In the 1970’s, the public began to express increasing concern about the health of our natural environment as well as potential dangers to human health resulting from exposure to hazardous wastes and other toxic chemicals released by catastrophic events.
These concerns generated significant changes in public policy, government regulation and related industry practices. By the late 1980’s, Congress had passed legislation called the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), to ensure better preparation for potential disasters and further protect human health and our environment.
Local regulatory agencies, such as the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP), followed with their own Community Right-to-Know (RTK) regulations. These were specifically aimed at better safeguarding the health and safety of people and property in NYC, along with the local environment, against exposure to hazardous substances from fire, hazardous chemical spills or other releases.
The importance and value of NYC’s Community Right-to-Know Act were underscored in a horrendous way when the now-infamous 9/11 attacks occurred. The resulting building collapses and fires released a number of hazardous substances into the environment, exposing hundreds of emergency response personnel and residents of nearby neighborhoods.
The Community Right-to-Know Act requires all NYC public, commercial and industrial facilities that handle hazardous substances to file an annual report detailing what chemicals and related products they store or use at their facility, and in what quantities. This information is used for emergency planning, risk identification, and the prevention and control of fires, accidents and spills, to protect both response personnel and the general public in the case of fire, spill or accidental chemical release during or after any kind of emergency.
To busy facility managers, the annual RTK filing may seem like just one more time-consuming business regulation. But in fact we are protecting the health of both our community and our environment.
Photo Credit: Kevin Dooley