Latest Pollution Headlines
All the headlines from our Pollution Topic Page, ordered by recency.
September Earthquake Deemed Oklahoma’s Strongest on Record; Insured Costs Uncertain
Sep 19 2016 // An earthquake that hit Pawnee, Okla., in the north central part of the state on Sept. 3 was upgraded on Sept. 7 from the preliminary 5.6 magnitude estimate to a 5.8 magnitude temblor by the U.S. Geological Survey, making...
Court Rules Massachusetts Law Applies in Rhode Island Contamination Suit
Sep 19 2016 // The Massachusetts Appeals Court has ruled that Massachusetts law should apply in deciding whether Narragansett Electric Co. (NEC), a Rhode Island-based utilities provider, is entitled to insurance coverage for...
Case Before Iowa Supreme Court Pits Water Supplier Against Farmers
Sep 16 2016 // The Iowa Supreme Court heard arguments and must now decide whether to weigh in on a federal lawsuit that pits the water supplier to 500,000 central Iowa residents against upstream farmers accused of contaminating rivers...
Insurance Fight Prolongs Junk Yard Pollution in Indiana City
Sep 14 2016 // Five years of court battles haven’t resolved the blame game between a western Indiana junk yard and one of the nation’s largest insurance companies over water pollution. Valley Forge Insurance has spent...
Oklahoma, EPA Shut Down 32 Wells Near Newly Discovered Fault Line
Sep 14 2016 // A 5.8-magnitude earthquake and a series of smaller aftershocks in Oklahoma led to the discovery of a new fault line and stoked fears among some scientists about activity along other unknown faults that could be triggered...
Oklahoma Quake Insured Costs Uncertain; Swiss Re Suggests New Products Needed
Sep 13 2016 // Damage estimates of insured losses from the earthquake that hit Pawnee, Okla., in the north central part of the state on Sept. 3 likely won’t be available until early October, according to an insurance department...
Allianz Expands Global Environmental Impairment Liability Team
Sep 8 2016 // Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) is expanding its global Environmental Impairment Liability (EIL) team with new senior hires in the North American and Mediterranean regions. “Environmental claims pose...
Oklahoma Quake Upgraded to 5.8 Mag, More Waste Wells Shut Down
Sep 8 2016 // Oklahoma drillers are being ordered to shut more fracking wastewater wells just as the U.S. Geological Survey is upgrading last weekend’s earthquake to a record magnitude. The Environmental Protection Agency said it...
Court Rules Massachusetts Law Applies in Rhode Island Contamination Suit
Sep 8 2016 // The Massachusetts Appeals Court has ruled that Massachusetts law should apply in deciding whether Narragansett Electric Co. (NEC), a Rhode Island-based utilities provider, is entitled to insurance coverage for...
Lloyd’s Wins Right to Keep Oklahoma Quake Damage Lawsuit in New York
Sep 8 2016 // Lloyd’s of London has kept its lawsuit against New Dominion LLC over fracking out of the state where the ground is shaking. A federal judge in New York agreed Wednesday to decide the lawsuit by Lloyd’s seeking...
Court Allows Banana Farmers’ Toxic Pesticide Claims Against Fruit, Chemical Firms
Sep 7 2016 // Hundreds of banana farmers from Central America and South America will again have their day in court, after a U.S. appeals court on Friday revived six lawsuits accusing several big fruit and chemical companies of sickening...
37 Disposal Wells to Close after Oklahoma Quake, a Fraction of State’s Total
Sep 6 2016 // The 37 wastewater disposal wells to be shut down in north-central Oklahoma, where a 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck this weekend, are just a fraction of the state’s total number. There are about 4,200 total wells...
5.6 Mag Oklahoma Quake Matches Record
Sep 6 2016 // Oklahoma registered one of its biggest earthquakes on Sept. 3 even after state regulators have beefed up limits on disposing oilfield waste and the rate of tremors had started to slow somewhat from unprecedented levels...
Zika Reveals Gaps in U.S. Mosquito Control Options
Sep 6 2016 // Over Wynwood, the Miami neighborhood where Zika gained a foothold in the continental United States, low flying planes have been spraying naled, a tightly controlled pesticide often used as a last resort. It appears to be...
Filling the Gap in Contractors Professional and Pollution Liability
Sep 6 2016 // Coverage Part A of the Commercial General Liability (CGL) policy is limited in scope, extending coverage to claims arising out of only bodily injury (BI) and/or property damage (PD). Couple Part A’s limited scope...
Questions, Research on Possible Synthetic Turf Link to Athletes’ Cancer Continue
Aug 26 2016 // Their son is gone. Luke Beardemphl, a standout Tacoma, Washington soccer player during his years at Stadium High School, died last year at 24, following a seven-year battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. But Luke’s...
New Day Underwriting Managers of New Jersey Hires Giquinto to Real Estate Group
Aug 25 2016 // New Day Underwriting Managers LLC, a Hamilton, N.J., based specialty intermediary of environmental and construction related professional liability insurance, has hired Cara Giquinto as a senior account manager in its real...
U.K. Lawmakers Call for Ban on Plastic Microbeads, Citing Dangers to Food Chain
Aug 24 2016 // U.K. lawmakers called for a ban on plastic microbeads used in products such as shaving gel, exfoliating scrubs and toothpaste, saying they are harming marine life and entering the food chain. In a report published...
Beazley Doubles Environmental Risk Capacity to $50M with Lloyd’s Consortium
Aug 23 2016 // Beazley, the London-based provider of specialist environmental liability insurance, has doubled its capacity for operational and fixed site environmental risks to $50 million. Covering the environmental liabilities of...
Integro Taps Atlanta-Based Sandfrey to Lead Environmental Practice
Aug 17 2016 // International broker and risk management firm Integro Insurance Brokers has hired Tony Sandfrey to lead the firm’s Environmental practice. He will be based in Atlanta. Sandfrey, who began his career as an...
