Chemicals

"A leak in a container holding hazardous chemicals created a massive chemical spill early Thursday and sent 37 people to the hospital, including seven in critical condition, said authorities in Beach Park, Illinois."

"The Environmental Protection Agency is changing its approach to chemical toxicity oversight, according to a report issued recently by the Government Accountability Office. In the overhaul, the EPA reassigned staff from its Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)—a program that conducts comprehensive scientific reviews—to duties related to the Toxic Substances Control Act, which has a narrower mandate. The agency has also reduced the number of its ongoing chemical toxcity assessments from 20 to three. Former EPA officials contend the shake-up takes chemical assessments out of the hands of career scientists, potentially to the detriment of public health."

"After pressure from the Defense Department, the Environmental Protection Agency significantly weakened a proposed standard for cleaning up groundwater pollution caused by toxic chemicals that contaminate drinking water consumed by millions of Americans and that have been commonly used at military bases."

"Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler left a former lobbying client off of his financial disclosure documents, according to a new letter from House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.)."

"A U.S. appeals court is forcing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make a final decision on whether it will ban the use of a common pesticide linked to developmental disorders in children."

"There was a moment, about 20 years ago, when farmers thought that they'd finally defeated weeds forever."

"EPA's new plan for verifying chemicals that companies claim as trade secrets has some of the same shortcomings as a previous regulation currently tangled in litigation, according to critics."

"New York state officials plan to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for allowing General Electric Co to stop clearing the Hudson River of PCB contamination before the cleanup work was finished."