Live from EPA's National Public Meeting on Dioxin

Today I testified at an EPA national public meeting on dioxin, the most toxic man-made substance on Earth.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko before and after being poisoned by dioxin

At the hearing I hand-delivered a letter to EPA signed by over 300 organizations an 2,000 individuals. These folks and organizations are from all across the country, 49 states in total, from Midland, Michigan to Mossville, Louisiana.

Every one of these individuals are impacted by dioxin in some way, whether it’s in the food they eat or the PVC chemical plants across the street from their homes.

This includes community members living under the shadow of municipal waste incinerators, medical waste incinerators, hazardous waste incinerators, backyard burn barrels, paper and pulp mills, PVC chemical plants, Superfund toxic-waste sites, military sites, and other industrial sources of dioxin.

They are environmental justice leaders, workers, moms and dads, aunts, uncles and grandparents, business men and women, tribal leaders, Vietnam vets, reproductive health organizations, learning disabilities organizations, cancer-survivors, and more.

These are people who are dealing with the very real effects of dioxin every day, in their air, soil, fish, watersheds, backyards, and even in their infants’ bodies.

While they couldn’t be at the hearing today, CHEJ wanted to make sure their voices and concerns were heard by EPA in DC.
Decisions made about the toxicity of dioxin by EPA will have a very real impact on the health and well being of these 300 organizations and over 2,000 individuals.

Of course, the dark side was out in force, with representatives from Dow Chemical, General Electric, the American Chemistry Council, the American Forest and Paper Association, and Georgia Pacific.

CHEJ thankfully wasn’t alone at the meeting, but were joined by our allies at the Breast Cancer Fund, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Environmental Working Group, the Buckeye Environmental Network, Cancer Action NY, Practice Greenhealth, Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, Mossville Environmental Action Now (MEAN), Clean Water Action, Protect All Children’s Environment, Concerned Citizens of Seneca County, Inc., and Ironbound Community Corporation.

While the fight isn’t nearly over yet, onward we march together for a safer toxic-free future!