Latest Pollution Headlines
All the headlines from our Pollution Topic Page, ordered by recency.
New Zealand Says Oil Spill ‘Worst-ever Maritime Environmental Disaster’
Oct 12 2011 // Rough weather has jostled a cargo ship stuck off New Zealand’s coast and worsened its oil leak fivefold to make it the country’s worst-ever maritime environmental disaster, the government said Tuesday. Clumps...
Fire Manufacturing Plant Near Dallas Contained, Authorities Say
Oct 4 2011 // A fire at a chemical plant south of Dallas shot massive plumes of black smoke and bright orange flames into the sky on Oct. 3, forcing schoolchildren and residents to evacuate or take cover indoors to avoid possible...
Parties Mum on $35M West Virginia Coal Slurry Settlement
Oct 3 2011 // Lawyers, plaintiffs and others are remaining quiet about a $35 million settlement with hundreds of people who say a Massey Energy subsidiary poisoned their wells with coal slurry. More than 300 people gathered at the...
Montana Court Approves $43 Million Asbestos Deal
Oct 3 2011 // A Montana judge has approved a $43 million settlement for people sickened by exposure to asbestos from a mine, with a large part of that amount to be paid by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, court documents...
Virginia Court: Insurer Not Liable For Global Warming Claims
Oct 3 2011 // The Virginia Supreme Court has ruled in favor of an insurance company in a closely watched legal case involving global warming. The high court ruled that Steadfast Insurance Co., which provided commercial general liability...
BP Oil Lingering on Gulf Coast Floor Could Pose Long-Term Risk
Sep 22 2011 // Tar balls washed onto Gulf of Mexico beaches by Tropical Storm Lee earlier this month show that oil left over from last year’s BP spill isn’t breaking down as quickly as some scientists thought it would,...
Court Approves $43 Million Montana Asbestos Settlement
Sep 19 2011 // A Montana judge has approved a $43 million settlement for people sickened by exposure to asbestos from a mine, with a large part of that amount to be paid by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, court documents...
Va. Supreme Court: Insurer Not Liable For Claims From Global Warming
Sep 19 2011 // The Virginia Supreme Court has ruled in favor of an insurance company in a closely watched legal case involving global warming. The high court ruled that Steadfast Insurance Co., which provided commercial general liability...
People
Sep 19 2011 // XL Insurance has made six key appointments to its North America Construction team. The latest additions to XL Insurance’s North America construction team include: Lawrence Lejfer — Vice president and senior...
Judge Allows Punitive Damage Claims for Gulf Oil Spill to Move Ahead
Aug 29 2011 // Plaintiff lawyers claimed a victory on Friday when a U.S. federal judge overseeing hundreds of lawsuits against BP and others over last year’s big oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico allowed much of the case to move...
ACE Expands Environmental Team in London
Aug 25 2011 // ACE announced the appointment of two new Environmental Risk Underwriters to its London based Environmental Liability team – Robert Wade and Hayley Dixon, both experienced professionals with strong scientific...
ConocoPhillips Evaluating China Oil Spill Impact
Aug 24 2011 // A subsidiary of ConocoPhillips said it has started evaluating the impact of its oil spill on the marine environment in China’s northern Bohai Bay, but it has not yet received any claims for the incident. State media...
Study: No Long-Term Health Effects of Michigan Spill
Aug 19 2011 // There are no long-term health effects of submerged oil from last year’s spill in southern Michigan’s Kalamazoo River, a new study from the state says. Results of the Michigan Department of Community Health...
XL Insurance Names Hookings as Australian Environmental Underwriter
Aug 19 2011 // XL Insurance, the global insurance operations of XL Group plc, announced the appointment of Andrew Hookings as Environmental underwriter for Australia. He has over 10 years’ insurance industry experience, most...
Chartis Expands NextGen Protection to Project Contractors
Aug 18 2011 // Chartis has expanded NextGen Protection, a suite of environmental insurance products offered through its Environmental division, for project contractors. The latest product in the NextGen Protection suite is CPL...
XL Names 6 to North America Construction Team
Aug 17 2011 // XL Insurance has made six key appointments to its North America Construction team that it established a year ago. The latest additions to XL Insurance’s North America Construction team include: Lawrence Lejfer...
Settlement Reached in 2006 Ink Plant Explosion in Massachusetts
Aug 15 2011 // Federal officials said they have reached agreement with the owners and a former operator of an inks and paint products manufacturing facility in Danvers, Mass., that exploded and burned in 2006 the day before...
Pipeline Leaks into Missouri River in Iowa
Aug 15 2011 // A leak in a natural gas liquids pipeline operated by Enterprise Products Partners spilled fuel into the Missouri River in Iowa, the company said Monday. The leak was on the Iowa side of Enterprise’s Conway North line...
EPA Halts Sale of DuPont’s Imprelis Herbicide
Aug 12 2011 // DuPont Co. was ordered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Thursday to stop selling and recall its Imprelis herbicide, following thousands of complaints that the treatment kills trees. The order came after the EPA...
Hanover Adds Environmental Coverage for Industrial Manufacturers
Aug 9 2011 // The Hanover Insurance Group Inc. has expanded its Hanover Specialty Industrial insurance program for manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors by adding environmental liability protection. The additional coverage will...
