Chemicals

"Environmental and civil rights groups are suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over a new lead rule critics argue doesn't do enough to remove the lead pipes that contaminate drinking water."

"The Navajo Nation’s Department of Justice announced Wednesday it has settled with mining companies to resolve claims stemming from a 2015 spill that resulted in rivers in three western states being fouled with a bright-yellow plume of arsenic, lead and other heavy metals."

"Thousands of public housing residents live near the most polluted places in the nation — and the government has done little to protect them."

"A string of explosions involving little-regulated petroleum and chemical storage tanks have lawmakers and regulators talking about new rules as the Legislature prepares to convene this month."

"Insect populations are suffering “death by a thousand cuts”, with many falling at “frightening” rates that are “tearing apart the tapestry of life”, according to scientists behind a new volume of studies."

"EPA marked the last day of 2020 with a controversial announcement, finding few unreasonable risks associated with a common chemical solvent classified as a likely carcinogen. In its final risk evaluation for 1,4-dioxane, EPA determined no unreasonable risks exist for the environment, consumers and bystanders, or the general population."

"The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on Thursday denied DuPont’s request to declare a mistrial after a jury in March sided with cancer survivor Travis Abbott and his wife, Julie, awarding them damages for exposure to a type of PFAS the company produced at a facility along the Ohio River."

"Flint residents will have a measure of justice, more than six years after the city's drinking water was contaminated with toxic lead, thanks to two bipartisan bills signed Wednesday."

"The EPA’s program for cleaning up the nation’s hazardous waste dumps has a backlog of sites that lack funding—the largest in 15 years."

"In a court ruling hailed by health advocates, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will now have to collect data on asbestos imports into the U.S., a federal judge ruled on Tuesday."