Latest Pollution Headlines
All the headlines from our Pollution Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Report: Residents of North Texas Town not at More Risk for Cancer
May 14 2010 // Despite concerns about natural gas drilling, residents in one small Texas town don’t have higher levels of cancer-causing contaminants in their blood than the rest of the nation, state health officials have...
Senators Slam Oil Executives Over Gulf Spill
May 12 2010 // U.S. senators Tuesday tried to pin the blame for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill on the companies involved, scrutinizing their safety practices and demanding full compensation be paid for the cleanup. In hearings before two...
Insurance Industry Reacts to Gulf Coast Oil Spill
May 11 2010 // The blame game for the recent British Petroleum (BP) oil rig accident and subsequent oil spill is just getting started as are the insurance implications of this disastrous event, according to underwriters and other...
Obama Eyes Raising Oil Spill Liability Limit; BP Says It’s Not An Issue
May 10 2010 // The White House is pushing to lift the limit on how much BP pays for the Gulf Coast oil spill. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the administration wants to work with Congress to change a law that caps at $75 million...
Insurers’ Gulf Coast Oil Spill Losses Estimated at $1.4B
May 5 2010 // Companies with exposure to the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico are insured for losses totaling about $1.4 billion, according to initial reports. “The insurance losses from the sinking...
ASI Healthcare Offers Pollution Liability for Nursing Homes, Assisted Living
Apr 30 2010 // ASI Healthcare, a division of American Safety Insurance (ASI), now offers an optional Environmental Impairment Liability (EIL) coverage form for nursing home, assisted living and elder care facilities. The EIL form covers...
Chartis Updates Pollution Legal Liability Select Form
Apr 30 2010 // Chartis has introduced Pollution Legal Liability Select form (PLL Select), developed by its Environmental Division. PLL Select was introduced by Chartis 15 years ago in the environmental insurance market. The new PLL...
Gulf States’ Wildlife Reserve, Tourism, Fisheries at Risk from Oil Spill
Apr 30 2010 // A massive oil slick from a blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to reach a wildlife reserve at the mouth of the Mississippi River Thursday as it threatens the environmentally delicate coastline of Louisiana and...
Quick End to Gulf Oil Leak Depends on Robot Subs
Apr 27 2010 // Crews have been using a robot submarine to try to stop an oil leak resulting from the explosion at an oil drilling platform off the coast of Louisiana. The oil is leaking nearly a mile below the surface of the Gulf of...
Florida Residents Seek $500 Million in Superfund Lawsuit
Apr 22 2010 // Residents of a neighborhood on the edge of a polluted Florida Superfund site have sued the property owners, seeking at least $500 million to decontaminate their homes and monitor their health. The so-called Cabot/Koppers...
Earth Day: How Insurance Works with Recyclers
Apr 22 2010 // Today marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day and this year the Environmental Protection Agency turns 40 as well. Earth Day, the EPA and activists have been catalysts for one industry’s growth, in particular. The...
Feds Sue Metal Companies for New York Mercury Cleanup
Apr 21 2010 // The federal government has sued to recover $7 million in mercury cleanup costs from eight companies that used a New York refinery between 1970 and 1991. The companies were part of an earlier $2.4 million settlement. But...
Louisiana Court: Policy Exclusions Can’t Be Used to Deny Drywall Claims
Apr 19 2010 // A Louisiana court has rebuffed an insurer’s use of the pollution exclusion and two other exclusions in an “all risk” homeowners insurance policy to deny claims resulting from Chinese...
ACE UK Launches Environmental Risk for Small to Mid-Sized Firms
Apr 13 2010 // ACE UK has launched Environmental Protect, a policy offering coverage for both small to medium-sized companies and multinational operations. The new policy comes as submissions from regional and London market brokers...
Green Building Movement Raises Some Construction Defect, Claims Concern
Apr 7 2010 // New insurance products to protect innovative green construction products such as wind turbines, fuel cells and vegetative roofs are on the rise. But even those closest to the situation admit to being a bit, well, green,...
People
Apr 5 2010 // Accident Fund Insurance Company of America, based in Lansing, Mich., appointed Lisa Riddle the new vice president of Claims and Medical Operations. In her new role, Riddle is responsible for the strategic direction of...
Louisiana Court: Policy Exclusions Can’t Be Used to Deny Drywall Claims
Mar 30 2010 // A Louisiana court has rebuffed an insurance company’s use of the pollution exclusion and two other exclusions in an “all risk” homeowners insurance policy to deny claims resulting from so-called Chinese...
Kentucky Residents Sue Over Nuplex Chemical Spill
Mar 30 2010 // Residents of a southern Louisville neighborhood have sued Nuplex Resins over a chemical spill that sent vapors through sewer pipes. The Louisville Courier-Journal reported that three people filed the suit last Friday in...
Insurance Agents: Get Ready for Green Building Exposures
Mar 30 2010 // An idyllic, pasture-like setting is not the only green image agribusiness owners would like the public to imagine when they picture their operations — they increasingly want to be known for their “green”...
Floods Recede in Fargo, But Other Hazards Linger
Mar 26 2010 // As the Red River slowly started to recede this week and fears of major flooding diminished, Fargo residents were left to deal with another problem: environmental hazards that linger long after the waters...
