In Our Words
Insight and opinion from Coming Clean and our partners.
October 7, 2019
Blog: Watered Down Justice - Communities of Color and the Safe Drinking Water Act
Water is life. It nourishes us, cleanses us, saves us. In the United States, when many of us seek access to this life-giving substance, we go to a nearby tap, turn it on, and assume that what we receive will not harm us. We trust that there are systems in place to protect us and our families. For far too many people and communities in the United States, though, this is not the case. Access to clean water has become a source of stress, discomfort, and oppression. Read More
June 12, 2019
Blog: Campaign Pushes for Fresh, Local Food at Dollar General
On May 29, 2019, a delegation from the Campaign for Healthier Solutions’ non-toxic dollar stores project attended the annual Dollar General shareholder meeting in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. We were there to insist that Dollar General phase out toxic chemicals from its consumer products and source locally grown, fresh produce to better protect the health of their consumers, workers, and frontline communities. With more than 15,000 stores, Dollar General is the largest retail chain in the United States and more than 75 percent of people in this country live within five miles of a store. Read More
May 24, 2019
Blog: The US dithers while the rest of the world bans toxic drinking water pollutants
In February 2019, under growing public and political pressure, the US EPA finally announced plans to address PFOS and PFOA, two toxic chemicals widespread in drinking water that are still unregulated in the US after decades of use. Instead of praise, the EPA announcement triggered anger after the public realized that the agency will conduct years of assessment before actually regulating them. US residents may be more incensed if they know that the rest of the world has already acted globally on these substances. Read More
March 22, 2019
Blog: The Stories We Bring
Over the past two weeks, our colleague, Michele Roberts, had the distinct honor of participating in the United Nations Conference on the Status of Women as a member of the national Episcopal Church’s delegation. Read More
March 19, 2019
Blog: Our New Website - Frontline Voices and Action for Environmental Justice and Health
November 15, 2018
Blog: Fighting for Chemical Security - Raising Our Voices for Health & Justice for People at the Fenceline
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
August 30, 2017
A Toxic Storm: Hazardous Facilities, Failed Chemical Safety Policies, and Extreme Weather Leave Houston Residents Swimming in Toxic Soup
In response to the devastation and suffering created by Tropical Storm Harvey, and the toxic hazards posed to health and the environment by dozens of hazardous industrial and commercial facilities concentrated in the Houston area, Michele Roberts, Co-Coordinator of the Environmental Justice Health Alliance (EJHA), issued the following statement: Read More
August 24, 2017
Coming Clean and EJHA's Joint Statement on Racist Violence in Charlottesville
Coming Clean, a network of 200 community, state and national organizations working to reduce the disproportionate suffering toxic chemicals impose on people of color and the poor, is deeply saddened and disappointed by the recent racist, hateful actions in Charlottesville, Virginia. Our hearts are with the victims of these attacks—whether they died or were injured directly by white supremacists, died in an accident while seeking to protect the public, or were one of the millions among us who felt the chill and horror intended by this terrorist attack. We condemn racism and all supremacist ideologies everywhere they appear, be they in the streets of Charlottesville, our institutions of government and criminal justice, and in the daily lives of those who continue to suffer their impacts. Read More