Latest Pollution Headlines
All the headlines from our Pollution Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Wisconsin Explosion Prompts Call for Updates to Chemical Study
Apr 30 2019 // The U.S. Chemical Safety Board wants federal regulators to re-examine a 1993 study on hydrofluoric acid after an explosion at a Superior oil refinery last year. The board sent a letter Wednesday to the U.S. Environmental...
Washington D.C. Plans to Confront Climate Change by Retrofitting Flood-Prone Buildings
Apr 29 2019 // Washington is announcing a goal of retrofitting or removing all of its flood-prone buildings by 2050, the first major U.S. city to set such a policy. The proposal is part of a broader plan to protect Washington, which is...
Bayer Seeks Dismissal of $78M Roundup Glyphosate Verdict or New Trial
Apr 25 2019 // Bayer AG on Wednesday asked a California appellate court to throw out a $78 million judgment it was ordered to pay to a school groundskeeper who claimed the company’s weed killers gave him cancer. In a filing in...
Lawyers Expect Wave of Litigation Targeting Popular Heart Drugs
Apr 24 2019 // Dozens of lawsuits have been filed against drug makers and sellers over widely prescribed generic heart medications tainted with potential carcinogens, the first claims in what some lawyers expect to be a wave of...
Brown & Riding Adds Katz in Colorado to Environmental Practice Group
Apr 23 2019 // Brown & Riding’s environmental practice group has added Tricia Katz to its team of environmental-focused insurance brokers. Katz works out of Denver, Colo. She specializes in assisting contracting risks with the...
California Lawsuit Claims Dispensary Sold Pesticide-Tainted Pot
Apr 22 2019 // An unlicensed marijuana dispensary sold cannabis sprayed with a dangerous pesticide, the city of Los Angeles said in a lawsuit that’s part of a wide-ranging crackdown on illegal pot sales. Marijuana sold at Kush Club...
S&P Will Issue ‘Environmental, Social and Governance’ Evaluations Including on Insurance Sector
Apr 18 2019 // If you’re among those who regard “environmental, social and governance” as just another in a long line of trendy buzz-phrases, then you may want to rethink. ESG standards, which companies use to highlight...
Costs Add Up for Texas Fuels Storage Operator After Fire, Chemical Spill
Apr 16 2019 // The costs of a massive fire and chemical spill at a Houston petrochemical facility in March have begun trickling out, with a local official on Monday estimating emergency response costs at $800,000 for the first two weeks...
Contaminated Oil Linked to U.S. Reserves Raises Safety Concerns
Apr 15 2019 // Exxon Mobil Corp. is the latest company to raise concerns that a stockpile of U.S. government crude is tainted with poisonous gas. The American energy giant said some of the oil it purchased last year from the Energy...
Part of Asbestos Cleanup Site in Montana Removed from Superfund List
Apr 12 2019 // U.S. officials have removed part of a Montana asbestos cleanup site from its Superfund list in the latest sign that the 17-year cleanup is ending, though the asbestos-related health problems for thousands of people...
Southeast States Push Industry Over Cleanup of Toxic Coal Ash Ponds
Apr 11 2019 // It’s the other dirty problem for U.S. coal — one that could cost utilities billions to clean up. Even as the Trump administration tries to revive the industry, some states are pushing utilities including Duke...
When Cyber Attack Hit Norsk Hydro, It Was Already Handling a Major Upheaval: RMS
Apr 9 2019 // When Norsk Hydro, one of the world’s largest aluminum producers, was hit by a major cyber attack in the early hours of March 19, it was already undergoing a major upheaval: just the day before the attack, the...
Why Has Texas Decided to Break Tradition and Immediately Sue Industrial Polluters?
Apr 9 2019 // Late last month as crews worked to contain a roaring fire at a Houston-area petrochemical storage facility, the state of Texas did something unheard of, at least in recent memory: It sued the company that operates the site...
Chemical Plant Fires Renew Safety Debate in Oil-Friendly Texas
Apr 7 2019 // Two major chemical plant fires near Houston just 17 days apart closed schools, leaked toxic chemicals into coastal waters and killed a worker, but there’s a good chance they won’t lead to big industry...
Oklahoma Lawmakers not so Happy About Purdue Pharma Settlement
Apr 7 2019 // A $270 million settlement between the state of Oklahoma and the maker of OxyContin praised last week as an innovative way to help combat opioid addiction is facing bipartisan criticism from Oklahoma lawmakers who say the...
Despite Explosion, Company Will Keep Using Toxic Chemical at Wisconsin Refinery
Apr 5 2019 // Husky Energy said that it will invest more than $400 million to rebuild its oil refinery in Superior, Wisconsin, and will continue its use of a highly toxic chemical that raised fears in the community after an explosion at...
Trump Deregulation Plan Facing Court Challenge by 3 States
Apr 5 2019 // California, Oregon and Minnesota sued President Donald Trump and several top cabinet officials over the administration’s requirement that federal agencies delete two regulations for every one they add. Lodged by...
The Lowdown: May is National Safety Stand-Down Month
Apr 3 2019 // What’s coming up for your construction clients? The 6th annual National Safety Stand-Down takes place May 6-10, 2019. First initiated by OSHA in 2014, the week encourages construction companies of all sizes to...
North Carolina Orders Duke Energy to Excavate All Coal Ash
Apr 3 2019 // The country’s largest electric company was ordered Monday to excavate coal ash from all of its North Carolina power plant sites, slashing the risk of toxic chemicals leaking into water supplies but potentially adding...
U.S. Investigators to Begin Search for Cause of Texas Petrochemical Disaster
Apr 2 2019 // U.S. investigators hope this week for the first time to enter the site of a massive fuel fire and chemical spill outside Houston to begin the hunt for a cause and to determine whether the operator followed safety...
