communities', often composed predominantly of people of color and the poor, suffer disproportionate levels of environmental pollution and its resulting health impacts. Read More

Press Release: Major Retailers Graded on Toxic Chemicals in Products and Packaging

November 14, 2017

Washington, DC – Just in time for the holiday shopping season, today the Campaign for Healthier Solutions and the Mind the Store campaign released their second annual report card on toxic chemicals in consumer products, which found that one-third of 30 major U.S. retailers are leaders, but two-thirds remain serious laggards. The report, Who’s Minding the Store? -- A Report Card on Retailer Actions to Eliminate Toxic Chemicals,includes evaluations of nineteen retailers for the first time. The nation’s largest dollar stores scored poorly, with Dollar Tree earning a grade of ‘D’ and Dollar General earning an ‘F’.  Read More

Victoria para la Salud del Consumidor: Siete Cadenas Grandes de Tiendas Se Comprometen a Reducir el Uso de Sustancias Químicas Toxicas en Productos y sus Empaquetados

November 14, 2017

Washington, DC – Justo a tiempo para las compras de la época festiva, hoy la campaña de Mind the Store publicó su boleta anual de calificaciones sobre sustancias químicas toxicas en productos para el consumidor, mismo que encontró que una tercera parte de las 30 cadenas más grandes de tiendas en los Estados Unidos son líderes, pero dos terceras partes permanecen muy atrasadas. Este informe, ¿Quién Está Cuidando la Tienda? – Una Boleta de Calificaciones Sobre las Acciones de Cadenas de Tiendas Hacia la Eliminación de Sustancias Químicas Toxicas (Who’s Minding the Store? -- A Report Card on Retailer Actions to Eliminate Toxic Chemicals), incluye, por primera vez, evaluaciones de diecinueve tiendas. Read More

Press Release: Shoppers, Parents and Health Experts Visit 80+ Dollar Tree and Family Dollar Locations Asking for Toxic Chemical Safety this Holiday Season

December 5, 2017

San Diego, CA—During the busy holiday shopping season, concerned customers and activists alerted dollar store visitors to dangerous chemicals found in some products.  Activists then met with store managers at over 80 Dollar Tree and Family Dollar store locations in 20 states, Washington, D.C. and Canada to ask for transparent and more protective chemical safety policies.   Read More