Did OMB Strangle TRI Rule in Its Crib for Chemical, Wood Treatment Industries?

June 29, 2011–The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had gone through an open rulemaking process on the "Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Articles Exemption Clarification Rule" but withdrew a final rule it had sent to President Obama's Office of Management and Budget for approval after OMB met privately with chemical, wood, and other industry lobbyists.

USDA Pesticide, Fertilizer Data Now in Online Database

June 29, 2011–The Agriculture Department under President Obama has partly restored public access to the Agricultural Chemical Usage data by the National Agricultural Statistics Service. President Bush had cancelled the reports in 2008.

Plastics: All Kinds of News

June 22, 2011–Are you looking for a story of interest to consumers, retailers, manufacturers, lawyers, politicians, health officials, and editors of the business, politics, health, energy, science, and environment beats? Here are some starting points for coverage of plastics issues. Once you delve into this topic, other angles and sources will emerge.

EPA Outs 150 Chemicals Claiming Trade Secret Status Under TSCA

June 15, 2011–The chemicals, the identities of which had been withheld up till now based on companies' "confidential business information" claims, are used in products like oil dispersants, air fresheners, non-stick and stain-resistant materials, fire-resistant materials, nonylphenol compounds, perfluorinated compounds, and lead.

USFS Releases Court-Ordered EIS for Fire Retardants

May 25, 2011–Information sessions and webinars on possible health and environmental effects of aerial-applied chemicals used to fight wildfires will be held in various locations around the country during the 45-day public comment period that ends June 27, 2011.

EPA Suspends Chemical Reporting After Industry Complaints

May 18, 2011–Reporting of potentially toxic chemicals in commerce under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)will not be required during the next reporting period, which runs from June through September.

Fracking Companies Withhold Baseline Well-Water Data

May 18, 2011–ProPublica reporter Abrahm Lustgarten (left) revealed that some of the biggest fracking companies have been collecting extensive baseline data since 2008, keeping it concealed from public knowledge — including denying Duke University researchers the data when asked for it. The withheld data could either exonerate the companies or prove them responsible for pollution.

Multiple Sources Reveal Fracking Chemicals

April 27, 2011–New tools provide limited information on substances used in specific wells during the oil and natural gas extraction process called hydraulic fracturing. From 2005-2009, 780 million gallons of 750 substances were injected underground — a starting point for your coverage of this angle.

Natl Air Toxics Report Gives Perspective, Despite Many Info Gaps

April 13, 2011–Every U.S. resident is at elevated risk of cancer from certain toxic substances in outdoor air, and about one-quarter of all residents are possibly at risk for noncancer health effects, according to EPA's update of the National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) released March 11, 2011.

Court Upholds Firing of Custodian for Warning of Asbestos in School

February 23, 2011–The asbestos came to the attention of the head custodian at Somers Central High School in New York, when a chunk fell from the gymnasium ceiling onto the floor and he was asked to clean it up. Morey warned school authorities that he feared it could be asbestos. They told him to put tape over it and to drop the subject.