Gulf Dispersants Called Trade Secret

May 5, 2010–The exact ingredients of the chemical mixture being sprayed on and pumped into the spreading BP oil spill are secret, even though some are rated toxic and may endanger the health of Gulf residents and ecosystems.

Surefire Stories Near You: Start with Superfund Data Tools

April 28, 2010–US EPA's "National Priorities List" includes about 1,280 of the nation's worst sites. But there are tens of thousands of sites not on the NPL, and finding them is fairly easy.

EPA Begins Restoring Toxics Inventory After Downgrading

April 21, 2010–Sixteen chemicals may be added to the TRI, after nearly a decade of erosion under the Bush administration.

Local Officials, Residents, in Dark on Nearby Hazardous Rail Cargoes

April 21, 2010–Sixty-two U.S. urban areas are threatened by hazardous rail cargoes, but federal agencies still refuse to let many firefighters, governments, and citizens know the rail routes used to transport cargoes that could kill tens or hundreds of thousands.

EPA Makes Chemical Inventory Freely Available

March 31, 2010–Search and sort 84,000 selected chemicals manufactured, used, or imported into the US — minus 17,000 still hidden from the public due to claims of business confidentiality.

EPA Puts HERO Risk-Study Database Online

March 31, 2010–Environmental reporters covering health risks from chemical exposure have another searchable, free tool  in the Health & Environmental Research Online database, which catalogs scientific articles and studies the agency uses to make its decisions based on risk to health and environment.

EPA Makes TSCA Inventory Available Online for Free

March 24, 2010–But the list — the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Substance Inventory — is still minus some 17,000 chemicals that manufacturers allege are trade secrets.

More Than 550 Utilities Now Using Potentially Safer Chemicals

March 17, 2010–The plants, ranging from very large to very small, are now using chemicals and processes such as liquid chlorine bleach, calcium hypochlorite, or ultraviolet light — allegedly making ~40 million people living nearby safer.

States Push Congress, EPA To End Toxic Trade Secrets

March 10, 2010–Do commercial products we have body contact with contain toxic chemicals? In too many cases, states and environmentalists are saying, the federal government forbids consumers from knowing.

OSHA Sampling Data Still Unavailable

February 24, 2010–A former Occupational Safety and Health Administration official requested the data under the Freedom of Information Act in 2005, but was denied. He sued, won in 2007, and now has the data, but OSHA has still not released the data to the public.