Latest Pollution Headlines

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

Congress Passes Bill Updating Chemical Safety Law

Jun 8 2016 // The U.S. Senate passed legislation on Tuesday that would revamp federal chemical safety protections for the first time in decades, sending it to President Barack Obama for his expected signing into law. The Senate approved...

Arch Coal’s Bankruptcy Exit Plan Questioned by Environmental Collective

Jun 6 2016 // A coalition of U.S. environmental groups said Arch Coal’s plan to emerge from bankruptcy fails to describe how the coal producer would finance its mine clean-up obligations, according to a filing in a St. Louis...

Alabama Utility Warns Residents in 2 Counties of Water Contamination

Jun 6 2016 // Lisa Davis, a cashier at a Foodvalu grocery store in rural north Alabama, spent Friday, June 3, ringing up bottled water sales after a local utility declared its tap water unfit to drink because of chemical...

Today’s Farms Need Specialized Environmental Coverage

Jun 6 2016 // Recent court and regulatory actions across the country with regard to environmental pollution exclusions in insurance policies have shown the need among farm owners and other agricultural risks for true environmental...

Hub’s Program Brokerage Corporation Hires Fry as Assistant VP in NYC

Jun 3 2016 // Program Brokerage Corporation, a wholesale brokerage/managing general agency (MGA) and a subsidiary of Hub International Northeast, has hired Matthew Fry as assistant vice president. Based in the New York City office, Fry...

XL Catlin Adds Rectification Expense Coverage to Contractors’ Policies

May 27 2016 // XL Catlin’s Environmental insurance business has added new protection to its Contractor’s Professional and Pollution Legal Liability insurance to help contractors and environmental consultant clients absorb the...

Congress on Brink of First Update to Toxic Chemical Law in 40 Years

May 26 2016 // Legislation with bipartisan support that would revamp U.S. chemical safety law for the first time in decades is advancing in Congress, winning overwhelming passage in the House of Representatives as backers sought quick...

Beazley Expands Environmental Team in U.S. with XL Catlin, AIG, Ironshore Hires

May 24 2016 // Specialist insurer Beazley has made several senior hires to expand its environmental liability insurance team in the U.S. The Beazley environmental team now has 20 associates across the U.S., with local underwriting and...

West Virginia Town Issued ‘Do Not Drink’ Advisory Over Chemical Level in Water

May 23 2016 // West Virginia officials have issued a “Do Not Drink” advisory for Vienna water after the Environmental Protection Agency announced a new limit for the amount of a chemical present in Wood County’s...

Schwarzenegger Used Risk for Good

May 23 2016 // It turns out characters like Conan the Barbarian, the cyborg from Terminator and Dutch the protagonist in the original “Predator” movie, know a thing or two about risk. Definitely the actor who portrayed them...

PartnerOne Environmental Adds Huitt, Maxwell to New Jacksonville, Florida Office

May 22 2016 // PartnerOne Environmental has opened a new regional office in Jacksonville, Fla., and added Michelle Huitt as assistant vice president and Marie Maxwell as underwriter. The new team members will help manage the PartnerOne...

U.S. Top Court Rejects Exxon’s Appeal of $236M Verdict in N.H. Pollution Case

May 16 2016 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected Exxon Mobil Corp’s appeal of a $236 million judgment against the oil company in a case brought by the state of New Hampshire over groundwater contamination linked to a...

8 Suits Filed over Crude Oil Spill along Louisiana’s Bayou Teche

May 16 2016 // Eight lawsuits have been filed by people seeking damages from a Texas industrial services company that spilled about 12,500 gallons of crude oil in March along and into the Bayou Teche in Louisiana. The Advocate reports...

Toxic Metals Found in Los Angeles Homes Near Gas Leak: Study

May 16 2016 // Homes located near a gas well blowout that spewed the nation’s largest-known release of methane had higher levels of toxic metals that could have caused symptoms Los Angeles residents have suffered from for months,...

Massachusetts Firm to Pay EPA $199K Over Hazardous Waste Claims

May 13 2016 // A Massachusetts company that manufactures materials used in laboratory analysis has agreed to pay $199,500 to settle claims by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it violated state and federal hazardous...

Brown Named CEO of Willis Programs

May 11 2016 // Willis Towers Watson has appointed Stacy D. Brown as president and CEO of Willis Programs, the company’s program administration business. Brown brings 28 years of experience in the insurance and environmental...

Schwarzenegger Discusses Risk at California Insurance Forum

May 9 2016 // It turns out characters like Conan the Barbarian, the cyborg from Terminator and Dutch the protagonist in the original “Predator” movie, know a thing or two about risk. Definitely the actor who portrayed them...

New Jersey Shore Towns Challenge Sand Dunes Plan as Storms Gather

May 5 2016 // New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s warning of Hurricane Sandy-like destruction of the shore will be tested as the worst storm season in three years approaches and beachfront homeowners delay his building protective...

Vermont Issues Bulletin on ‘Non-Cumulation’ Policy Provisions

May 4 2016 // The Vermont Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) has issued a bulletin reminding carriers that “non-cumulation” policy provisions and endorsements in occurrence-based liability policies are not permissible...

CNA Reports Mixed Bag in Q1 Results; Profit Falls But Combined Ratios Improve

May 4 2016 // CNA Financial Corp.’s first three months of 2016 produced a mixed bag of results. Fallout from a 2010 agreement to cede asbestos and environmental pollution liabilities to National Indemnity Co. also caused some...