Pavement Sealcoat Contaminates Lakes and Streams

November 10, 2010–A soon-to-be-published study has found elevated levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, probable human carcinogens toxic to fish and other aquatic life, in waterways are originating from coal tar-based pavement sealcoats.

EPA Gives Public an Environmental Justice Mapping Tool: EJView

November 3, 2010–This new tool allows any user online to create custom study areas based on a wide range of variables: address, ZIP code, county, city, township, facility, watershed, or geographic coordinates. Other environmental data can then be mapped onto that study area.

Cell-Phone Industry Seeks To Silence Right-to-Know Demands

October 6, 2010–The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association has filed suit against San Francisco in response to a right-to-know ordinance it passed guaranteeing consumers information about how much electromagnetic radiation their cell phones were exposing them to.

Report: Nitrogen and Phosphorous Pollution Remains Serious Threat

September 29, 2010–The USGS study used data from thousands of locations to analyze trends from 1992 to 2004. You can probably find many local and regional stories as these pollutants contribute to various environmental and human health problems.

Drinking Water Threats May Soon Be Rapidly Detected

August 18, 2010–EPA and the Dept. of Energy have collaborated to develop an improved monitoring package that utilizes inline sensors in the water network and software called CANARY.

ESRI Geomedicine: Online Map Resource for Environmental Health

July 7, 2010–From GIS software company ESRI, this free tool lets users enter places where they lived for more than two years at a time, and the site provides you with a personalized "place history" pdf report and shareable maps detailing local heart attack rate and nearby toxic chemicals for each location.

Natural Gas Hazards Drawing Federal Attention

July 7, 2010–After hearing for years about public concern over the adverse health and environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing used to increase production of natural gas, US EPA has begun a process (including 4 public meetings in July; CO, NY, PA, TX) to decide what the issues are and how to address them.

Manufacturing Plants Are Source of Drugs in Waterways

June 9, 2010–Wastewater treatment plants can't mitigate the problem, which is compounded by other sources of water contamination, such as drugs that end up in landfills or flushed down toilets, and metabolites or unutilized drugs that pass through people who take the drugs.

Dispersants Remain a Mystery to Public, Despite Fake "Disclosure"

June 2, 2010–Dispersant manufacturer Nalco failed to disclose the chemical identity of the ingredients to the news media or public, and ignored a US EPA order to stop using the product in the Gulf.

Public Water Wells Often Contaminated

May 26, 2010–A new US Geological Survey report indicates about 105 million US residents drink water from contaminated systems, often at pollutant concentrations that potentially pose a human health risk.