"Sens. John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) are pressuring administration officials to act quickly on railway transports of crude oil in the wake of multiple explosive derailments."
"A chemical spill along a West Virginia river on Thursday triggered a tap water ban for up to 300,000 people, shutting down schools, bars and restaurants and forcing residents to line up for bottled water at stores. Governor Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency for nine counties following the spill of 4-Methylcyclohexane Methanol, a chemical used in the coal industry."
"Some 80,000 tank cars that don't meet current industry safety standards need to be replaced or retrofitted after several crashes of trains carrying crude oil, the head of railcar maker The Greenbriar Companies said on Wednesday."
"More than 350 people across Japan have fallen ill after eating pesticide-contaminated frozen food produced by the nation's largest seafood firm, national broadcaster NHK said Tuesday."
"As the planet warms, one of the biggest questions is how fast sea level will rise. A team of Rutgers University researchers has attempted to answer that question and localize it by studying past sea-level rise along the East Coast, as well as other factors that could influence what happens along the New Jersey Shore."
"Several homes near the village of Plaster Rock, N.B., were evacuated Tuesday evening after a train carrying 'dangerous goods' derailed and caught fire."
"An interagency panel created to weigh new chemical safety regulations in response to last April’s deadly explosion in Texas is considering a major overhaul of the way volatile substances are handled and stored, a new federal document shows."
"The record-breaking cold weather in the US doesn't mean the globe isn't warming, scientists say."
"SAN DIEGO, California -- Seventy-one U.S. Navy sailors from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan are filing suit against the Japanese utility Tokyo Electric Power Company, TEPCO, after they were allegedly exposed to radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant when they arrived in Japan with aid."
"TACLOBAN, Philippines -- The typhoon that recently barreled through the Philippines has left in its wake one of the most profound resettlement crises in decades, with the number of newly homeless far exceeding the capacity of aid groups and the government to respond."
