Latest Pollution Headlines
All the headlines from our Pollution Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Declarations
Aug 5 2013 // Agency-Carrier Relationship “We can surmise that the firming market impacted the agency-carrier relationship over the past several years.” —Rick Russell, CEO of Insurance Agents & Brokers (IA&B), a...
Senate Bill on Chemical Safety Runs Into Roadbloack
Aug 1 2013 // A bipartisan measure on federal toxic chemical standards would undercut state efforts, the head of a Senate committee said in comments that may imperil a compromise to overhaul U.S. consumer-safety regulations. Senator...
Catlin Launches Next Seaview Survey for Caribbean, Bermuda Coral Reefs
Jul 31 2013 // Catlin Group Limited announced the launch of its next “Seaview Survey,” which it described as a “significant expansion of its study of coral reefs with a new campaign in the Caribbean and Bermuda.”...
Fracking Tied to Drinking Water Damage by EPA Regional Official
Jul 31 2013 // Gas drilling caused “significant damage” to drinking-water aquifers in a Pennsylvania town at the center of a fight over the safety of hydraulic fracturing, according to a report prepared by a federal...
Crop Insurance, High Crop Prices Leading to Eco-Catastrophe: Environmental Group
Jul 31 2013 // Sustained high prices for corn, soybeans and wheat combined with record U.S. crop-insurance payouts are encouraging farmers to plow fragile lands and put ecosystems at risk, an environmental advocacy group said. Northern...
Hartford’s Q2 Loss Widens to $190M; P/C Earnings Show Improvement
Jul 30 2013 // The Hartford Financial Services Group reported a net loss of $190 million for the 2013 second quarter. The quarterly loss widened compared to the same time a year ago, when the insurer reported a net loss of $101...
Michigan Brewery Sues Over Oil Spill Cleanup Dredging Plan
Jul 25 2013 // A brewery in Michigan has sued over a plan for dredging sediments as part of the cleanup from the Kalamazoo River oil spill three years ago. The Kalamazoo Gazette reports Bell’s Brewery has sued Enbridge Inc. and the...
Synapse Services, LIU Launch Remediation Professional Policy in New Jersey
Jul 22 2013 // Synapse Services, LLC., a nationwide wholesale environmental insurance firm, has launched a new insurance policy that provides individual liability coverage for Licensed Site Remediation Professionals (LSRPs) in New...
Wyoming Governor Lambasts EPA Over Haze Plan
Jul 19 2013 // Gov. Matt Mead sharply criticized a plan by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reduce regional haze, saying it did more to kill the coal industry than clear Wyoming’s air. The EPA plan seeks to reduce haze...
Obama Administration Under Fire for Delay on Chemical Plant Safety
Jul 16 2013 // The Obama administration’s lack of action to impose recommended changes to make refineries, chemical factories and sugar plants safer is set to get a public rebuke from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board. The independent...
ACE Construction Practice Launches Healthcare Construction Project Services
Jul 9 2013 // ACE USA has launched new capabilities specifically designed for healthcare industry construction projects through ESIS, Inc., a risk management services company owned by the ACE Group. The new offerings include...
Florida Consortium Reaches Deal on Use of Oil Spill Payments
Jul 3 2013 // Gov. Rick Scott and the Gulf Consortium – a group comprising 23 Gulf Coast counties – have reached a deal for using recovery funds related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the governor’s office...
Agency Investigating Plant Blast Finds Lax Chemical Regulation
Jun 28 2013 // A federal agency investigating a deadly explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant will tell a Senate committee that regulation of the dangerous chemicals used in the industry fall under a “patchwork” of standards...
Report: Louisiana Plant Explosion Released Toxic Chemicals
Jun 28 2013 // The deadly June 13 explosion and fire at the Williams Olefins chemical plant in Geismar, La., released more than 62,000 pounds of toxic chemicals during the accident that killed two workers and injured 114 others,...
Liberty International Underwriters Expands Environmental Presence In Southwest
Jun 25 2013 // Liberty International Underwriters (LIU), part of the Global Specialty division of Liberty Mutual Insurance, has expanded its environmental impairment liability (EIL) operation with a regional presence, to be headed by...
EPA Report Critical Of Washington Oversight At Hanford
Jun 20 2013 // A new report condemns Washington state for lax oversight at the nation’s most contaminated nuclear site, saying state officials failed to adequately inspect the cleanup there. The draft report by the Environmental...
Great American Enhances Premises Environmental Liability Product
Jun 18 2013 // Great American Insurance Group’s Environmental Division has launched an enhanced premises environmental liability insurance policy. The policy speaks to many newer exposures now faced by site owners, operators,...
Tiny Southern California Agency Earns B Corp Status
Jun 17 2013 // Merely bringing your A-game may not be enough to entice certain companies to give you their business, especially those who are looking for environmentally or socially conscious partners. Following the challenging recession...
The Tip of the Iceberg: Environmental Damages Fines
Jun 17 2013 // In a recent report, the UK International Underwriting Association (IUA) provided several useful illustrations of the potential environmental exposures facing all kinds of businesses. These scenarios have one thing in...
Montreal Protocol Shows the Way for Action on Climate Change
Jun 12 2013 // A new deal to curb carbon emissions could copy features from the Montreal Protocol, which the United States and China favored over its Kyoto counterpart in an agreement on greenhouse gases at the weekend. The 1987 Montreal...
