Chemicals

"New York’s health department will set the nation’s lowest allowable level for industrial chemicals that have contaminated some communities’ drinking water."

"Ten U.S. states and Washington, D.C. sued the Environmental Protection Agency to begin working on rules to tighten oversight of asbestos, and reduce the health risks that the substance poses to the public."

"A Texas federal judge has found a huge Formosa plastics complex northeast of Corpus Christi to be a 'serial offender' with a history of allowing plastic pellets to wash into wetlands and bays along the Gulf of Mexico, and said that the company has committed 'enormous' violations of state law and the U.S. Clean Water Act."

"Wisconsin wastewater plants were built to keep pollutants out of the environment, but state regulators have come to realize the facilities may be spreading hazardous industrial chemicals in ways that increase health risks."

"New data suggests that the safety threshold for PFOA in drinking water should be as low as .1 parts per trillion, according to the nation’s top toxicologist."

"The EPA should use its legal powers to get exposure and other data from chemical companies, according to representatives of organizations that normally disagree over how the agency implements the nation’s primary chemicals law."

"The Senate passed a defense bill Thursday that would require an increased response from the government to harmful chemicals that have leached into water in at least 43 states."

"Those thin white clouds that jet engines draw across the sky are leaving their mark on the climate. A new study warns that the global heat-trapping effect of contrail clouds will triple by 2050 unless airlines and airplane builders dramatically reduce emissions or air traffic patterns change."