Latest Pollution Headlines

All the headlines from our Pollution Topic Page, ordered by recency.

New York Leads 11 States in Suing EPA Over Soot Rules

Feb 14 2012 // New York and 10 other states filed a lawsuit last Friday designed to force the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to issue new regulations on soot pollution. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the lawsuit...

Union Pacific to Pay $1.5 Million in Fines

Feb 14 2012 // Union Pacific Railroad will pay $1.5 million in fines for environmental damage in Provo and other areas of the Intermountain West. The Daily Herald of Provo reported the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the...

ACE Enhances Tank Coverage

Feb 9 2012 // The ACE Group has improved its tank coverage by streamlining environmental coverage for owners and operators of aboveground and underground tanks. The insurer has combined aboveground and underground coverage in a single...

People

Feb 6 2012 // Marsh & McLennan Companies has appointed AIG executive Julio Portalatin as CEO of Mercer, MMC’s human resource consulting unit. Portalatin succeeds M. Michele Burns who left the firm last October. Portalatin...

XL Enhances Real Estate Portfolio Protection

Feb 3 2012 // XL Group’s insurance segment has launched enhanced pollution protection for real estate portfolios. The product will be available through the segment’s environmental team. The new product is aimed toward...

California Salami Plant to Pay $700K For Ammonia Leak

Feb 1 2012 // The owners of a South San Francisco salami plant will pay nearly $700,000 and overhaul its refrigeration system as part of a federal judgment stemming from an ammonia leak that sickened almost four dozen people. The U.S....

Two Vermont Towns to Decide on Abandoned Asbestos Mine

Jan 31 2012 // Voters in Lowell and Eden are going to vote on whether to request that an abandoned asbestos mine be declared a federal Superfund hazardous waste site so it can be cleaned up and eventually redeveloped as a biomass power...

Ex-BP Worker Files Whistleblower Suit Over Cleanup

Jan 30 2012 // A former BP employee has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the company, claiming he was fired for airing concerns about the cleanup of Mississippi’s shoreline after the Gulf oil spill. In a federal suit filed...

Scientists Urge More Study of Nanotechnology Risks

Jan 26 2012 // Studying the potential health hazards of nanotechnology will require an additional $24 million a year to close the knowledge gap about the tiny particles used in a fast-growing array of consumer products, the National...

Group Urges Obama to Address Flood Insurance in State of Union Address

Jan 19 2012 // A coalition of business and environmental groups is calling on President Obama to use his upcoming State of the Union address to urge Congress to reform the nation’s debt-ridden flood insurance program. The U.S....

Cancer Village Lawsuit Tests China’s Pollution Lawsuit Climate

Jan 17 2012 // Nothing in Wu Wenyong’s rural childhood hinted he would end up on a hospital bed aged 15, battling two kinds of cancer. Born to poor farmers in Xiaoxin, a dusty village of low brick houses in southwestern Yunnan...

Willis N. America Appoints Penn.-based Environmental Practice Leader

Jan 13 2012 // Willis North America, a unit of insurance broker Willis Group Holdings, appointed Richard Sheldon as environmental practice leader. Sheldon has been serving as national placement leader for the environmental practice since...

Internet Begins New Chapter with .yournamehere Domains

Jan 12 2012 // A quiet Internet revolution begins on Thursday. Organizations can begin applying to name and run their own domains instead of entrusting them to the operators of .com, .org, .gov and others. Up to 2,000 applications are...

Ironshore Expands Environmental Products to Europe

Jan 9 2012 // Ironshore Environmental products are now available in Europe through Ironshore Europe Limited. The products cover a broad spectrum of issues for many industries, including manufacturing, engineering, construction, energy,...

Utah Pollution Fighters Sue Kennecott Over Mining Dust

Jan 9 2012 // Clean air groups are making good on a promise to sue Kennecott Utah Copper over air pollution. The groups say Kennecott is kicking up too much dust at its Bingham copper mine and should curtail operations. They say...

Ecuador Plaintiffs to Seek Damages from Chevron Abroad

Jan 5 2012 // Ecuadorean plaintiffs who won an $18 billion environmental case against Chevron Corp will pursue legal action against the company overseas in a bid to collect the damages, their lawyer said on Wednesday. An appeals court...

Ecuador Court Upholds $18 Billion Judgment against Chevron

Jan 4 2012 // An Ecuadorean appeals court on Tuesday upheld a ruling that Chevron Corp should pay $18 billion in damages to plaintiffs who accused the U.S. oil giant of polluting the Amazon jungle and damaging their health. A local...

Connecticut Health Officials Urge Homeowners to Test for Radon

Jan 3 2012 // The Connecticut public health department is urging residents to test their homes for radon gas, the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. Health officials estimate that radon is responsible for more than 21,000 lung...

Ironshore Names Boren Head of U.S. Field Operations

Dec 22 2011 // Specialty insurer Ironshore Inc. has appointed Joseph L. Boren as executive vice president of Ironshore Insurance Holdings, LLC and as president of U.S. Field Operations. John O’Brien, currently president of...

Utah Pollution Fighters Sue Kennecott Over Mining Dust

Dec 21 2011 // Clean air groups are making good on a promise to sue Kennecott Utah Copper over air pollution. The groups say Kennecott is kicking up too much dust at its Bingham copper mine and should curtail operations. They say...