Blog Posts and Analysis / Open, Accountable Government

New York Assembly Passes New Environmental "Right to Know" Bill

The New York State Assembly passed the Environmental Community Right to Know Act of 2005 (A. 1952) on June 4. The bill would create a single location online for the public to access and search all environmental information collected by the state on hazardous substances released into the environment.

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Louisville, Kentucky Finalizes New Air Quality Program

On June 21, the Louisville Air Pollution Control Board unanimously approved the Strategic Toxic Air Reduction (STAR) program to require industrial facilities to reduce emissions of hazardous air pollutants. The process that led to the program, which will be implemented July 1, demonstrates how invaluable public access to environmental information is in protecting the health and safety of communities.

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Past Government Secrecy Takes its Toll on Steelworkers

Proponents of government secrecy would do well to consider the story of Bethlehem Steel when pushing for greater secrecy in the name of homeland security. The federal government admitted in 2000, that it had knowingly exposed thousands of workers in steel mills to radiation without any protection or warning during the 1940s and 50s. The workers, kept in the dark about the exposure because of national security concerns, have paid for years -- at times with their very lives.

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American Chemical Society Tries to Limit Public Database of Chemicals

Congress is considering intervening in a dispute about publicly available scientific information. The American Chemical Society (ACS) has asked that Congress limit or refocus the National Institute of Health's (NIH) PubChem database. PubChem is a freely accessible database that provides information about small molecules primarily used by medical researchers. ACS has raised its objections because PubChem overlaps with its commercial enterprise, Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Registry.

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Citizens Protest New Jersey's Proposed Homeland Security Secrecy

Workers and environmentalists picketed outside the office of New Jersey Attorney General Peter Harvey on June 22 to protest proposed changes to the state's Open Public Records Act (OPRA). Harvey has proposed exempting various facilities from the public records law, including chemical plants, in the interest of homeland security. Protesters expressed concern that the new exemptions are too broad and would conceal from the public important information about toxins in their communities.

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Senate Votes to Stop Sweeping Secrecy Laws

The Senate voted on Friday, June 24, to better explain when Congress keeps information from the public. The move is intended to push Congress to be clear when keeping secrets from the public and stop secrecy that Congress does not intend.

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Biomonitoring Shows We Have Toxics in Our Bodies

Steve Lopez, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, participated in biomonitoring tests with ten other people and writes about the troubling results in his June 8 column, "We've Got Really Bad Chemistry". As California considers a bill for a state-wide biomonitoring research program, this test case bolsters the claims that biomonitoring can become a useful tool for protecting human health.

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