Petrochemical incidents aren’t always as visible as the East Palestine train derailment, but at least 322 happened last year.
by Emily Atkin, Heated
Climate policy obstructionists love to evangelize about the benefits of petrochemicals.
Last year, in commercials and Congressional hearings alike, the fossil fuel industry and its political allies upped their messaging around the chemical byproducts of oil and gas, calling petrochemicals “essential to life,” and warning it would be dangerous to phase them out or transition to greener alternatives.
What proponents consistently did not mention, however, was that petrochemicals were leaking, exploding, and catching fire all over the country last year, causing disastrous consequences multiple times per week.
There were at least 322 hazardous chemical incidents in the U.S. in 2023, according to the Chemical Incident Tracker, a database of media-reported accidental chemical releases compiled by the Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters. That’s around a 70 percent increase in media-reported chemical incidents since 2022, when the coalition recorded only 189 disasters.
Recent Posts
The Strongest El Niño in History Is Coming. Get Ready.
Take Action Now Donald Trump has no ideas, but America is ready for a U-turn on climate change.By Ryan Cooper, The American Prospect The news on…
How Hakeem Jeffries and J Street Teamed Up for Arming Genocide
Take Action Now Jeffries, a seven-term representative from New York City, has received upwards of $1.7 million from pro-Israel donors. He is now…
Have We Advanced Since Homer?
Take Action Now Homer knew war was traumatic. The cartoonish version of war in which killing is easy and surviving is simple is a creation of modern…
THE PLOT AGAINST THE MIDTERMS
Take Action Now With the Democratic establishment in disarray, Trump and his deputies plan to meddle with the election to keep Congress splitBy…