Byrd, Jay get chemical safety language in budget bill
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BYILF | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Legislation authored by West Virginia's two U.S. senators in response to the August 2008 explosion and fire at the Bayer CropScience plant in Institute has been approved by the U.S. Senate.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., wrote language to try to keep companies from hiding behind anti-terrorism rules to avoid releasing important details of chemical plant emergencies to the public and local emergency responders.
Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., proposed a measure to require the Department of Homeland Security to report to Congress on the steps it is taking to coordinate chemical plant security efforts by various federal agencies.
Both proposals were included in a conference committee report to a Homeland Security budget bill that was approved by the Senate by a vote of 79-19.
The senators pushed for these measures after the 2008 explosion and fire that killed two Bayer workers, and after revelations that Bayer tried to use obscure Coast Guard anti-terrorism rules to block the release of information about the incident and about its huge stockpile of deadly methyl isocyanate at the Institute plant.
"We need to protect and preserve the public's right to know what is going on when an emergency takes place in their neighborhood, so we can better safeguard our communities, our workers and our first responders," Rockefeller said. "We've see firsthand what happens when vital details are withheld, and this amendment seeks to make it easier for the public to have access to the information they need."
Bayer announced in late August that it plans a series of plant changes that will reduce its MIC stockpile by 80 percent. But the federal Chemical Safety Board continues an investigation into the explosion and fire, and is also examining whether Bayer could eliminate the use of MIC altogether.
Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kward@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1702.
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