The public has a right to know (RTK) about human health and environmental issues that affect it; it should never have to demonstrate a need to know information. Environmental right-to-know encompasses a number of issues dealing with environmental information initiatives and laws, and RTK language appears in many of these. The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), a database of chemical releases and some chemical uses, is one of the most well known depositories for environmental toxics information, although EPA maintains a number of other databases. OMB Watch monitors access that the government provides to environmental information, as well as how it disseminates and uses such information.
Background on Environmental Right to Know
OriginsEnvironmental right to know (RTK) is a movement that advocates for public disclosure of environmental information on the premise that citizens have a right to know about what happens in their communities and workplaces. The 1984 chemical disaster in Bhopal, India underscored the importance of understanding and working to minimize environmental risks in our communities before the worst happens. A smaller-scale chemical accident in West Virginia that occurred soon after Bhopal prompted the U.S. to act and pass legislation that uses right to know to help prevent such disasters.
Even before federal legislation passed, some companies implemented voluntary reporting systems to inform the public about their chemical facilities. State governments also took measures to ensure that people were informed and protected. By 1986, 25 states had emergency-response requirements and 41 states had right-to-know provisions.
LegislationIn 1986 Congress passed the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-know Act (EPCRA) to help local communities protect public health, safety and the environment from chemical hazards. This law mandated several RTK provisions including the development of emergency plans for communities in case of a chemical accidents, and an emission reporting system called the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). TRI has become the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) flagship RTK program. The inventory allows the public to track the releases of chemicals to water, land and air. Facilities covered by the program submit data on a yearly basis which EPA and other organizations make available online. (For more on TRI see our TRI section.)
RTK has been furthered by passage of other federal laws, as well as state and local laws. In 1996, Congress passed amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act that require water utility companies provide customers with water quality reports about community water systems. The 1990 amendments of the Clean Air Act required all facilities using or storing large quantities of dangerous chemicals to file Risk Management Plans (RMPs), which evaluate risks and establish emergency plans for accidents.
States have often modeled their RTK legislation after the federal EPCRA law, but some states such as Massachusetts and New Jersey have added new reporting requirements for their TRI programs. In these states facilities must disclose inventories of all chemical materials arriving and leaving a location -- a "materials accounting" approach.
Environmental right to know also encompasses broader issues such as labeling consumer products, accessing information about pesticides, and bio-monitoring. For example, California passed legislation that mandates labeling of workplaces and consumer products that could expose individuals to carcinogens or reproductive toxins.
ResultsDisclosing environmental information to the public allows communities to develop plans to make its residents safer, and creates incentives for industry to improve its environmental performance. Industry also benefits by decreasing pollution and waste because it saves money on raw materials. Publicizing TRI data has resulted in substantial reductions in toxic releases, dropping from 2.96 billion pounds in 1988 to 1.61 billion pounds in 1995 (45.6 percent), without any regulations requiring the reductions.
Additionally, access to environmental information allows citizens to make more informed choices about things such as what they eat and drink, where they live, and how they invest money. Most major mutual funds now offer investment portfolios that only support the most environmentally responsible companies. Of course, the most effective choice informed citizens can make is to take action and help ensure their environment is protected. Time and again citizens empowered with information about environmental hazardous have written letters, called officials, protested companies, boycotted products and used many other methods to make their informed opinions heard. Environmental groups have also used the government information to generate hundreds of reports that highlight excessive environmental impacts, unaddressed risks, and poor protection efforts. These reports often focus attention and prompt improvements to the identified problems.
RTK is always at risk from attacks from corporations and industry-friendly legislators. It is important that citizens, public interest groups, community groups, worker unions, heath care officials and others continue to promote and protect environmental right-to-know laws and programs.
From OBM Watch: http://www.ombwatch.org/article/archive/97?TopicID=2
No comments:
Post a Comment