Right To Know
Cry Wolf Quotes
[Requiring small businesses to report their toxic releases would] cost thousands of dollars for over 100,000 small business facilities, many of which have profits in the $10,000 range.
There is little doubt that business will have to think twice before expanding or locating a facility in New Jersey.
Harassment and [a] nightmarish mountain of paperwork…would be caused by enactment of the bill in City Council.
[The right-to-know law is] a sop to a small group of people that I would call ‘overreactors’ I know it’s going to cost a business a helluva lot of money.
Related Laws and Rules
Evidence
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Reducing Carcinogens in Public Schools: A non-regulatory approach by a regulatory agency
Using the New Jersey Right to Know law, advocates were able to find 318 public school districts in their state that used or held a list of 10 known carcinogens, including arsenic, benezene, vinyl chloride, and lead chromate. The study documents how these substances are used and who is exposed to them. The authors then show that the schools disposed of the toxics, or used them all up and did not order replacements.
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Fear and Loathing about the Public Right to Know: The Surprising Success of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act
Wolf methodically documents at the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act and its effects. He carefully documents industry reaction against the bill, and which of their claims can be supported in retrospect.
Backgrounders & Briefs
Dying To Know: A Historical Analysis of the Right-To-Know Movement
This survey provides a sweeping analysis of the right-to-know movement in America.
