"EPA Moves To Tighten Chemical Plant Safety Rule"

"The Obama administration on Thursday unveiled a long-awaited plan to reform the nation’s chemical plant safety standards, with a proposal that would require companies to weigh potentially safer alternatives in the design and operation of manufacturing facilities.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials emphasized that their proposal would not force chemical plants to actually adopt “inherently safer technologies,” but simply to analyze those technologies and evaluate the feasibility of implementing less-hazardous approaches.

The EPA proposal also includes changes that the agency says would assist local emergency officials in planning for and responding to plant accidents and improve public awareness of chemical hazards in their communities."

Ken Ward Jr. reports for the Charleston Gazette-Mail February 25, 2016.