Latest Pollution Headlines
All the headlines from our Pollution Topic Page, ordered by recency.
How Costs for Obesity in Workplace Vary by Industry
Feb 11 2020 // Although obese employees incur higher direct and indirect costs, the extent of obesity-related costs tends to be lower in some industrial sectors than others— including healthcare, reports a study in the February Journal...
Report: 6 Texas Refineries Releasing Cancer-Causing Pollutant Above Federal Threshold
Feb 10 2020 // An environmental nonprofit has released an analysis of first-of-its-kind air monitoring data that shows benzene levels at 10 U.S. petroleum refineries exceeded limits Eight years ago, two environmental nonprofits sued the...
Manufacturer to Halt Production of Pesticide Linked to Brain Damage in Children
Feb 9 2020 // The manufacturer of a commonly used pesticide that has been linked to brain damage in children will stop making the chemical this year. Corteva Inc. said Thursday that it will end production of chlorpyrifos by the end of...
Cancer-Causing Benzene Emissions at 10 Refineries Exceed EPA Limits: Watchdog
Feb 6 2020 // Ten U.S. oil refineries, including six in Texas, released the cancer-causing chemical benzene in concentrations that exceeded federal limits last year, according to government data published by the green group...
Industry, Government Air Differences Over Asbestos Testing of Talc Powders, Cosmetics
Feb 5 2020 // For the first time in nearly 50 years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration examined asbestos testing for talc powders and cosmetics at a hearing on Tuesday, after traces of the known carcinogen were found in several such...
FDA Hearing to Address Testing of Talcum Powders, Cosmetics for Asbestos
Feb 4 2020 // For the first time in nearly 50 years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will examine asbestos testing for talc powders and cosmetics at a hearing on Tuesday. Regulators are taking a closer look after finding asbestos,...
3M Subpoenaed by Federal Grand Jury Over Alabama Chemical Discharges
Feb 4 2020 // 3M has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury in connection to discharges from a chemical plant in northern Alabama that may not have complied with permit requirements. Michael Roman, the Minnesota-based company’s...
Michigan School District to Reinstate Employee, Pay $102.9K in Whistleblower Case
Feb 3 2020 // A school district in Michigan has been ordered to reinstate one employee and pay a total of $102,905.78 in back wages, damages and other compensation in a whistleblower case. The U.S. Department of Labor’s...
EPA Again Declares Weedkiller Glyphosate Is Not Carcinogenic
Jan 31 2020 // The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday it finished a regulatory review that found glyphosate, the most widely used weed killer in the United States, is not a carcinogen. The conclusion reaffirms the...
Investigators Probe Cause of Deadly Fire at Alabama Marina
Jan 30 2020 // Roughly two dozen people lived on Dock B at Jackson County Park Marina, and none was rich or famous. They were middle-class adults and children, not yachters, folks who liked having a Tennessee River bywater for their...
Group Preparing to Sue EPA Over Chesapeake Bay Pollution
Jan 29 2020 // A conservation group announced Monday that it’s preparing to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to enforce the Clean Water Act relating to pollution limits for the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay...
Zurich North America Appoints Harper as Head of Corporate Sustainability
Jan 27 2020 // Ben Harper has been named head of Corporate Sustainability for Zurich North America. In this new position, Harper will be responsible for coalescing Zurich’s people and capabilities to advance the company’s...
Florida Lawmakers Weigh Proposals to Fight Algae Blooms
Jan 27 2020 // The scum of blue-green algae was so thick and invasive in Florida two years ago that it suffocated fish by the thousands. Birds dropped dead. And people stayed out of the water. Offshore, a toxic swarm of rust-colored...
Study: Petrochemicals Boom Would Boost Greenhouse Gases
Jan 27 2020 // A multi-billion dollar boom in petrochemical plants proposed along the U.S. Gulf Coast could pump as much greenhouse gas into the air as 131 coal-fired power plants by 2030, according to a study released by University of...
Warehouse Explosion Shakes Houston; 2 Killed, 20 Injured
Jan 26 2020 // A massive explosion Friday leveled a warehouse in Houston, killing two workers, damaging nearby buildings and homes and rousing frightened residents from their sleep miles away, authorities said. The explosion happened...
Making Big Oil Pay for Climate Change May Be Impossible
Jan 24 2020 // Exxon Mobil dodged a bullet last month when a judge rejected a novel climate-change lawsuit brought by New York’s attorney general. The case began with a promise from state officials that there would be a historic...
Roundup Plaintiffs, Bayer in Talks to Settle Claims For $10 Billion
Jan 23 2020 // In an effort to settle tens of thousands of claims that Bayer AG’s Roundup weedkiller causes cancer, lawyers for some plaintiffs are discussing with the company deals that could lead to a total payout of about $10...
Environmental Group Warns ‘Forever Chemicals’ Widespread in U.S. Drinking Water
Jan 23 2020 // The contamination of U.S. drinking water with man-made “forever chemicals” is far worse than previously estimated with some of the highest levels found in Miami, Philadelphia and New Orleans, said a report on...
Philadelphia Teachers Union Suing District Over Asbestos in Schools
Jan 22 2020 // The union representing public school teachers in Philadelphia is suing the district over its handling of asbestos contamination in schools, the union said Monday. The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers suit comes after...
Reuters Report: How Secrecy in Courts Stymies Safety Regulators
Jan 17 2020 // LEBANON, Ohio — Something wasn’t right with the Rhino. Reports started trickling in to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in 2005 of people being killed or injured in the Yamaha Motor Co. off-road...
