Latest Pollution Headlines

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

Cargill Recalls 1 Million Pounds of Beef Possibly Tainted by E coli

Nov 5 2007 // Wayzata, Minn.-based Cargill Inc. says it is recalling more than 1 million pounds of ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria, the second time in less than a month it has voluntarily recalled beef that...

Figures

Nov 4 2007 // 444 Oklahoma had 444 fewer accidents, and nine fewer fatal wrecks, involving teenaged drivers in 2006 than it did in 2005, according to State Sen. Debbe Leftwich, D-Oklahoma City. Leftwitch attributed the reduction in...

Value analysis in the current D&O market

Nov 4 2007 // Competition in the insurance market is heating up, and as the directors and officers (D&O) market continues to soften, primary carriers are looking for new ways to differentiate themselves and broaden their...

Okla. Reaches Tentative Settlement Over Tar Creek Superfund Site

Nov 2 2007 // The state of Oklahoma has reached a tentative settlement with a mining company that would provide nearly $65 million to agencies involved in restoration efforts at the Tar Creek Superfund site. A hearing on the settlement...

Latest UN Environment Report Describes a ‘Threatened Planet’

Oct 29 2007 // The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has released its latest detailed report, “Global Environment Outlook: environment for development (GEO-4),” which examines the state of the planet from a number of...

News Currents

Oct 27 2007 // Industry urged to watch for emerging benzene, lead, welding rod torts Large pool of litigants, scientific evidence, plaintiff’s attorneys all cause for concern Actuaries need to be on the look out for emerging mass...

For small truckers, exceed the minimum

Oct 27 2007 // The past few years have not been easy for the U.S. trucking industry. Rising fuel prices, threats of terrorism, new regulations and the daily challenges of simply moving heavy freight from point A to point B, have combined...

Lack of Funding Halts Buyout of Homes in Okla. Superfund Site

Oct 26 2007 // The panel in charge of a federally funded buyout of homes located within the Tar Creek Superfund Site in Oklahoma has stopped making offers to homeowners because of a lack of funding, an official said. The Lead-Impacted...

DuPont Ordered to Pay Nearly $200m in W. Va. Class-action Lawsuit

Oct 22 2007 // A West Virginia court convicted DuPont of wanton, willful and reckless conduct, and ordered the company to pay $196.2 million in punitive damages for its actions at a former zinc-smelting plant, where residents claimed the...

Actuaries Urged to Watch for Emerging Benzene, Lead, Welding Rod Torts

Oct 10 2007 // Actuaries need to be on the look out for emerging mass tort claims related to benzene, lead paint, and welding rods, despite the fact that significant legal hurdles in these cases remain. The large pool of potential...

N.C. Drought Spreads to 55 Counties, Gov. Calls for Collaboration

Oct 9 2007 // Federal drought maps show that exceptional drought has spread from North Carolina’s eight westernmost counties to 55 counties in the mountains and Piedmont and now stretches from the foothills and Charlotte to parts...

ACE Europe Strengthens Environmental Liability Unit

Oct 5 2007 // The ACE European Group announced that it has promoted Wayne Harrington to UK & Ireland Manager, Environmental Risk and Iain Harrison as Environmental Risk Underwriter, as part of its ongoing strategy to grow its...

Sloan Mason Offers Contractor’s Pollution Liability

Oct 3 2007 // Sloan Mason has a provision of competitive contractor’s pollution liability (CPL) for oilfield diving and sub-sea contractors of all types. The program is available nationwide. For full underwriting review and the...

Lead Leads to Lunchbox Recall in Calif.

Sep 26 2007 // California officials and a Los Angeles company were alerted last year that lunch boxes the firm imported from China contained high amounts of lead, an environmental group said. The state Department of Public Health warned...

Morgantown, W. Va. Gets Stormwater Loan, Could Reduce Flooding

Sep 17 2007 // A project in Monongalia County is the first to receive a stormwater infrastructure loan from the state’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund since the fund was created by the Legislature in 2001, the state Department of...

Burned WTC Area Skyscraper to be Sealed

Sep 14 2007 // Workers will seal a contaminated a New York City ground zero skyscraper damaged in a fatal fire at the same time new fire safety measures are adopted in the building, officials overseeing the building’s demolition...

Jurors Hear Opening Arguments in W. Va. Pollution Suit

Sep 14 2007 // DuPont’s lawyers say the company is a good corporate neighbor but lawyers for 10 West Virginia property owners suing the chemical giant claim it puts profits ahead of community safety. Jurors heard these dueling...

N.C. Bridge Sways, Gets Sufficiency Score of 2 Out of 100

Sep 13 2007 // The daily commute to a high school on Hatteras Island offered Dare County teacher Lisa Duke a gorgeous drive on a scenic highway with the ocean on one side and Pamlico Sound on the other. But the few hundred feet that lift...

Midwest Popcorn Makers Dropping Chemical Linked to Lung Disease

Sep 7 2007 // Four of the nation’s biggest microwave popcorn makers, including one in Iowa, are working to remove a flavoring chemical from their products linked to a lung ailment in popcorn plant workers while reassuring...

ACE Expands Global Environment Coverage for US Multinationals

Aug 31 2007 // ACE USA announced from its Philadelphia headquarters that it has expanded its suite of environmental liability insurance products to meet “the unique exposures of U.S. multinational organizations with global...