Are Schools And Chemical Plants Too Close For Comfort?
Nov. 21, 2016
Approximately 12,000 schools nationwide are within one mile of a facility that uses or stores dangerous chemicals.
For the host of schools sitting in the shadow of a chemical plant, classrooms and playgrounds may be anything but safe spaces. According to an article from Ensia, one in 10 U.S. children — 4.9 million children — attend the approximately 12,000 schools nationwide that are within one mile of a facility that uses or stores dangerous chemicals. An explosion at the West Fertilizer Company plant in West, Texas in 2013 would reportedly have resulted in extensive fatal injuries at the two schools within 1,200 feet of the facility had they been occupied at the time of the disaster, according to an investigation by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board.
No federal law or regulation restricts or specifies how close schools can be to facilities that use or store hazardous materials and no federal agency has the authority to prohibit school siting near these facilities, according to experts cited in the article. The Environmental Protection Agency has reportedly drafted voluntary siting guidelines for new schools but they are not designed for retroactive application.
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