An umbrella group of health and safety advocacy groups decried what it termed major “shortcomings” in federal and state oversight following the recent West Virginia chemical spill that left hundreds of thousands without usable water as the substance infiltrated a regional water supply.
It was revealed soon after the spill that the chemical plant involved in the massive pollution of the Elk River had no OSHA inspection history (see related blog).
The Coalition for Sensible Safeguards, an alliance of consumer and public interest groups, small businesses and individuals that generally favors more federal regulation including by OSHA, issued a statement Jan. 14 calling the spill near Charleston, WV, “the latest in a series of environmental and safety disasters” related to a lack oversight that is often “driven by vociferous, industry-funded anti-regulatory campaigns.”
“From the BP explosion and oil spill to the West, Texas, refinery explosion to the new spill in West Virginia, we’ve seen that the public pays the price when regulatory agencies don’t have the legal tools and funding to do their jobs,” the group said. “If this facility had been required to meet some basic standards and had been inspected regularly, some critics surely would have called it red tape. But such protections are crucial. Standards and safeguards save lives and protect people from corporate bad actors who, left to their own devices, put profits over people’s health.”
The coalition argued that while there has been progress over several decades in making the environment and workplaces healthier and safer, “[i]t’s time to reform our chemical safety laws -- both at the state and federal levels -- to prevent the next dangerous accident or spill.”
