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chemical pollution
Concerns Raised About Toxic Exposure in Aftermath of Helene Floodwaters
"All of these rivers should be treated as hazmat sites," a local official in western North Carolina said.
Oct 05, 2024
Local officials, academic researchers, and volunteer responders have raised concerns about chemical and biological contamination brought by the floodwaters of Hurricane Helene in the southeastern U.S. last week, which potentially threaten the safety not only of drinking water but also the quality of soil—leading experts to call for tighter regulations on stored pollutants.
Helene struck Florida as a Category 4 hurricane on September 26 and swept through a number of states in the days that followed. Most of the damage came from extreme rainfall that triggered flooding. The storm killed at least 232 people.
The biological and chemical threats posed by floodwaters are typically manifold, often containing, for example, e. coli from overflowing sewage systems.
While it's not yet clear what bacteria or chemicals Helene's floodwaters may have contained, the storm passed through hundreds of industrial sites with toxic pollutants, including paper mills, fertilizer factories, oil and gas storage facilities, and even a retired nuclear plant, according to three researchers at Rice University, writing in The Conversation this week.
The researchers called for tighter regulations on the storage and release of chemical pollutants.
"Hazardous releases remain largely invisible due to limited disclosure requirements and scant public information," they wrote. "Even emergency responders often don’t know exactly which hazardous chemicals they are facing in emergency situations."
"We believe this limited public information on rising chemical threats from our changing climate should be front-page news every hurricane season," they added. "Communities should be aware of the risks of hosting vulnerable industrial infrastructure, particularly as rising global temperatures increase the risk of extreme downpours and powerful hurricanes."
Another devastating scene due to Hurricane Helene’s impact in several states. We are in the historic downtown area of Marshall, N.C. where the clean up process has started. We’ve seen people with PPE and hazmat suits as we’ve been hearing the mud in this area is hazardous. pic.twitter.com/K52uZceDE4
— Cristina Corujo (@cristina_corujo) October 4, 2024
The devastation of infrastructure and the lack of drinking water in cities such Asheville, North Carolina, has rightly received national media attention following the storm. In North Carolina alone, more than 700,000 households lost power, and 170,000 still didn't have it as of Thursday.
Yet the National Weather Service warns that while floodwaters can create clear-cut devastation, "what you can't see can be just as dangerous." Helene also brought with it public health concerns that are less obvious, including to other, non-public sources of drinking water.
Helene's floodwaters overran many wells, rendering them unsafe to drink, at least until treatment and testing can be done. North Carolina's Department of Health and Human Services advised residents not to use contaminated well water earlier this week.
One problem following Helene is that most studies of flooding's impact on drinking water have been done in coastal areas, and it's not clear how they apply to the mountainous areas of North Carolina that took the worst hit from the storm.
"We don't have a lot of knowledge about mountain flooding, from a hydrology standpoint," Kelsey Pieper, a professor in environmental engineering at Northeastern University, told Inside Climate News.
"Water velocities tend to be higher in mountain floodings because it's getting funneled into the valley, where the water is accumulating. In a coastal area, you’re going to see more water spreading out," she said. "The flooding mechanisms are different, and we know very little."
Wells tested in eastern North Carolina after Hurricane Florence in 2018 showed some detections of e. coli or total fecal coliform, which were partly attributed to industrialized hog farms in the area, Inside Climate News reported.
Crops are often rendered unsafe after flooding due to biological or chemical contamination, according to Food Safety Alliance.
Natural bodies of water are also often unsafe to swim in following floods. Virginia Department of Health and other agencies warned people to avoid them after Helene.
The period after a tropical storm brings increased risk of both biological contaminants, such as bacteria and viruses, and chemical contaminants, such as heavy metals and pesticides, according to the Duke University Superfund Research Center.
Following Helene, a grassroots volunteer cleanup effort has sprung up in western North Carolina, but it brings risks for the volunteers because of the potential contamination.
"We were supposed to get a big shipment of gloves, coveralls, masks, respirators, but we aren't," Rachel Bennett, a coordinating volunteer in the town of Marshall, which sits along the banks of the French Broad River, told the Citizen Times, an Asheville newspaper. "So, we're hoping to get more. Those are the big things because we're in cleanup right now. We need thick things."
"Right now, it's boots, and it's hard to get people to put on gloves, because when you're in this, you're like, 'I'm already exposed,'" she added.
A Marshall resident conducted a soil test this week but the results haven't come back yet, the newspaper reported.
"All of these rivers should be treated as hazmat sites," Buncombe County spokesperson Stacey Wood said at a briefing Friday, according to a local journalist. Buncombe County encompasses Asheville and Marshall is just outside it.
The Rice University researchers called for better preparation for future storms in the form of stronger regulation. They've developed a map showing the U.S. areas that are most vulnerable to chemical pollution brought on by floodwaters. One hotspot is the area of Texas and Louisiana full of petrochemical industry sites.
The climate crisis, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, and likely contributed to Helene's development, experts have said.
In addition to their immediate damage, storms like Helene can have surprising long-term impacts. A study published in Nature this week found that tropical storms—even those far less deadly than Helene—typically lead to many thousands of excess deaths in the 15 years that follow their arrival.
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Residents Evacuated After 'Dangerous' Chemical Leak From Railcar in Ohio
"I tasted and smelled it," a resident said. "It was burning my throat and eyes."
Sep 25, 2024
Residents near a toxic chemical leak from a railcar in a small town in southwestern Ohio remained under evacuation orders on Wednesday even after the leak had been contained.
A leak of styrene, a chemical used in plastic and rubber production, was discovered Tuesday afternoon in Whitewater Township, Ohio, about 16 miles west of Cincinnati. Video showed the chemical spewing from the top of a railcar reportedly owned by Genesee & Wyoming, a U.S.-based multinational.
Local authorities told residents within one-half mile of the incident to evacuate—210 households, covering the towns of Hooven and Cleves, which have a combined population of roughly 3,800—and those just outside that area to seal up their homes and shelter in place. A local alert called the situation "dangerous."
By Wednesday, the leak had been plugged but roads in the area were closed, as were the district's schools, as air quality tests were undertaken.
There have been no reported injuries but styrene is known to disrupt the nervous system, causing symptoms such as "tiredness, feeling drunk, slowed reaction time, concentration problems, and balance problems," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is also a possible carcinogen, the CDC says.
"I tasted and smelled it," Marcus Greer, a Hooven resident, told The New York Times. "It was burning my throat and eyes."
A dangerous chemical leak in Ohio has prompted school closures and evacuation orders in Whitewater Township. pic.twitter.com/DDuI4Hgp1I
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) September 25, 2024
The cause of the accident is unclear. Local authorities have said that they are focused on immediate public safety concerns and will conduct a thorough investigation later.
There was no derailment or fire. Authorities initially said that they were concerned about an explosion, but by Tuesday evening they had said that was no longer a concern. They've used firetrucks to spray the railcar down with water to keep it cool, and have managed to separate the railcar from the rest of the train. Other railcars on the train were also carrying styrene.
It is not the first such incident in the area. A styrene leak from a railcar occurred in Cincinnati in August 2005 after it was left to heat up for five months, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
The incident that was on many residents' minds following Tuesday's accident was more recent. In February 2023, a Norfolk Southern railcar carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, setting off fires and leading to a controlled chemical burn of vinyl chloride, a carcinogen. Chemicals released that week spread to 16 states, later research showed. East Palestine is some 300 miles from Whitewater Township.
Following Tuesday's accident, local residents worried that they wouldn't get the cleanup help they needed.
"We are Hooven, Ohio," said Greer, a fourth-generation resident. "They will ignore us."
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Biden Must Choose—People or Plastic
As the penultimate round of negotiations for the Global Plastics Treaty begin in Ottawa, Canada, the U.S. must back a strong agreement that protects our health, our communities, and the planet.
Apr 16, 2024
Plastic pollution has become an omnipresent threat, infiltrating every corner of our planet and leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. From endangering human health to exacerbating social injustices, decimating biodiversity, and intensifying the climate crisis at every turn, the urgency to address this crisis cannot be overstated.
In just a few days, world leaders will convene in Ottawa, Canada, for the fourth round of negotiations to develop a Global Plastics Treaty. Mandated as a critical tool in the fight against pollution, the treaty's significance is underscored by the resounding support it receives from the global public.
In a recent Greenpeace International poll spanning 19 countries, an overwhelming 82% of respondents called for reducing plastic production to halt pollution, 75% backed a ban on single-use plastics, and a staggering 90% advocated for a transition to reusable packaging. This groundswell of support reflects not only a commitment to safeguarding our environment but also a deep-seated concern for the health and well-being of our loved ones. With 80% expressing worry about the health impacts of plastic on their families and 84% concerned about its effects on children, the call for action is undeniable. The world is ready for change, and the time to act is now.
We must seize this moment to turn the tide on plastic pollution and safeguard our planet for this and future generations.
Yet, at each of the three previous rounds of negotiations, the plastic industry, together with a small minority of governments, have tried to water down the treaty's ambition, stripping it of its power to deliver the outcomes that science and justice demand. Despite the efforts of at least 143 industry lobbyists working to drop measures to limit production, ban dangerous chemicals, and eliminate single-use plastics, representatives from Pacific Island and Latin American countries held the line.
At this pivotal juncture, everything we need to end the plastic crisis is still on the table. We cannot afford for this meeting to be another failure, where low-ambition countries and industry interests hijack the negotiations and thwart substantive progress. At this penultimate round, the fate of the treaty hangs in the balance, and we must hold decision-makers accountable to deliver solutions that match the scale of the crisis we face.
Plastic recycling, once thought to be the answer to plastic pollution, is now debunked as little more than an industry scam. Less than 9% of plastic produced globally gets recycled, while the industry continues to churn out more plastics annually and is set on tripling plastic production by 2050.
So, at this decisive moment, we must ask ourselves: Is the plastic industry’s profit-driven version of ‘convenience’ worth the sacrifice of our health? Are we willing to mortgage the future of children for the fleeting ease offered by the billions of tons of single-use plastics the industry produces? Is it worth risking our lives for single-use and corporate profits?
The answer is clear; the time for half-measures is over. We must seize this moment to turn the tide on plastic pollution and safeguard our planet for this and future generations. The clock is ticking, and we refuse to be silenced. We refuse to have any more mothers face the prospect of their unborn children being exposed to toxic chemicals in their placenta. We refuse to normalize climate chaos—floods, heatwaves, fires, and storms—driving us out of our homes. We refuse to have to bury any more of our loved ones from cancer and other diseases caused by toxic plastic chemicals.
The Global Plastics Treaty stands as our beacon of hope. But to deliver on its mandate to break free from the deadly cycle of runaway plastic production, it must begin with bold targets: reducing plastic production by at least 75% by 2040; ensuring a just transition away from virgin production and toward a low-carbon, zero-waste economy; eliminating single-use plastics; and prioritizing sustainable livelihoods, empowering workers, and championing Indigenous Peoples' rights. The treaty must also be rooted in a human rights-based approach that not only prioritizes human health and justice but also ensures fair representation for those disproportionately affected by the plastic pollution crisis. Above all, to be truly effective, the Global Plastics Treaty must create binding global rules that apply to all countries rather than a voluntary global agreement where governments can choose whether or not to take action.
Right now, millions of people around the world are demanding solutions to this global crisis. As we stand on the precipice of change, President Joe Biden must choose—people or plastic. If the U.S. continues to support only those measures that have already been adopted in federal law, the treaty will not be successful. We call on Biden to show true leadership and take a stand for a strong Plastics Treaty that protects our health, our communities, and the planet. We call on him to heed the voices of the people and embark on a transformative journey toward a plastic-free future for generations to come.
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'Welcome News': EPA Starts Process of Vinyl Chloride Risk Assessment
"This is one of the most important chemical review processes ever undertaken by the EPA," said one of the agency's former regional administrators.
Dec 14, 2023
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday that it had begun the process of prioritizing vinyl chloride for evaluation under the Toxic Substances Control Act.
Vinyl chloride, which is primarily used to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, was one of five chemicals the agency earmarked for a risk assessment. The move comes eight months after a disastrous train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which included five cars carrying 115,000 gallons of the dangerous chemical.
"We have seen firsthand what vinyl chloride can do to a community," Hilary Flint, vice president of Unity Council for the East Palestine Train Derailment and director of communications and community engagement for Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community, said in a statement.
"This is a step in the right direction, and we will continue to fight for a total vinyl chloride ban," Flint continued. "We want to make sure what happened after the East Palestine train derailment is the last vinyl chloride disaster in the United States."
Vinyl chloride is a known carcinogen that has been linked to liver, brain, lung, and blood cancers. It can also harm the neurological system and suppress immunity. Despite this, it is one of the most produced chemicals by volume in both the U.S. and internationally. In 2019, billions of pounds were manufactured in the U.S. alone.
"Most vinyl chloride is used to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, which poses significant health and environmental problems that have been known for over 50 years," Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics and former EPA regional administrator, said in the EPA announcement. "This is one of the most important chemical review processes ever undertaken by the EPA."
"The examination of all routes of exposure prescribed by the law will lead EPA to the conclusion that vinyl chloride is far too dangerous to make or use, and should be banned."
A TSCA review will require the EPA to assess all the ways people can be exposed to vinyl chloride, both in terms of what it can pollute and how the exposure can take place. That means looking at how it contaminates soil, air, and water and how it impacts workers, frontline communities, and communities exposed during disasters like the East Palestine derailment. A full 27% of the people who live within three miles of a facility where vinyl chloride is used or made are children, and the evaluation will require the EPA to consider how the chemical impacts young people specifically.
Liz Hitchcock, director of Toxic Free Future's Safer Chemicals Healthy Families federal policy program, said the EPA's decision was "welcome news."
"The examination of all routes of exposure prescribed by the law will lead EPA to the conclusion that vinyl chloride is far too dangerous to make or use, and should be banned," Hitchcock said.
The other chemicals that the EPA will assess are acetaldehyde, acrylonitrile, benzenamine, and 4,4'-Methylene bis(2-chloroaniline) (MBOCA). Four out of the five chemicals are used in plastic production and all of them are used to make petrochemicals.
The EPA now has 12 months to determine whether or not the five chemicals are "High Priority Substances," after which it will begin the risk evaluation. The public will be able to comment on all of the chemicals.
"We applaud EPA for echoing states' concerns about the threat of vinyl chloride and PVC to communities. This action, along with action by states to restrict the use of PVC in packaging and building materials in favor of safer materials, will help communities thrive," Sarah Doll, national director of Safer States, said in a statement. "The urgency of vinyl chloride's threat means we need action from all levels of government."
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UN Experts Allege Human Rights Violations by PFAS Chemical Giant in North Carolina
In a letter to Chemours, the experts said they were worried about the company's "apparent disregard for the well-being of community members, who have been denied access to clean and safe water for decades."
Nov 28, 2023
United Nations human rights experts have expressed concerns over "alleged human rights violations and abuses" against people living along the lower Cape Fear River in North Carolina due emissions of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, from a Fayetteville chemical plant.
Five U.N. experts signed letters to Chemours—the plant's current operator—as well as DuPont, Corteva, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Dutch environmental regulators. The action marks the U.N. Human Rights Council's first investigation into an environmental problem in the U.S., The Guardian reported Tuesday.
"We are especially concerned about DuPont and Chemours' apparent disregard for the well-being of community members, who have been denied access to clean and safe water for decades," the U.N. experts wrote in the letter to Chemours.
"We hope the U.N.'s action will induce shareholders to bring DuPont and Chemours in line with international human rights law."
The Fayetteville Works manufacturing plant has been releasing toxic PFAS into the environment for more than four decades, according to the allegations detailed in the letter. PFAS dumped in the Cape Fear River have made it unsafe to drink for 100 river miles, and pollution from the plant has contaminated air, soil, groundwater, and aquatic life.
PFAS are a class of chemicals used in a variety of products from nonstick, water-repellent, or stain-resistant items to firefighting foam. They have been linked to a number of health issues including cancers and have earned the name "forever chemicals" for their ability to persist in the environment and the human body. One study found PFAS in 97% of local residents who received testing.
The letter also repeated allegations that DuPont, the plant's previous owner, and Chemours, a spinoff company, had not taken responsibility for cleaning up the local environment and compensating community members, and that DuPont had known about the dangers of PFAS for several years, but chose to hide this information from the public.
"We remain preoccupied that these actions infringe on community members' right to life, right to health, right to a healthy, clean, and sustainable environment, and the right to clean water, among others," the U.N. experts wrote.
The letters were sent in response to a request made in April by Berkeley Law's Environmental Law Clinic on behalf of local environmental advocacy group Clean Cape Fear. In the request, the groups said the matter was particularly urgent because Chemours plans to expand its making of PFAS at the plant.
The U.N. experts, or special rapporteurs, reviewed existing legal and scientific documents and media reports, rather than completing their own investigation, NC Newsline reported. They sent the letters in September, but made them public on Thanksgiving, 60 days later, according to Clean Cape Fear. During that time, Chemours, Corteva, and the Dutch regulator responded, but DuPont and the EPA did not.
"We are grateful to see the United Nations take action on behalf of all residents in our region suffering from decades of human rights abuse related to our PFAS contamination crisis," Clean Cape Fear co-founder Emily Donovan said in a statement. "Clearly, the U.N. recognizes international law is being violated in the United States. We find it profoundly troubling that the United States and DuPont have yet to respond to the U.N.'s allegation letters."
Clean Cape Fear called Chemours' response "classic corporate gaslighting." Chemours claimed to be "a relatively new company," despite being staffed by senior DuPont executives, focused mainly on the PFAS GenX despite the presence of several other pollutants, and focused on the impacts on private well owners, ignoring public utility customers who must pay to filter their own water because of PFAS contamination. However, the letter did acknowledge that Chemours knew about the PFAS pollution before the public learned of it in 2017 and tried to both resolve it internally and prevent the public from finding out.
"If corporate malfeasance had a name in N.C., it would be Chemours," said Rebecca Trammel, leadership team member of Clean Cape Fear and founder of Catalyst Consulting & Speaking. "Impunity is the accomplice of injustice. It is the obligation of governments and regulatory agencies to ensure that innovation, economic gain, and progress are in service of humanity, not at its expense. I extend my deepest thanks to the United Nations for its defense of our right to safe water and life itself."
The letter to the EPA focused in part on its failure to study the health impacts of PFAS exposure on the community, while the letter to the Netherlands focused on imports of GenX from that country to Fayetteville Works.
Clean Cape Fear said it hopes the letters will put pressure on both the private companies and the government regulators to act.
"We hope the U.N.'s action will induce shareholders to bring DuPont and Chemours in line with international human rights law," the group tweeted, noting that both companies are publicly traded.
"We also hope that the risk of being named a violator of international human rights laws will give the U.S. EPA the political courage to do what it must to curb toxic PFAS pollution in North Carolina and nationwide," the group added.
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'Effects of the Chemical in the Air Are Unknown': Explosion at Texas Petroleum Processing Plant
The explosion resulted in a massive fire as residents in and around the town of Shepherd were ordered to stay inside and turn off their HVAC systems to avoid contact with the toxic smoke and particles in the air.
Nov 08, 2023
This a breaking and developing story... Please check back for possible updates...
At least one worker was reported injured and the surrounding community placed under a shelter-in-place order after an explosion at a chemical plant in the town of Shepherd, Texas on Wednesday resulted in a monstrous and toxic fire.
Roughly 60 miles north of Houston in San Jacinto County, the explosion and subsequent chemical blaze took place at the Sound Resource Solutions facility, a petroleum processing plant. A source told ABC 13 News that a 1,000-gallon propane tank sits in the middle of the fire while various highly flammable toxic chemicals and materials are used at the plant.
"Polk County Emergency Management recommends that residents along US Hwy 59 from Goodrich to Leggett shelter-in-place and turn off HVAC systems in homes and businesses immediately," said a local emergency response from officials in neighboring Polk County. "At this time, the effects of the chemical in the air are unknown."
According to the Sound Resource Solutions website, the chemical products and solvents used or generated at the processing plant include: xylene, toluene, acetone, methy ethyl ketone, phosphoric acid, acetic acid, sulfuric acid 93, various isoproply alcohols, hexan, and others.
Local affiliate Fox 26 was providing live coverage:
There is no confirmed information about the cause of the fire, though some local outlets reported talking with workers who said a forklift accident may have been the initial cause that set off a larger chain reaction.
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Toxic Flame Retardants Contaminating Wildlife on Every Continent: Analysis
"Killer whales shouldn't have to swim in a sea of flame retardants. The science is clear that these chemicals harm their development—as well as that of our children."
Oct 19, 2023
The lead author of a new analysis of flame retardant pollution said she was "blown away" by the amount of chemicals that have seeped into the environment, contaminating more than 100 wildlife species across every continent on Earth—even as other studies have found that ubiquitous anti-flame products have been found to be ineffective in most applications.
"Flame retardants don't actually make TV enclosures and car interiors more fire-safe, but they can harm people and animals," said Lydia Jahl, a scientist at the Green Science Policy Institute (GSPI), which published the study on Thursday. "Though these product flammability standards may seem protective at first glance, many cause widespread and lasting harm for no real benefit."
A 1975 California regulation required furniture to withstand a small open flame for 12 seconds, leading manufacturers to widely use flame retardants. But according to GSPI, "in a real fire the cover fabric will ignite first, leading to a large flame which will quickly ignite the foam, even if it contains flame retardants. In fact, furniture with and without flame retardants burns similarly."
Jahl led the analysis of 20 years of flame retardant research, finding high levels of chemicals that have been banned since the 1970s, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Other flame retardants that have been introduced in recent decades, including chlorinated parrafins, were also found in high levels, and are hardly less toxic than the banned substances.
"Though known to cause liver, thyroid, and kidney cancers in laboratory animals, chlorinated paraffins are still commonly used in consumer products, with more than one million tons produced annually," said GSPI. "Similarly, use of organophosphate flame retardants is proliferating, though even low levels may harm IQ, attention, and memory in children."
The chemicals can affect wildlife in similar ways, the group said.
Large marine animals including orcas were found to have some of the highest levels of flame retardant contamination, including from PCBs. The banned chemicals are believed to be linked to shrinking orca calf populations, and scientists have predicted the persistence of PCBs in the environment could be a major factor in wiping out half of the world's orcas.
"Killer whales shouldn't have to swim in a sea of flame retardants. The science is clear that these chemicals harm their development—as well as that of our children," said Arlene Blum, executive director of GSPI. "We need to update ineffective flammability standards to stop these toxics from entering the environment, wild animals, and us."
Other animals found to be contaminated with high levels of flame retardants include:
- River otters, which are at risk of thyroid and sex hormone changes due to PCBs;
- American kestrels, which face lower reproductive success due to PBDE contamination and reduced thyroid hormones due to chlorinated parrafins;
- Rainbow trout, which are at risk for liver lesions from chlorinated parrafin pollution; and
- Rats and mice, which have developed increased liver and kidney tumors from organophosphate flame retardants.
Flame retardant pollution has also been linked to endocrine disruption, neurodevelopmental effects, decreased fertility, and some cancers in humans.
"It's heartbreaking that human advancement doesn't take health impacts into account for ourselves and for wildlife," Jahl said. "The people who pollute are not the most impacted—it's fenceline communities, turtles, dolphins, foxes, and butterflies."
The chemicals travel quickly through air and water and become widespread in soil as well as humans' and animals' blood, making the contamination difficult to mitigate.
California has taken recent steps to ensure the problem doesn't get worse, passing Senate Bill 1019 in 2014. The law requires upholstered furniture to be labeled as containing or not containing flame retardants. The state also banned the sale of new upholstered furniture and children's products containing most of the chemicals.
Other U.S. states and countries that have not yet revised decades-old flammability standards should do so promptly, said GSPI, in order to cut down on the chemicals contaminating wildlife.
"Instead of this endless cycle of regrettable substitutions, we need to evaluate whether many of the flammability standards that drive the use of flame retardants are even helpful," said Jahl. "Some standards—such as California's old furniture standard—have already been proven ineffective and revised. Many more wouldn't stand up to scrutiny either, and they are wreaking havoc on wildlife and people alike."
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When Coca-Cola Fails at its Sustainability Goals, That’s Everyone’s Problem
Beneath the veneer of public, seemingly good-faith attempts to clean up its operations and help solve the climate and plastic crisis, lurks a deep and systemic commitment to a take-no-prisoners approach to the bottom line.
Aug 29, 2023
The Coca-Cola Company has managed to do well this year when it comes to climate change—last winter it sponsored the annual climate change meeting COP27, and despite the indignation, the company still managed to get through it unscathed. This summer, sales are up as heatwaves rip across the globe and leave nearly half the world’s population parched and grasping for the nearest respite, often a cold bottle of sugary release.
The company has spent years perfecting the art of selling a heck of a lot of product that most of us would agree is not health food nor planet saving, while simultaneously convincing consumers that the company is indeed saving the planet and helping communities thrive. Confused? That may be the point.
In the past decade Coca-Cola has had a history of publicly declaring targets for reducing its contribution to plastic pollution—from selling its beverages in recyclable packaging, to using more recycled material in its bottles, to using more reusable packaging.
It has had the dubious distinction of being the largest plastic polluter for five years in a row, with its name on more pieces of plastic litter collected around the world than any other company.
But it’s all hot air, or fizzy water, or whatever. Its failure to meet self-imposed, largely unambitious goals, is well-documented. The company has been criticized for backsliding on its various “sustainable” commitments: to reduce the single-use plastic consumption (it in fact increased its consumption from 125 billion bottles in 2021 to 134 billion in 2022); use more recycled plastic in its bottles (a 1990 pledge to make its bottles from 25% recycled plastic has not been met over 30 years later); and to transition to reusable packaging (a gimmicky, piecemeal rollout in a handful of neighborhoods, with little to no scalable impact yet to be seen). In the meantime, it has had the dubious distinction of being the largest plastic polluter for five years in a row, with its name on more pieces of plastic litter collected around the world than any other company.
But these are actually the least of its failures: Beneath the veneer of public, seemingly good-faith attempts to clean up its operations and help solve the climate and plastic crisis, lurks a deep and systemic commitment to a take-no-prisoners approach to the bottom line. Coca-Cola Capitalism comes first.
Take, for example, a 2020 report on the food industry’s systemic greenwashing tactics that dedicates a full 50 pages to the world’s 10 biggest food and beverage industries’ concerted efforts to undermine plastic waste reduction policies in 15 countries. Documents from The Coca-Cola Company reveal its true commitments—to “fight back” against package regulations in Europe, to slow down the rollout of deposit return schemes in Europe and Kenya, and to oppose a plan to streamline recycling in the U.S. state of Georgia.
While at least reluctantly acknowledging its role in the plastic pollution problem, the company has done little to address the toxic impacts of its supply chain and product.
This sort of behavior isn’t just limited to the realms of plastic pollution and climate change. The control over national and state policy extends to how the company approaches toxic chemicals in plastics.
While at least reluctantly acknowledging its role in the plastic pollution problem, the company has done little to address the toxic impacts of its supply chain and product. Our reporting shows that the plastic bottle supply chain is a critical driver of the environmental racism behind whole communities being poisoned by dangerous air and water pollution and treated as sacrifice zones. Meanwhile, Coke’s consumption of PET plastic does not seem to be decreasing.
Perhaps the most problematic of The Coca-Cola Company’s sustainability failures is that as Coke goes, so goes the PET resin and PET bottled beverage industries. We found that Coke alone uses a fifth of all the PET bottles made in the world. And our in-depth reporting and follow-up conversations with beverage companies around the particularly dangerous antimony catalyst used to make the bottles confirm that the same bottlers that supply The Coca-Cola Company, brands like Amcor and CKS, are often the same bottlers used by other, often smaller brands that must rely on for their products. We held conversations with beverage companies of varying sizes as part of our Detox the Bottle Pledge, and an emerging theme revealed that the majority of PET bottles on the market are the product of a close relationship between the several biggest brands like Coke, big bottle manufacturers like Amcor and CKS, and giant resin producers like IVL and DAK. These relationships foster a shared interest in sustaining the plastics industry, even if it means compromising on consumer safety and ignoring established science on toxic impacts of their current practices. Smaller brands with an interest in selling safer products often have little sway within the industry and face difficulties when pushing for safer, more just packaging under the specter of strong business relationships among industry behemoths.
As long as The Coca-Cola Company maintains an iron grip on the PET bottle industry, makes little to no progress on its own goals, ignores the full impacts of its reliance on plastics on fenceline communities and consumers, and actively undermines legislation to reduce the harmful impacts of plastics, the entire interconnected universe of bottled beverage industry, bottlers, and resin makers will continue to harm people and the planet. If the company wants to be the global citizen it purports to be, it should start by telling its bottle manufacturers to make bottles with a safer alternative catalyst and it should rapidly scale up reuse and refill systems in countries like the U.S. where they’re woefully nonexistent. It’s time for the biggest plastic consuming companies to find safer packaging that doesn’t poison entire communities and their consumers.
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Scientists Warn of Toxic Particle Pollution in Maui Wildfire Smoke
"When you burn people's belongings, vehicles, and boats, we don't necessarily have a good understanding of what those chemicals are," said one expert.
Aug 14, 2023
Scientists and health officials in Maui County, Hawaii on Monday urged residents to stay away from the island's western coast if possible to avoid exposure to potential toxins that may have been released following the wildfire that killed at least 96 people and destroyed the historic town of Lahaina.
Officials have not determined exactly what toxins were released as last Tuesday's fire tore through the island and exposed an estimated 86% of Maui's 2,719 structures to the flames, but officials have taken note that a wide array of buildings and objects were burned by the fast-moving wildfire.
"When you burn people's belongings, vehicles, and boats, we don't necessarily have a good understanding of what those chemicals are," Andrew Whelton, director of Purdue University's Center for Plumbing Safety, told the Associated Press on Monday. "When much of that infrastructure burns, it's transformed into other materials that are never meant for human contact."
Hawaii state toxicologist Diana Felton is helping to assess the damage and told Hawaii Public Radio (HPR) on Saturday that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other federal officials will work to remove propane tanks and other clear hazards from Lahaina and the surrounding area.
"It's going to be a long time" before the devastated town is safe for people without protective gear, she said.
On social media, Whelton said that based on previous fires and the toxins that have been released, authorities will need "at least three months, possibly longer," to remove wildfire debris and that soil testing will be needed afterward.
In addition to propane tanks—one of which created a cloud that looked like a "gigantic mushroom" when it exploded in the fire, as a resident told the AP—officials have raised alarm about lead paint and asbestos in the historic buildings that went up in flames, as well as arsenic, which was used in the last century as an herbicide on some sugar and pineapple plantations and may have been released when an estimated 2,170 acres burned last week.
At The Conversation, Whelton wrote Saturday that chemicals including benzene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are frequently detected in ash following large wildfires. Exposure to high levels of those toxins can cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness, rashes, and respiratory problems.
Whelton told the AP that anyone entering the area is advised to wear protective gear that covers their arms and legs as well as a well-fitting face mask such as an N95.
"If you go back into some zones even where maybe all the fires have been put out, you can then be really exposed," he said. "If there's dust and debris kicked up, you can get it in your eyes, on your hands, or you can inhale it."
The county issued an "unsafe water" alert for parts of Lahaina and the Kula district, warning that tap water could have contaminants even after being boiled. Residents who are not among the 46,000 people who fled the island should rely only on bottled water for cooking and drinking.
"Strange things can happen to the water," Felton told HPR. "I'm optimistic that the water system will be able to be restored, but until we have a better sense of how much, if any, contamination is present, we won't have a timeframe on that."
The safe drinking water branch of the Hawaii Department of Health told HPR that it's planning to conduct testing on drinking water across western Maui.
The Maui fire is just the latest to raise alarm about the after-effects of wildfires, which scientists say are becoming more common and harder to get under control due to environmental factors like dry vegetation and long droughts, driven by the climate crisis.
Earlier this year much of the eastern U.S. was placed under air quality alerts as smoke from wildfires in Canada drifted to the region, raising the risk of exposure to particulate matter pollution, which is linked to heart and lung disease.
One 2017 wildfire in Northern California, which destroyed about 1,200 structures, generated 300,000 tons of debris that included toxic levels of arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, and mercury.
"In Maui, debris may have to be taken off the island for disposal," Whelton wrote.
Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen told residents in a press conference Saturday that at this point "it is not safe" to return to the parts of the island affected by the blaze.
"We're not doing anybody any favors by letting them back in there quickly, just so they can get sick," he said.
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Conservationists Push EPA to Add 1,000+ Pollutants to 'Outdated' List of Toxic Chemicals
"It's stupefying that the last time the EPA updated its toxic pollutant list, the 8-track was considered an advanced technology and Gerald Ford was president," said one group.
Jul 31, 2023
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's official documentation, no toxic pollutants have emerged in the United States in nearly five decades—and two advocacy groups on Monday demanded that the agency add more than 1,000 chemicals to its list to bring the inventory up to date.
Northwest Environmental Advocates (NWEA) and the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) filed a formal legal petition with a list of industrial and commercial pollutants—many of which have been outlawed in other countries—that they want the EPA to formally acknowledge as toxic.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—also known as forever chemicals because they break down very slowly and have been found in human breastmilk, the summit of Mount Everest, and 97% of U.S. blood samples in one study—are among the substances that have been left off the EPA's inventory so far, even as they have gained wide recognition as a public health threat in recent years.
The EPA currently recognizes PFAS as "nonconventional," but not as toxic, "resulting in no regulation under water quality-based permitting," according to the groups.
Hannah Connor, environmental health deputy director at CBD, accused the EPA of "acting like we're frozen in the '70s."
"It's stupefying that the last time the EPA updated its toxic pollutant list, the 8-track was considered an advanced technology and Gerald Ford was president," said Connor. "Our world has changed dramatically over the past 50 years... The agency has turned its back on the deluge of new, dangerously toxic pollutants that have poisoned our waterways and permeated our lives."
The groups noted that a number of pollutants on their list of more than 1,000 omissions have been banned in other countries.
More than 35 governments including the European Union have outlawed the herbicide atrazine, which is linked to an increased risk of cancer and reproductive issues and has been found to "chemically castrate male frogs" at concentrations currently allowed in U.S. drinking water.
Despite the risks it carries, atrazine is the second-most used weed killer in the country.
"Where has the EPA been for the last half-century?" asked Nina Bell, executive director of NWEA.
In a statement, Bell called on the agency to "grant our petition and launch itself firmly into the science of the 21st century."
"For nearly 50 years, EPA has been ignoring the growing mountain of science about the more than 1,000 unregulated toxic chemicals contaminating our rivers and drinking water, at a tremendous cost to human health and the environment," said Bell. "The American people count on EPA to keep our drinking water clean, remedy environmental injustice, and protect fish and marine mammals from toxic pollution, but the agency has betrayed that public trust."
The EPA's toxic pollutant list was created in 1976 as the result of litigation. It was incorporated into the Clean Water Act the following year, and Congress ordered the agency to update the list over time as new data about toxins became available.
"Congress has repeatedly exhorted EPA and the states to move swiftly to improve and carry out regulatory programs to keep toxic pollutants out of the nation's waters," wrote the two groups to the agency. "Instead, EPA's program has become obsolete, languishing for decades and in many instances without any improvements."
Adding toxins to the list "is an essential first step to enable EPA to meet its statutory duties to update and adopt new requirements to control the discharge of these pollutants," they added.
Other toxins that have not been added to the list include nonylphenols, which are endocrine disruptors and have been banned by the E.U. while being "virtually unregulated" in the U.S., and manganese, which is found in coal mine runoff and has been detected in high concentrations in low-income communities, particularly in Appalachia. Manganese is linked to impacts on memory, motor skills, and intellectual development.
The groups asked the EPA to establish a system for accepting proposed changes to the list every three year and to identify pollutants that are not susceptible to treatment and can pass into drinking water, including many named by CBD and NWEA in their petition.
They wrote that the petition gives the EPA an opportunity to update its toxic pollutant list and priority pollutant list, "to develop rules to ensure that the lists do not become outdated again in the future, and to bring the pretreatment program into the 21st century."
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