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Tell
the EPA: Laundry Workers Deserve Protection from Toxic
Chemicals
![]() How would you
feel if unbeknownst to you, you were exposed to
dangerous toxins at work? What if your employer had
known all along? These aren’t hypothetical questions at
industrial laundries like Cintas, where many workers are
not given the proper training and protective gear to
deal safely with their exposure to toxins and solvents
on towels and rags. The EPA is considering a draft
rule that would permanently exempt toxic-laden
industrial "shop towels"—chemical solvent rags—from
federal hazardous and solid waste regulations.
Tell the EPA that workers deserve protection from
toxic chemicals at: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/LaundryEPA/gs7g8sr9dd85m
This proposed rule has serious repercussions for
workers, as well as the environment. If approved, the
rule would enable industrial laundries to allow their
workers to transport and launder shop towels full of
solvents and other toxins, without proper training,
handling, labeling and disposal requirements. It's time
to tell the EPA that workers and the environment come
first and to adopt meaningful protections for them.
Make your voice heard today—comments must be received
by April 9, 2004.
ACT NOW AT: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/LaundryEPA/gs7g8sr9dd85m
At a hearing before the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Mark Fragola testified that he learned
first-hand how toxic his job was as a driver for Cintas
Corp., when he contracted a serious fungus infection
that required two major surgeries. Mark lost his sense
of smell and incurred substantial debts from his medical
bills. He didn’t have to.
Workers like Mark deserve to work in a safe and
healthy environment. It’s one important reason workers
cite for wanting to form a union. In fact, workers at
Cintas plants across the country are fighting for better
on-the-job protections through their efforts to
unionize. Unfortunately, Cintas is opposing workers'
efforts to organize. The National Labor Relations Board,
a federal agency charged with protecting certain worker
rights, has issued a complaint alleging that Cintas
committed multiple violations of federal labor laws,
including firing workers for engaging in union
organizing activities.
It may come as no surprise that Cintas, the nation’s
top industrial laundry, has an atrocious environmental
and health and safety record—having repeatedly been
cited for violations of environmental laws and for more
than 140 violations of OSHA standards. Now Cintas and
other industrial laundry giants are lobbying for
weakened regulations with the EPA that will leave
laundry workers with even less protections for their
safety and health. Until Cintas workers get their
voice, they'll need people like us to stand up with them
for better working conditions.
PLEASE ACT NOW.
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Send
a letter to the following decision maker(s):
Environmental
Protection Agency
Below
is the sample letter:
Subject: Please put workers and the environment first
Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted
here],
Attention Docket ID Number RCRA-2003-0004
All
Americans should be protected from significant risks to
human health and the environment where they live, learn
and work. That is why I urge you to provide real
protections for workers, the environment and communities
and not to approve your proposed regulation for managing
solvent-contaminated industrial wipes.
I am extremely concerned that your new draft
regulations fail to protect frontline workers who are
exposed to dangerous solvents on industrial wipes and
towels. The solvents and toxins contained on wipes pose
serious health risks, especially for the laundry workers
and drivers who have to carry wet wipes in cloth bags
and open containers without proper safeguards. If
approved, the new regulations would enable industrial
laundries to:
- Store and transport contaminated
towels in cloth bags or other containers that fail to
protect workers or prevent leaks.
- Neglect
protective measures like adequate labeling of
containers, training workers who handle wipes, or
routine recordkeeping by facilities that generate the
toxins.
- Send dirty towels for "washing" without
first removing excess solvents, allowing additional tons
of toxins to spread into local sewage plants, rivers and
lakes.
The EPA should issue a revised proposal
that takes the necessary precautions to protect workers
and our natural resources. Please consider this an
official comment. I understand that it may be placed on
your public website.
Thank you for your
consideration.
Sincerely,
Megan Owens
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