EPA proposes measures to reduce health risks near US chemical plants

In what could prove a significant move for communities facing air pollution, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed on Thursday that chemical plants nationwide measure certain hazardous compounds that cross beyond their property lines and reduce them when they are too high.

The proposed rules would reduce cancer risk and other exposure for communities that live close to harmful emitters, the EPA said. The data would be made public and the results would force companies to fix problems that increase emissions.

This is probably the most significant rule I'm experiencing in my 30 years of working in cancer alley, said Beverly Wright, executive director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice and a member of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council. She referred to an area dense with petrochemical development along the Gulf Coast.

In the past, Wright said, even when emissions caused harm, residents weren't able to sue and reduce the threat.

The proposed ..