Latest Pollution Headlines
All the headlines from our Pollution Topic Page, ordered by recency.
What Did Regulators Know Before Texas Plant Exploded?
Apr 19 2013 // Despite being located within a short walk of a nursing home, school and residential buildings, West Fertilizer Co. in central Texas had no blast walls and had filed no contingency plan to the Environmental Protection...
Report: California Lags in Fracking Regulations
Apr 12 2013 // A new report on hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) in California warns there are risks of irreversible contamination of surface and groundwater near oil drilling sites unless the technique is carefully monitored...
New Hampshire Jury Finds Exxon Mobil Liable for $236.4M in U.S. Pollution Suit
Apr 9 2013 // A New Hampshire jury on Tuesday found Exxon Mobil Corp liable for $236.4 million in a civil lawsuit that charged the oil company had polluted groundwater in the state with a gasoline additive used to reduce smog in the...
Tyson Agrees to $4M Penalty to Resolve EPA Case
Apr 8 2013 // Tyson Foods Inc. will pay roughly $4 million in civil penalties to settle allegations related to eight accidental anhydrous ammonia releases in Midwest states that caused multiple injuries and one death over four years,...
14 Keys to Insuring Water-Related Entities
Apr 4 2013 // Water is a precious natural resource entrusted to water entities across the country. These entities include public and private water companies, irrigation companies, conservation districts and more. They face many...
ACE Launches Borderless International Pollution Liability Coverage
Mar 26 2013 // ACE USA, the U.S.-based retail operations of the ACE Group, has introduced a foreign casualty pollution liability coverage endorsement. This new endorsement provides a limited pollution coverage extension in conjunction...
How Red Bull Handled Product Tampering Threat Could Pay Off
Mar 22 2013 // Austrian company Red Bull’s unusual decision to go public on a blackmailer’s threat to contaminate its energy drinks with feces could cost the brand far less long-term than any immediate hit to sales. Known for...
Michigan Oil Spill Cleanup Costs to Exceed Insurance: Enbridge
Mar 21 2013 // Enbridge Energy Partners LP said on Wednesday that the costs of additional cleanup from a huge Michigan oil spill three years ago may push the total bill past the limit of its insurance coverage, hampering its financial...
New York’s Fracking Health Study Results Likely Years Off
Mar 11 2013 // A health study cited by leading environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as pivotal in helping persuade Gov. Andrew Cuomo to hold off on plans for limited gas drilling is likely years away from conclusions about whether the...
Xcel Settlement Offers $447,000 in Colorado
Mar 11 2013 // Xcel Energy Inc. is providing $447,000 for environmental projects in north Denver to resolve a lawsuit alleging clean air violations. The lawsuit by WildEarth Guardians alleged Xcel failed to monitor and limit emissions at...
Japan’s Clean-Up from 2011 Tsunami, Nuclear Accident Lagging
Mar 11 2013 // Two years after the triple calamities of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster ravaged Japan’s northeastern Pacific coast, debris containing asbestos, lead, PCBs — and perhaps most worrying — radioactive waste...
14 Keys to Insuring Water-Related Entities
Mar 11 2013 // Water is a precious natural resource entrusted to water entities across the country. These entities include public and private water companies, irrigation companies, conservation districts and more. They face many...
New York Senators Seek Fracking Delay to Await Key Study
Mar 7 2013 // A critical bloc in New York’s Senate is calling for up to a two-year delay in hydraulic fracturing for natural gas until an independent health review known as the Geisinger study is completed. The Independent...
Report Questions Insurer Readiness, Attitudes on Climate Change
Mar 7 2013 // A report out Thursday that details responses to a climate change survey from insurers doing business in California, Washington and New York shows many insurers are prepared to deal with today’s extreme weather...
Ex-DEP Boss: Buy Out Flood-Prone New Jersey Homes
Mar 6 2013 // As New Jersey lawmakers consider a package of bills to help the state recover from Superstorm Sandy, a former New Jersey environmental protection commissioner says the storm provided a golden opportunity to buy out...
Hawaii Landfill Operator Fined $1.1M Under EPA Settlement
Mar 4 2013 // Honolulu and the operator of the city’s only landfill have agreed to make changes that will reduce the risk of a fire breaking out at the Waianae coast site, as part of a settlement with the U.S. Environmental...
EPA Assessing Possible Cancer Cluster In Oregon
Feb 28 2013 // The Environmental Protection Agency held a meeting in Salem, Ore. to update the public on a preliminary assessment of four sites in west Salem connected to five cases of rare bone cancer. The four are West Salem High...
Allied World Launches U.S. Surety Unit
Feb 27 2013 // Allied World Assurance Company Holdings, AG’s Allied World U.S. has expanded its casualty operations with the launch of a new surety line of business, available for clients in the United States. Robert Staples has...
Attorneys In Montana Asbestos Settlement Seek $4M In Fees
Feb 25 2013 // Attorneys for asbestos victims in a Montana mining town are seeking more than $4 million in fees and expenses out of a legal settlement with chemical company W.R. Grace that was intended to cover the victims’ ongoing...
Yacht Fires Pose Challenge to Firefighters and Insurers
Feb 25 2013 // Difficult to access and usually within confined spaces, yacht fires can grow into big losses quickly, posing challenges to both firefighters and insurers. Severity, a concern for high-end watercraft insurers led to the...
