Latest Pollution Headlines
All the headlines from our Pollution Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Supreme Court Justices Question Landowners’ Claims in Montana Superfund Cleanup
Dec 4 2019 // U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday appeared inclined to shield a unit of British oil major BP Plc from claims seeking a more extensive cleanup of a Superfund hazardous waste site in Montana than what federal...
Directors and Officers Face Significantly Higher Range of Risks: Allianz Report
Dec 4 2019 // The range of risks facing company executives, or directors and officers (D&Os), has increased significantly in recent years along with resulting insurance claims, according to a report published by Allianz Global...
Texas Plant Rocked by Explosions Was Declared High Priority Violator by EPA
Dec 3 2019 // The Port Neches, Texas, chemical plant where two explosions and a fire prompted widespread mandatory evacuations on Nov. 27 has a years-long history of state and federal environmental violations. The facility owned by...
AXA XL Names AIG’s Wilbanks as Casualty, Environmental Risk Engineering Manager
Dec 2 2019 // AXA XL Risk Consulting has appointed has appointed Sheri Wilbanks as its global Casualty & Environmental Lines of Business manager. Wilbanks will be responsible for building a global casualty and environmental risk...
Texas Chemical Plant Fire Brought Under Control
Nov 29 2019 // AUSTIN, Texas , NOV. 29 —Officials lifted evacuation orders Friday for around 50,000 people on the Texas Gulf Coast, determining a massive fire was finally under control at a chemical plant rocked by two major explosions...
Massachusetts Attorney General Issues Asbestos Safety, Enforcement Report
Nov 26 2019 // Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has released a report highlighting her office’s ongoing efforts to protect children, families and workers from the health risks posed by exposure to asbestos. The report...
Trump Regulatory Rollback Targets Safety Rules Prompted by Industrial Disasters
Nov 25 2019 // The Trump administration’s move to relax an Obama-era chemical safety regulation put in place after an explosion at a fertilizer plant is the latest example of the White House easing rules established in the wake of...
EPA Eases Safety Requirements Enacted after Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion
Nov 22 2019 // Days before President Barack Obama left office in 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule aimed at preventing tragedies like the 2013 explosion and fire in the tiny Central Texas town of West that...
Report Urges Insurers to Eye Impact of Climate Change on Underwriting, Investments
Nov 21 2019 // Insurers can no longer put off addressing the impact of climate change on their underwriting, pricing, and investment decisions, as well as their bottom lines, a recent analysis from Deloitte asserts. “The escalating...
Wall Street Taking Closer Look at Climate Change Risks
Nov 15 2019 // In the wake of two years of devastating wildfires in California, Wall Street is incorporating a new risk metric when evaluating companies: climate resiliency. Investors, analysts, research firms and companies are putting...
Ex-DuPont CEO Backtracks, Says Chemours Liabilities ‘Uncapped’
Nov 15 2019 // DuPont de Nemours Inc.’s ex-top executive is backtracking on claims the chemical maker never intended to saddle its spinoff Chemours Co. with “unlimited exposure” for liabilities. Ellen Kullman, who...
Venice Floods, Australia Wildfires Blamed on Climate Change
Nov 14 2019 // Extreme floods in Venice, fires in Australia and even an outbreak of plague in China have been attributed to climate change this week, while researchers have warned that global warming could saddle future generations with...
Environmental Impact of Texas Petrochemical Plant Fire Unclear
Nov 13 2019 // Researchers are uncertain about the environmental impact of toxic chemicals used to extinguish a three-day blaze at a Houston-area petrochemical storage facility after some leaked into a busy commercial waterway. The fire...
Ben & Jerry’s Is Sued by Environmental Advocate Over ‘Happy Cows’ Claim
Nov 12 2019 // Ben & Jerry’s has been sued by an environmental advocate who said it deceived consumers by touting that the milk and cream it uses to make ice cream came exclusively from “happy cows.” In a complaint...
EPIC Launches Site Pollution Liability Insurance Program for Cannabis Risks
Nov 12 2019 // Greyling Insurance Brokerage & Risk Consulting (Greyling), a division of EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants (EPIC), has launched a nationwide site pollution liability insurance program for the emerging cannabis...
The Aral Sea Is Dying — A Victim of Environmental Malpractice
Nov 7 2019 // The Aral Sea was once the world’s fourth largest inland lake. Today, it’s the epitome of environmental malpractice. More than 60 million people in six nations—Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan,...
Philadelphia Fire Highlights Dangers of Old Infrastructure at U.S. Refineries
Nov 6 2019 // How did a piece of piping installed when Richard Nixon was U.S. president go without once being checked before leading to a fire that devastated the East Coast’s largest and oldest oil refinery? That’s a...
Australia’s Pro-Coal Prime Minister Signals War on Climate Change Activists
Nov 1 2019 // Radical. Extreme. Anarchists: Scott Morrison’s choice of language Friday made it clear how he views some environmental protesters. Now the Australian prime minister is signaling he will legislate to stymie what he...
Indiana Environmental Regulators: Steelmaker Too Slow to Act on Chemical Spill
Oct 31 2019 // The state environmental agency said a northwestern Indiana steel mill knew it was leaking dangerous chemicals into Lake Michigan but failed to report the spill or act quickly to mitigate the risks. The cyanide and ammonia...
Georgia Plant Agrees to Close in Fight Over Gas Emissions
Oct 31 2019 // Georgia officials reached an agreement Monday to temporarily shut down a medical sterilization facility that uses a gas that studies have linked to an increased risk of cancer. A Newton County judge signed off on a deal...
