Latest Pollution Headlines

All the headlines from our Pollution Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Gulfport, Mississippi to Start Environmental Claims Court

Oct 29 2009 // Gulfport will start an environmental court next week to deal with derelict properties, tree ordinance violations, vandalism, building- and fire-code violations and other issues. Mayor George Schloegel plans to ask the city...

U.S. Says Chinese Officials Helping with Probe of Tainted Drywall

Oct 27 2009 // China is helping American officials investigate reports of contaminated Chinese drywall after thousands of American homeowners complained the building material made them sick or damaged their houses, a top U.S. safety...

Puerto Rico Refinery Fire Extinguished; Burned for two Days

Oct 26 2009 // Firefighters in Puerto Rico extinguished a huge fire Saturday that had raged for more than two days at an oil storage depot outside San Juan and forced the evacuation of more than 1,000 local residents. Federal agents...

FirstEnergy Settles Shippingport Pollution Suit

Oct 21 2009 // FirstEnergy Corp. has agreed to continue improving pollution controls and monitoring to settle a federal lawsuit concerning a coal-fired power plant in western Pennsylvania. Environmental group PennFuture and nearby...

Q&A with Ironshore’s Kelley: Why He Left AIG and His Plans for Ironshore

Oct 19 2009 // In December, 2008, Kevin Kelley left Lexington Insurance Co., the largest excess and surplus lines insurance company, after more than 30 years during which he helped the company become one of parent American International...

FirstEnergy Settles Shippingport Pollution Suit

Oct 19 2009 // FirstEnergy Corp. has agreed to continue improving pollution controls and monitoring to settle a federal lawsuit concerning a coal-fired power plant in western Pennsylvania. Environmental group PennFuture and nearby...

State of Ohio Awarded $14.7M Judgment for Waste Facility

Oct 19 2009 // After a protracted legal battle, Ohio has been awarded a $14.7 million judgment against four defendants stemming from a hazardous waste treatment facility that was not shut down properly. Attorney General Richard...

California Jury Orders First-Ever Wildfire Environmental Damages

Oct 19 2009 // A Los Angeles jury recently ordered two construction companies to reimburse the government for $36.5 million in damages from a 2002 wildfire, in the largest such award and the first-ever damages for environmental harm,...

California Environmental Extremist Arrested for 2006 Arson

Oct 5 2009 // Three years after the discovery of a failed incendiary device at a suburban Pasadena real estate construction site, FBI agents have used DNA analysis to arrest a man in Texas in a case they believe may involve...

Ironman Kevin Kelley: Strength Through Multiple Platforms

Oct 5 2009 // Ironshore’s CEO on Why He Left AIG and How He’s Building His Young Company In December 2008, Kevin Kelley left Lexington Insurance Co., the largest excess and surplus lines insurance company, after more than 30...

California Jury Orders Large, First-Ever Wildfire Environmental Damages

Oct 1 2009 // A Los Angeles jury Wednesday ordered two construction companies to reimburse the government for $36.5 million in damages from a 2002 wildfire, in the largest such award and the first-ever damages for environmental harm,...

Aon Finds European Risk Managers Underestimate Environmental Risk

Sep 28 2009 // Aon’s Global Risk Management Survey 2009 has found that “environmental risk ranked lower as a concern in Europe than any other region – despite the introduction of the EU Environmental Liability Directive...

Closely-Watched Oklahoma Pollution Suit Against Big Poultry Goes to Trial

Sep 23 2009 // David Overbey is no scientist, but he says a person doesn’t have to be to see how much the Illinois River has improved in recent years. Overbey, a 67-year-old retired laborer who spends his days fishing the river in...

The Coverage Conundrum in Chinese Drywall Claims

Sep 21 2009 // The Latest Mass Tort Unless you live in Florida or Louisiana, or regularly read the Insurance Journal, you may only now be hearing about the latest mass tort craze: Chinese-Manufactured Drywall (often simply referred to as...

Attorney: Ford Settles New Jersey Toxic Waste Lawsuit

Sep 8 2009 // The Ford Motor Co. has settled a lawsuit filed by residents of a northern New Jersey town over toxic waste dumped there nearly 40 years ago. The settlement was announced in state Superior Court on Thursday. Details were...

People

Sep 7 2009 // CNA Financial Corp. named Bob Lindemann as president and chief operating officer of CNA’s Commercial Lines operations. In this role, Lindemann will be responsible for CNA’s $3.5 billion commercial...

Seized California Insurer Golden Eagle to Pay for Landfill Cleanup

Aug 28 2009 // The Golden Eagle Insurance Co. will pay $400,000 to cover environmental investigation costs that the insolvent BKK Corp. was required to perform at its closed hazardous waste landfill in West Covina, Calif., the U.S....

Beacon Hill Associates Opens South Central Regional Office in Texas

Aug 26 2009 // Beacon Hill Associates Inc. has opened a new regional office in Plano, Texas, and has added Brett Amick as assistant vice president. The company serves agents in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and New Mexico. Beacon Hill...

Three CGL Endorsements Every Insured Should AVOID

Aug 20 2009 // Endorsements to the commercial general liability (CGL) policy are highly specialized. A high percentage are either exclusionary or extend protection to distinct classes of additional insureds. Most of the remaining...

South Carolina Property Owners File Pollution Suit Against Paper Company

Aug 17 2009 // A group of coastal South Carolina residents claim in a lawsuit that pollution from an International Paper mill has damaged their health and their properties, multiple media outlets reported Saturday. “International...