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.

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.

Dead Zones Degrade All U.S Coastal Regions

September 15, 2010–There were just 12 of these hypoxic areas in the 1960s. Now there are more than 300, or nearly half of the 647 waterways investigated by a consortium of federal agencies that released its report on Sept. 3, 2010.

Fracking Associated with Well Water Toxics; Causation Not Yet Proven

September 15, 2010–EPA warns Pavillion, WY residents not to drink or cook with their well water, and that the presence of methane (the main ingredient in natural gas) is so high that they should ventilate any room in which a shower is operating, and to not ignite anything in a closed room in which water is running.

EPA Enviro Justice Guidance Could Help Spotlight EJ Issues

August 18, 2010–While thoroughly bureaucratic, the 55-page guidance document, as well as EPA's Environmental Justice Strategic Enforcement Assessment Tool, can be useful resources for reporters who seek to understand and highlight potential environmental justice issues unfolding at the national, regional, or state level.

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.

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.