Healthy Communities
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| 2006-04-17 | |
| To address the public health threats created by toxic waste sites, Congress established the nation's premier toxic cleanup program, the Superfund, in 1980. Congress designed a funding structure for Superfund that placed the financial burden of cleaning up toxic contamination on the polluters by collecting three established fees from polluting industries. Collectively, the three fees, known as the Superfund "polluter pays" fees, relieved regular taxpayers from paying for toxic cleanups by compelling polluting industries to take financial responsibility for cleaning up toxic waste sites. | |
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| 2005-12-01 | |
| Since 1987, the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program has been the nation's premiere pollution disclosure program. By requiring companies to disclose the pollution they release to our air, water, and land, transfer off site, or dispose in a waste dump, the TRI program has ensured the public's right-to-know about toxic pollution in communities. | |
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| 2005-08-04 | |
| Across the country, petroleum refineries, chemical plants and other industrial facilities use and store large amounts of hazardous chemicals that could be released in the event of an accident or terrorist attack. Such releases could endanger thousands or even millions of people who live in communities in close proximity to these facilities. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 106 facilities would each endanger at least one million people in the event of a worst-case chemical release. Another 3,000 facilities would endanger at least 10,000 people. Nearly 5,000 facilities store more than 100,000 pounds of at least one EPA classified "extremely hazardous substance." | |
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| 2005-07-12 | |
| We stand at a crossroads on energy policy in the United States. Our dependence on oil is costing consumers at the pump, draining the economy, endangering our national security, and polluting the environment. For better or worse, the decisions our elected officials and business leaders make to address this problem will have repercussions not only at home but worldwide. | |
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| 2005-05-16 | |
| Increasing funding for Pennsylvania's cornerstone conservation programs would provide a broad range of environmental and economic benefits across the state. This report illustrates those benefits by highlighting past successes in protecting Pennsylvania's environmental resources and historic places, and the future potential for further benefits through increased funding to the state's environmental programs. | |
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| 2004-04-08 | |
| Thousands of industrial chemical facilities put millions of Americans at risk of serious injury or death in the event of a chemical accident. The American Chemistry Council (ACC), the main lobbying organization that advocates on behalf of chemical companies, started the Responsible Care program in 1988 to deflect criticism of the industry's environmental and public safety track record. Responsible Care is a voluntary system of environmental, health and safety measures, including a Security Code that claims to make facilities less vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Unfortunately, the safety record of ACC member companies since the inception of Responsible Care shows that these voluntary measures are not enough to protect communities from a chemical release in the event of an accident or terrorist attack. | |
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| 2004-03-02 | |
| Manufacturers of common household products add Deca to plastics or fabrics to make them resist the spread of fire. A growing body of evidence shows that exposure to Deca may cause adverse health effects, including damage to the nervous system and impaired motor skills. New research also indicates Deca can break down into the types of flame retardants recently banned in the European Union and California because of their bioaccumulative and toxic properties. | |
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| 2003-10-14 | |
| Across the country, petroleum refineries, chemical plants and other industrial facilities use and store large amounts of hazardous chemicals that, if subject to an accident or attack, would release dangerous toxins. Such releases could injure or kill thousands of people that live in communities in close proximity to these facilities. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warned in 2000 that an accident or terrorist attack at one of 123 chemical facilities could put more than one million individuals at risk of injury or death from toxic chemical exposure. Incidents at another 700 facilities could endanger at least 100,000 people each, and 3,000 facilities could affect more than 10,000 people each. | |
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| 2003-01-22 | |
| Each year, industrial facilities nationwide release hundreds of millions of pounds of chemicals linked to cancer, to developmental and reproductive problems, and to neurological and respiratory disorders into the nation's air and water. Yet, communities in the shadow of industrial facilities typically have access to only limited information on how these discharges may be affecting their health. | |
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| 2002-10-10 | |
| America's public lands are truly spectacular. They are comprised of national forests, national parks, national monuments, wildlife refuges, lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), oceans and streams, and more. From the Umpqua National Forest in Oregon to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming to Ironwood National Monument in Arizona to the mountain streams of West Virginia, these lands are an important part of America's heritage. They provide clean drinking water for communities across the country, habitat for wildlife like eagle, elk, bear, and salmon, and endless opportunities for recreation and solitude. They are important for our economy and for our overall quality of life. | |
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| 2002-09-05 | |
| Each year, more than 1,000 calls are placed to public health officials regarding suspected local disease clusters. In many of these cases, investigators are called upon to determine whether rates of a disease in a particular community truly are excessive—and whether environmental exposures are to blame. | |
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| 2002-06-25 | |
| The Bush administration has decided to press ahead with a plan to store much of the nation's nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Yucca Mountain is located approximately 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The bulk of America's nuclear waste is generated and located east of the Mississippi at the opposite end of the country from Nevada. This means that highly radioactive waste would be hauled across the country through towns, communities and neighborhoods on the way to Yucca Mountain. | |
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| 2002-04-08 | |
| Between 1992 and 1997, Pennsylvania lost more acres of farmland, forests, and open space than almost any other state, while ranking nearly last in population growth. This explosive destruction of Pennsylvania's landscape largely due to suburban sprawl has not been a sign of robust growth but an indication that people and resources are leaving the state's older communities. In fact, while there are a myriad of factors that contribute to sprawl, a look at Pennsylvania's urban and downtown areas reveals one of the biggest causes: blight. | |
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| 2001-08-01 | |
| Increasingly, traffic congestion has become an important issue for Pennsylvanians especially those that live in metropolitan areas. In fact, a recent survey of Philadelphia area residents found that traffic ranked second among their concerns above crime and drugs.1 This is not surprising since traffic has increased by well over 50 percent in Pennsylvania since 1979. Congestion levels have reached the point where they are a major factor in residents' quality of life. | |
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