Laura Erickson's For the Birds

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Putting chlorine manufacturers above public safety

The New York Times has a troubling editorial today:

Air travelers are asking for trouble if they show up for a flight with 3.5 ounces of shampoo in their carry-on bags. But the Department of Homeland Security has decided that the government should not even trouble chemical plants to account for the storage of anything under 2,500 pounds of deadly chlorine. The department’s new rules on reporting stockpiles of toxic chemicals, issued last week, have certainly made the industry happy. They should make the public worried.
Read the whole editorial here.