Beyond Petrochemicals

👏 Congrats Bethanie Carney Almroth and Veena Singla on their letter in Science Magazine including global #PlasticsTreaty recommendations to include plastics in buildings and construction. 🏗️ 🏭 🌎 Hear from Veena, our incredible co-author, next week on Habitable's webinar where she'll be presenting new research from our upcoming policy brief. ➡️ Register today! https://bit.ly/3CoQMJH #INC5 #GlobalPlasticsTreaty #PlasticPollution #PlasticReduction #GreenBuilding

NEW REPORT: Plastic’s Toxic River - EPA’s Failure to Regulate Wastewater from the Petrochemical Plants that Make Plastic In our latest report, we examined the records of 70 U.S. facilities that make plastics or the main chemical ingredients in plastics and found they discharged almost 12 million pounds last year of total nitrogen and phosphorus, which can cause fish-killing “dead zones.” Sixty-nine of these 70 had no limits in their permits for these pollutants. “It is inexcusable that EPA is not following the Clean Water Act and is failing to require the multi-billion-dollar plastics industry to install modern pollution control systems,” said Jen Duggan, Executive Director of the Environmental Integrity Project. “Plastics plants are poisoning our waters and contaminating our bodies – and EPA needs to do its job and protect our waterways and downstream communities.” To read EIP's latest report on harmful water pollution from plastics manufacturing, visit: https://lnkd.in/ecijQKXP Beyond Plastics, Sierra Club, Earthjustice, Break Free From Plastic, Moms Clean Air Force, Texas Campaign for the Environment, Healthy Gulf, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, The Texas Tribune, PennFuture, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), Beyond Petrochemicals, Clean Water Action, Waterkeeper Alliance, Bayou City Waterkeeper, West Virginia Rivers Coalition, CONGAREE RIVERKEEPER, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Inside Climate News #environmentaljustice #waterpollution #louisiana #texas #EPA #breakingnews #wastewater #plastic #plasticplant #toxic #contiminate

Did you know? The building and construction sector is the world's second-largest consumer of plastics, behind packaging. 🤯 Mind blown? This surprising fact reveals a critical blind spot in the fight against plastic pollution. As UN Global Plastic Treaty negotiations convene in Busan, Habitable is bringing together experts in plastics research to unveil groundbreaking new research on building products’ contribution to the global plastics crisis. Join us next Tuesday for a can’t-miss webinar featuring new research from Teresa McGrath, Veena Singla, Kimberly Seigel, and Zoie Diana, PhD. You'll learn:  ✔️ Key findings from two new research studies  ✔️ Critical insights for sustainability professionals ✔️ Actionable solutions for reducing building products’ plastic footprint Don't miss this opportunity to learn about one of the most overlooked drivers of plastic pollution—and what we can do to create change. Register now: https://bit.ly/3CoQMJH  #PlasticsTreaty #INC5 #PlasticPollution #PlasticAction #GreenBuilding #ConstructionIndustry #NetZero #CircularEconomy

Our commitment remains unshaken. #PeopleOverPollution Read our full statement: https://lnkd.in/gBv3Z43P

"Clean air and water are basic necessities for human life. But, as American citizens, they are also legal rights. " @beyondpetrochemicals

It's time for Louisiana to move #BeyondPetrochemicals. This new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) details the bleak outlook for the proposed buildout of petrochemical projects in Louisiana.

Yesterday two people died and dozens were injured in Deer Park, Texas after another incident involving petrochemicals. Our thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives, and who were injured, as well as the people living in this community who have seen too many fires, spills, and explosions. https://lnkd.in/g6ENWKRh Over the last five weeks, more than a dozen petrochemical-related incidents like this have occurred in the US, including several that resulted in worker injuries or loss of life. We have tracked more than 100 different incidents this year, averaging 1 every 2.5 days. That's up from 1 every 4 days in 2023. www.spilltracker.org

These petrochemical spills, leaks, and explosions are happening on average once every 2.5 days in 2024. We have already exceeded what www.spilltracker.org logged in all of 2023.

There have been 5 chemical disasters in the United States this month (September 2024), most recently a massive fire taking place right now at a BioLab plant in Georgia - in the wake of Hurricane Helene. - 9/5 to 9/8: Akron, OH chemical plant fire - 9/16: Deer Park & La Porte, TX pipeline fire - 9/20: Geismar, LA hydrogen gas plant explosion -9/25: Styrene leak from train near Cincinnati, OH -9/29: Explosion at chlorine plant in Conyers, GA In Louisiana, we are no stranger to chemical accidents at BioLab. In early July 2024, a massive smoke plume from the BioLab plant in Westlake put thousands of Southwest Louisiana residents under orders to shelter-in-place. Similar to the Conyers, GA disaster, damage from Hurricane Laura in 2021 caused a major chemical disaster at the Westlake, LA BioLab plant after water came into contact with a highly reactive chemical. Every extreme weather events nearly always trigger pollution incidents. Healthy Gulf reported that over 2000 pollution events occurred in the wake of Hurricane Ida, also in 2021. Remember, there are more than 100 new petrochemical projects or expansions proposed in the US right now. (Photo Credit: James Mann, Conyers GA; Roishetta Sibley Ozane, M.S. , Southwest Louisiana)

It’s October 3rd.