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Public awareness of the potential danger from accidental releases of hazardous chemicals has increased over the years as serious chemical accidents have occurred around the world. Public concern intensified following the 1984 release of methyl isocyanate in Bhopal, India, which killed more then 2,000 people living near the facility. A subsequent release from a chemical facility in Institute, West Virginia, sent more than 100 people to the hospital and made Americans aware that such accidents can and do happen in the United States. In response to this public concern and hazards that exist, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began its Chemical Emergency Preparedness Program (CEPP).
In 1986, Congress adopted many of the elements of CEPP in the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). EPCRA improved the ability of communities to prepare for and respond to chemical accidents. Under EPCRA, communities must develop emergency response plans, based on information that facilities must provide on the hazardous chemicals they handle.
Congress required EPA, under EPCRA, to conduct a review of emergency systems to monitor, detect, and prevent chemical accidents. In a final report to Congress, EPA concluded that planning for chemical accidents was not enough and that there needed to be a stronger emphasis on chemical accident prevention. In the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act (CAA), Congress included requirements for accidental release prevention regulations in section 112(r). The goal of the chemical accident prevention provisions is to focus on chemicals that pose a significant hazard to the community should an accident occur, to prevent their accidental release, and to minimize the consequences of such releases.
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