Toxic accidents database could improve emergency planning

Environmental groups say people living near industrial chemical facilities could soon get better information on what’s being spewed into the air around them when accidents happen. That’s thanks to a recent court ruling that ordered the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board to make certain facilities report accidental air emissions. Transparency around industrial accidents is a hot topic in Houston, Texas, at the moment, after a chemical facility fire sent smoke into the city’s air for days and closed part of a major shipping channel.