US EPA adopts halfway measures that fail to protect communities against chemical disasters from hydrofluoric acid (HF)
From: Torrance Refinery Action Alliance
The US Environmental Protection Agency or EPA March 1 announced the release of a final revision to the Risk Management Plan or RMP rule governing 11,740 facilities using dangerous chemicals and singled out 40+ oil refineries that use a deadly chemical called hydrofluoric acid (HF) capable of causing thousands of deaths in a few minutes. (See attached “Summary Info Sheet”)
The new RMP rule includes many positive improvements and states its goal is “to protect the health and safety of all communities by requiring industry to prevent accidental releases of dangerous chemicals that could otherwise cause deaths and injuries, damage property and the environment, or require surrounding communities to evacuate or shelter-in-place”. EPA 3/1/24. For some positive developments: See statement Environmental Justice & Health Alliance (attached)
However, the rule fails to protect vulnerable environmental justice burdened communities living near the HF refineries in 20 states. This most dangerous chemical in use in industry (per EPA) is capable of causing mass casualties. The EPA recognized that HF units are vulnerable to accidents, natural disasters, and terrorist acts, but new rule does not meet the standard set by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 20 other State AGs in their letter to the EPA dated Oct. 31 2022 which quoted the US Chemical Safety Board saying that it is “fully within the authority and responsibility of the EPA pursuant to …the [Chemical Disaster Rule] Risk Management Plan (RMP) Rule (40 CFR Part 68.67) as well as through its General Duty Clause.” … “to impose a robust safer technology protocol that will drive the remaining hydrofluoric acid-using refineries to identify and implement safer alternatives”
(Full letter available on request, excerpts attached)
While the new rule makes significant improvements over the Trump era version by restoring the requirement that HF refineries do an analysis of safer alternatives, it adds for the first time requirements to analyze the “practicality” of these alternatives, requiring HF refineries to state why they are not using safer chemicals. This provides the EPA a tool to “influence” HF refineries toward implementation of conversion. Many of the improvements over the draft rule stem from grass roots advocacy. For example, the United SteelWorkers scored victories in the significant expansion of worker participation in safety processes.
Many of the HF dangers highlighted by TRAA, as well as those alerted to by terrorist threat experts are referenced in the EPA release but a three-legged stool will fall without its 3rd leg. Without the requirement for implementation of conversion to a vastly safer alternative, the rule does little to protect the community from a massive catastrophic release of HF that could result in the deaths or permanent injury of thousands of people.
There are significant improvements in response to community demands but for the 14 million people living around HF refineries and the nearly 1,000,000 in Los Angeles County alone, this effort by the Biden administration to improve on the terrible record of the Trump administration is shockingly inadequate. Especially, when it is well known that President Biden and his family live within the circle of risk for the Trainer, Pennsylvania HF refinery. TRAA calls for exceptional action at the local, state or federal level to remove this exceptional danger of mass casualties.
EJha Statement: https://tinyurl.com/EJha-Statement
21 AGs HF comments to EPA: https://tinyurl.com/21-AGs-HF-comments-to-EPA
Summary Info sheet: https://tinyurl.com/Summary-Info-sheet
Details: For Further background info with video links go to www.TRAA.Website