Toxic Chemicals: Protect Our Neighbors and Friends; Families and Communities

Each year, hundreds of thousands of pounds of known carcinogens; developmental and reproductive toxicants; and explosive, flammable substances used in oil and gas development are transported, stored, used and disposed of in Sublette County.  The community has a right to know exactly what chemical substances are all around every day: on our roads, in our places of business, and in the buildings near to where we live and work. 

Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA)

The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act was enacted by Congress in response to concerns raised after the 1984 accident in Bhopal, India, when a large toxic release killed thousands of people. The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act is designed to improve community access to information about chemical hazards, and to facilitate the development of chemical emergency response plans by state, tribal and local governments.

While the American Petroleum Association claims that “individual states mandate disclosure [of hazardous chemicals used in oil and gas development], and the federal government does as well” (see: http://www.energyindepth.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Gasland-Fact-Sheet-FINAL-062110.pdf), disclosure is simply not afforded to all community residents: our friends and neighbors who are most vulnerable in the event of a chemical release such as the tragedy in Bhopal.

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