Articles by Leah Willingham and Matthew Daly

Coal Miners Getting New Protections Against Black Lung Disease

Coal miners will be better protected from poisonous silica dust that has contributed to the premature deaths of thousands of mine workers from a respiratory ailment commonly known as black lung disease, the Labor Department said Tuesday as it issued …

EPA Bans Asbestos, Still in Use Decades After Partial Ban

The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced a comprehensive ban on asbestos, a carcinogen that kills tens of thousands of Americans every year but is still used in some chlorine bleach, brake pads and other products. The final rule marks …

Biden Administration Launches Formal Evaluation of Vinyl Chloride Risks After Ohio Train Derailment

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration has initiated a formal evaluation of risks posed by vinyl chloride, the cancer-causing chemical that burned in a towering plume of toxic black smoke following a fiery train derailment earlier this year in eastern …

Minnesota Nuclear Plant Shuts Down For Leak

MONTICELLO, Minn. (AP) – A Minnesota utility began shutting down a nuclear power plant near Minneapolis on Friday after discovering water containing a low level of radioactive material was leaking from a pipe for the second time. While the utility …

Watchdog: Chemical Safety Agency Impeded by Staff Shortage

The federal agency that investigates chemical accidents is hindered by a lack of staffing, leadership disputes and a backlog of investigations that threaten its ability to protect people and the environment, according to a new report by a federal watchdog. …

EPA Denies Request to Exempt 2 Gulf Coast Plants From Air Pollution Rule

The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday denied a request by Cheniere Energy, a leading U.S. producer of liquefied natural gas, to exempt two Gulf Coast plants from a federal air pollution rule. An EPA spokesman says the agency on Tuesday …

‘Forever Chemicals’ Pose Risk Even at Very Low Levels: EPA

The Environmental Protection Agency is warning that two nonstick and stain-resistant compounds found in drinking water are more dangerous than previously thought – and pose health risks even at levels so low they cannot currently be detected. The two compounds, …

EPA Rule Would Ban Asbestos Still in Use

The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday proposed a rule to finally ban asbestos, a carcinogen that is still used in some chlorine bleach, brake pads and other products and kills thousands of Americans every year. The proposal marks a major …

EPA Targets Coal Ash Storage Ponds for Closure

The Environmental Protection Agency is taking its first major action to address toxic wastewater from coal-burning power plants, denying requests by three Midwest power plants to extend operations of leaking or otherwise dangerous coal ash storage ponds. Plants in Indiana, …

EPA Launches Strategy to Regulate Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’

The Biden administration said it is launching a broad strategy to regulate toxic industrial compounds associated with serious health conditions that are used in products ranging from cookware to carpets and firefighting foams. Michael Regan, the head of the Environmental …