FILE PHOTO: A United Steelworkers flag flies outside the Local 1299 union hall in Ecorse, Michigan, U.S., September 24, 2019. REUTERS\/Rebecca Cook<\/p>\n
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United Steelworkers sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in federal court on Thursday in a bid to reverse its gutting of a safety rule at chemical plants, the union said. <\/p>\n
The largest U.S. industrial unions lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia adds to previous litigation against the rollback of Obama-era chemical safety rules. <\/p>\n
The Trump administrations EPA in November released its Risk Management Program, which rids chemical plants of what EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said were unnecessary regulatory burdens. <\/p>\n
The plan weakened the Obama-era 2017 Chemical Disaster Rule, which bolstered measures to reduce risk at chemical plants with measures like third-party audits and safety technology analysis. The measure was developed in the wake of a deadly 2013 explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant that killed 15 people. <\/p>\n
Eliminating these requirements will allow a profit-hungry industry to police itself while putting workers, first responders and the public at risk, Tom Conway, the USWs international president, said in a statement. <\/p>\n
The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n
The union said recent incidents at facilities where its members work prompted its lawsuit to reinstate the Chemical Disaster Rule, citing a fire and explosions at a Philadelphia Energy Solutions oil refinery in June. <\/p>\n
In December, a coalition of 13 environmental and science organizations sued the EPA in federal appeals court to challenge its crippling of the Chemical Disaster Rule, alleging violations of the Clean Air Act. <\/p>\n
Reporting by Sebastien Malo; Editing by Dan Grebler<\/p>\n
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Read the original post: FILE PHOTO: A United Steelworkers flag flies outside the Local 1299 union hall in Ecorse, Michigan, U.S., September 24, 2019. REUTERS\/Rebecca Cook NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United Steelworkers sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in federal court on Thursday in a bid to reverse its gutting of a safety rule at chemical plants, the union said Continue reading
\nUnited Steelworkers sues EPA over weakening of chemical safety rule - Reuters<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"