Industry had been lobbying President Donald Trump since he took office in early 2025 to end the federal disaster management system that protects the nation from chemical catastrophes such as fires and explosions at high-risk facilities.

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16 Trump-appointed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials were paid more than $2.8 million by chemical companies and trade groups seeking an end to the federal disaster management system that protects the nation from chemical catastrophes.

An analysis of financial disclosures by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), an ethics watchdog, revealed that 23 separate chemical companies paid EPA officials a total of $1,442,913 in salaries, bonuses, compensation for consulting and legal services and other payments before they joined the agency. Separately, eight chemical industry trade associations also paid EPA appointees a total of at least $1,431,638. Two of these associations – the American Chemistry Council and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers – publicly supported the rollback of key safeguards against chemical emergencies and disasters.

Both figures are likely a “dramatic undercourt,” CREW said, given that officials are not required to disclose exactly how much money they made from past clients.

Industry had been lobbying President Donald Trump since he took office in early 2025 to undo a Biden-era rule 12 years in the making that significantly strenghtened the Risk Management Program (RMP), claiming its provisions would be too expensive to implement. The RMP, a regulation under the Clean Air Act, requires facilities handling extremely hazardous or flammable chemicals to adopt safety, prevention, and emergency response programs to prevent accidental releases and to protect local communities and the environment from chemical disasters such as fires and explosions at high-risk facilities.

In February, Trump’s EPA announced proposed revisions to the program. The February proposal included changes that would weaken or delay such protections, such as ending requirements for industrial chemical facilities to assess and plan for natural hazards and power loss, as well as requirements to put safer technologies in place. The EPA also proposed ending community notification requirements, including providing information in multiple languages for affected communities.

The US experienced a fatal or life-threatening and environment-damaging chemical accident every 2.5 days on average between 2004-2025. Together, they racked up over $5 billion in damages, according to environmental law non-profit Earthjustice. 177 million Americans – over half the US population – live in worst-case scenario zones of chemical disasters.

Featured image: Wikimedia Commons.

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