Latest Pollution Headlines
All the headlines from our Pollution Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Arbitrators Near Jurisdiction Call in Chevron-Ecuador Pollution Case
Nov 29 2011 // Arbitrators expect to rule as early as next month on whether they can hear a dispute between Chevron Corp. and Ecuador related to a marathon pollution liability case, according to a letter to the lawyers involved. The...
Insurers Win First Round of Climate Change Coverage Litigation
Nov 21 2011 // But How Significant Is the Victory? In light of the economic turmoil currently engulfing the United States and Europe, the Republican sweep in the 2010 midterm congressional elections, the various protests going on around...
Australia Urges Breaking up Doha Round into Smaller Pacts
Nov 10 2011 // Australia wants World Trade Organization members to recognize that reaching a comprehensive deal in decade-old world trade talks has become impossible and to focus instead on a series of smaller pacts, the country’s...
North Dakota Governor Asks Legislature to Approve Disaster Help
Nov 9 2011 // North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple has unveiled a $569 million plan to provide disaster aid to flood-stricken areas and to help western North Dakota towns struggling to cope with oil development. Speaking to a joint session...
Health Costs of U.S. Climate Disasters of Last Decade: $14 Billion
Nov 8 2011 // Deaths and health problems from floods, drought and other U.S. disasters related to climate change cost an estimated $14 billion over the last decade, researchers said Monday. “When extreme weather hits, we hear...
Halliburton Sued Over Pollution at Oklahoma Missile Casing Site
Nov 7 2011 // Halliburton Co. faces lawsuits over groundwater pollution near a now-closed facility in Oklahoma that cleaned missile casings for the U.S. Defense Department during the Cold War, the company said Friday. Halliburton, which...
Millions Awarded in Louisiana Oil Lawsuit
Nov 7 2011 // A Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana judge has awarded more than $11 million to a Houma family stemming from a dispute over unpaid oil royalties. The Courier reports attorney Michael St. Martin and his wife, Virginia, filed a...
Declarations
Nov 7 2011 // Pollution “It’s not like we have the luxury to move out of there. The pollution is still there.” —Carla Hernandez, whose 4-year-old daughter is being treated at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles...
BP Products to Pay $50M for Illegal Emissions at Texas City Refinery
Nov 4 2011 // BP Products North America Inc. will pay the state of Texas $50 million for unlawfully emitting pollutants during and after a March 2005 explosion at the company’s Texas City refinery, according to the Texas Attorney...
EPA to Push Cleanup of Colorado Coal Plants
Oct 26 2011 // The head of the Environmental Protection Agency says federal regulators will continue to push for the cleanup of coal power plants in southwestern Colorado despite the rough economy. EPA administrator Lisa Jackson praised...
Chartis Expands NextGen Product to Specialty Trade Contractors
Oct 25 2011 // Chartis has expanded the industry classes addressed by NextGen Protection, a suite of environmental insurance solutions offered through its environmental division. The latest product in the NextGen Protection suite is CPL...
Two Railroads Face Pollution Lawsuit in California
Oct 19 2011 // When the lump on her toddler’s tummy turned out to be a rare cancer, Carla Hernandez wondered if living just a half-mile from two rail yards emitting a constant veil of near-invisible pollution was somehow...
ACE USA Introduces Healthcare Premises Pollution Policy
Oct 17 2011 // ACE USA, the U.S.-based retail operations of the ACE Group, has introduced a healthcare premises pollution liability insurance policy that is designed to address the environmental risks faced by the healthcare industry....
New Zealand Says Oil Spill ‘Worst-ever Maritime Environmental Disaster’
Oct 12 2011 // Rough weather has jostled a cargo ship stuck off New Zealand’s coast and worsened its oil leak fivefold to make it the country’s worst-ever maritime environmental disaster, the government said Tuesday. Clumps...
Fire Manufacturing Plant Near Dallas Contained, Authorities Say
Oct 4 2011 // A fire at a chemical plant south of Dallas shot massive plumes of black smoke and bright orange flames into the sky on Oct. 3, forcing schoolchildren and residents to evacuate or take cover indoors to avoid possible...
Parties Mum on $35M West Virginia Coal Slurry Settlement
Oct 3 2011 // Lawyers, plaintiffs and others are remaining quiet about a $35 million settlement with hundreds of people who say a Massey Energy subsidiary poisoned their wells with coal slurry. More than 300 people gathered at the...
Montana Court Approves $43 Million Asbestos Deal
Oct 3 2011 // A Montana judge has approved a $43 million settlement for people sickened by exposure to asbestos from a mine, with a large part of that amount to be paid by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, court documents...
Virginia Court: Insurer Not Liable For Global Warming Claims
Oct 3 2011 // The Virginia Supreme Court has ruled in favor of an insurance company in a closely watched legal case involving global warming. The high court ruled that Steadfast Insurance Co., which provided commercial general liability...
BP Oil Lingering on Gulf Coast Floor Could Pose Long-Term Risk
Sep 22 2011 // Tar balls washed onto Gulf of Mexico beaches by Tropical Storm Lee earlier this month show that oil left over from last year’s BP spill isn’t breaking down as quickly as some scientists thought it would,...
Court Approves $43 Million Montana Asbestos Settlement
Sep 19 2011 // A Montana judge has approved a $43 million settlement for people sickened by exposure to asbestos from a mine, with a large part of that amount to be paid by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, court documents...
