Voluntary Fracking Disclosure Database Gets 'F' from Harvard Study

April 24, 2013–We told you so. But now a Harvard study also says it: the FracFocus registry designed and operated by the drilling industry (and its close friends) fails to meet the public's right to accountability and complete disclosure of chemicals pumped into underground formations that may impact people's drinking-water wells.

Exxon "Unified Command" Locks Down Ark. Spill Site; Threatens Reporter

April 10, 2013–The March 29, 2013, spill from ExxonMobil's Pegasus Pipeline near Mayflower, Arkansas is a big deal for several reasons. But the most important thing about the Mayflower spill may be that ExxonMobil and the federal agencies involved seem to be trying to keep news media from getting close enough to see what is going on. Read SEJ's letter protesting the media treatment, and EPA's response.

White House OMB Secretly Weakened Food Safety Rule

April 10, 2013–It may come as little surprise that an unknown number of Americans could die as a result of White House weakening of food safety rules mandated by Congress. The Office of Management and Budget has been secretly weakening environmental health and safety at industry request for years. The surprise is that we found out.

Children's Health Report Released after Reporter Exposes OMB Blockade

January 30, 2013–Sunlight cures many ills. A month after watchdog Sheila Kaplan exposed a White House blackout of an EPA report on children's environmental health, the Obama administration uncorked it. Of course, the timing may have had something to do with the election as well; EPA announced its publication January 25, just a few days after the inauguration.

Are We Ready for the Next Superstorm?

January 15, 2013–In this excerpt from the latest issue of SEJournal (Winter), Francesca Lyman asks "What does Hurricane Sandy tell us about coping with human health and consequences of climate change?"

At Industry Urging, White House Buries Report on Toxic Threats to Children's Health

January 2, 2013–If you want to know the latest on what chemicals might give your kids learning disabilities, asthma, and other health problems, the White House Office of Management and Budget intends to keep you in the dark. It has buried since March 2011 the 3rd edition of EPA's report "America's Children and the Environment."

EPA Withdraws Rule on Reporting Cadmium Health Studies

January 2, 2013–EPA had on December 3, 2012, published a final rule requiring reporting of unpublished cadmium-related health and safety studies by manufacturers and importers. This rule prompted industry objections, resulting in EPA's withdrawal of the rule less than 2 weeks later.

Access to Fracking Info — Still Bad — Improved by Non-Gov Web Initiatives

November 28, 2012–A geeky nonprofit watchdog group has done what government and private industry have failed to do; the group, SkyTruth, has made data about the ingredients in fracking fluid easily accessible to the public.

DHS and CDC Refuse To Give House Panel Docs on Failed BioWatch Program

November 28, 2012–After wasting billions of taxpayer dollars on a non-working program aimed at protecting the US public from biological attack, the Department of Homeland Security and Centers for Disease Control may be refusing to give documents on the program to House Energy Committee investigators. 

Open-Source Background on Federal BioWatch Program

November 28, 2012–