MCS and EHS Included in New National Council on Disability Transportation Report

Press Release from National Center for Environmental Health Strategies

~ Mary Lamielle

… excerpts …

National Council on Disability Transportation Report Addresses Chemical and Electrical Sensitivities; Recommends Changes in Policies and Practices to Improve Access

The document recommends that the Justice Department “develop standards and guidance on the access requirements for people with chemical or electrical sensitivities.” This recommendation for “people with MCS” was previously made in the June 13, 2005 transportation report, “The Current State of Transportation for People with Disabilities in the United States.

The 2015 report also suggests that transit agencies eliminate environmental barriers such as fragranced products and avoid nonessential chemical and electromagnetic exposures. It encourages transit agencies to ask employees to avoid smoking and the use of fragrances and scented personal care products. The final recommendation urges transit agencies to “encourage passengers to avoid using fragrances and scented personal care products, and to accommodate people who are negatively affected by environmental exposures upon request.”

Chapter 6

Subpart H. Navigating Public Transit with Chemical or Electrical Sensitivities

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1. DOJ should develop standards and guidance on the access requirements for people with chemical and electrical sensitivities.

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2. Transit agencies should eliminate environmental barriers to the greatest extent possible by using nontoxic, fragrance-free products and practices, and by avoiding all nonessential chemical and electromagnetic exposures to enhance access for people with chemical or electrical sensitivities.

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3. Transit agencies should encourage their employees to avoid smoking and refrain from the use of fragrances and scented personal care products to help accommodate people with chemical sensitivities.

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4. Transit agencies should encourage passengers to avoid using fragrances and scented personal care products, and to accommodate people who are negatively affected by environmental exposures upon request. (Transportation Update, pages 351-352)

Click here to download a copy of Mary Lamielle’s document.

The full report is available here: http://www.ncd.gov/publications/2015/05042015/