Senator plans to lead fight on environmental protection, hazardous waste and toxic chemical safety

Washington (February 10, 2015) – The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee today announced its Democratic subcommittee leadership, and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) has been named the top Democrat overseeing the Superfund, Waste Management, and Regulatory Oversight subcommittee. From this new position Senator Markey will be able to fight to ensure that chemicals used to manufacture products are safe and that toxic waste sites are cleaned up more quickly and returned to other uses. He will also continue his leadership and oversight efforts on both climate change and nuclear safety as part of the subcommittee’s oversight and investigations jurisdiction.

“We have a critical fight this year to defend the health and safety of our families, our workers and our environment and to redouble efforts to end the terrible legacy of corporate pollution on our lands and in our bodies. I will continue my decades of work ensuring toxic chemicals are both safe and secure, reclaiming our communities from hazardous pollution, and pushing back on any efforts to deny and defund critical science and environmental safety efforts. Decades ago, after nearly a century’s worth of toxic materials accumulated in dump sites in Woburn, Massachusetts families saw their children die too soon from leukemia, and entire blocks of the city were too dangerous for work or habitation. I plan to use my service on this committee to help all communities in Massachusetts ensure a new era of health and safety now and in the future. I look forward to working with Chairmen Inhofe and Rounds, Ranking Member Boxer and my other colleagues on the committee.”

Senator Markey has a long history of working on issues within the subcommittee’s jurisdiction. He was a leading architect of the Superfund law following hazardous waste dumping in Woburn, Massachusetts that sickened and killed children, and has fought to clean up contaminated areas in Massachusetts and across the country and ensure polluters pay for the cleanup costs. He has fought to make consumer products safer and ban harmful chemicals and products that contain triclosan, BPA, and other endocrine disruptors. Senator Markey also was a leading Congressional investigator into the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, examining every aspect of the spill, including the use of toxic dispersants.

Senator Markey is also a member of the Senate Foreign Relations, Commerce, and Small Business Committees. He is also lead co-Chair of the Climate Change Clearinghouse. 

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