William McDonough Quotes

It is the duty of Congress to ensure our lead regulations are up to date and consistent with modern detection methods so that we can better protect children from the harmful consequences of exposure.

Americans are willing to cheer on politicians who denounce bureaucratic overreach and job-killing red tape in abstract terms. But they turn out to like specific regulations against toxic chemicals in their drinking water.

There are certain systems that I think are not working well - that's the regulatory system, the whole system of how we regulate chemicals in this country.

We have some real political differences among us, but we all share the same goals: clean air and water, injury free workplaces, safe transportation systems, to name a few of the good things that can come from regulation.

Furthermore, both Pennsylvania and New Jersey Departments of Environmental Protection have evaluated the sediment to be dredged and also found it to be not toxic.

Chemical plants should not be allowed to regulate their own security.

I had spent the prior eight years working at my firm primarily representing big chemical companies, helping them comply with all the different state and federal laws.

With my biology degree, I got this job at an environmental lab. We tested sewage runoff, we tested chemical warfare waste runoff. It's a job I'll never do again and I would never wish upon anybody.

The public should always be notified as soon as possible in the event of a leak or other emergency at a nuclear facility.

I'm for the fracking. I think it's an opportunity for Ohio to really get a lot of jobs. But we have to do it right. We have to really take a deep breath, do it right, make sure the public is protected, make sure our land is protected.

Superfund was passed with the good intention of cleaning up America's toxic waste sites.

Mercury emissions will continue to harm the environment and to endanger the health of children and pregnant women, until this Administration puts public health before politics.

When a company creates a product that directly or indirectly adversely impacts the health of people, that product must be regulated. The process by which it's created must be regulated. No company has the right to injure people. No company.

Getting toxic lead out of gasoline, the oil industry shouted, would cost a dollar a gallon. It turned out to cost just a penny a gallon to protect hundreds of thousands of kids from lead-induced brain damage.

Congress must make it clear that common animal waste will not expose farmers to liability under Superfund, while ensuring continued action to clean up legitimate hazardous waste sites around the nation.

There is a risk between toxicity and hazard. Just because it is a risk doesn't mean you are in danger.

Pure air, pure water, the inspection of unhealthy habitations, the adulteration of food, these and many kindred matters may be legitimately dealt with by the Legislature;

Think about how tangible it would be to the citizens of Washington State to finally have the Hanford nuclear site cleaned up. Think about how tangible it would be to the citizens along the Hudson River to fix that pollution. These are some of the most direct things we can do to benefit our environment.

If a community water system is forced to conduct a chlorine burn because they are experiencing nitrification, it is because they have failed... It is a remedial action to correct a serious problem they themselves have created because they are cheating on the regulations.

Good governance takes behavior that is negative or not helpful to the greater good of society, whether it's polluting behaviour, plastics, or whatever, and taxes the behaviour.

Companies using public lands should be required to perform thorough testing on all wells in order to fully ensure water safety.

I'm going to have a very thoughtful and meaningful enforcement response to Superfund to make sure that we are achieving good outcomes for citizens across the country with respect to that entire portfolio of 1,336 or so sites.

I think the governor has short-changed the people of Pennsylvania with respect to shale gas, both with respect to the environment and the economy.

I think there is a direct correlation between interest shown by a member of Congress on these projects and the progress that is made. I think it gives the Superfund effort some credibility, lets citizens know we are serious about these cleanups.

There are so many chemicals in things - that's why people are getting sick.