The bulk use and storage of poison gases like chlorine at chemical facilities and wastewater and drinking water plants currently puts millions of Americans at risk of a Bhopal magnitude chemical disaster. In fact, as Greenpeace’s John Deans points out at thenation.com, one in three people in this country live in the danger zones around the highest risk plants.

It is time for President Obama to authorize the EPA to fully implement chemical disaster prevention under the Clean Air Act. This could help temper the risk of chemical disaster. In recent months, fifty-nine organizations filed an official petition with the EPA while more than 60,000 people have signed a petition calling for safer chemical plants. Add your name to the cause. After weighing in, share this post (and this interactive map) with friends, family and your Facebook and Twitter communities.

In this post and related slide show at Huffington Post, Deans details ten of the most dangerous chemical plants in the US.

For this video, Greenpeace talked to residents of Los Angeles about local chemical plants that put their communities at risk.

 

A weekly guide to meaningful action, this blog connects readers with resources to channel the outrage so many feel after reading about abuses of power and privilege. Far from a comprehensive digest of all worthy groups working on behalf of the social good, Take Action seeks to shine a bright light on one concrete step that Nation readers can take each week. To broaden the conversation, we’ll publish a weekly follow-up post detailing the response and featuring additional campaigns and initiatives that we hope readers will check out. Toward that end, please use the comments field to give us ideas. With your help, we can make real change.