Publication Items

"Trade Secrets" — Largely Untested Grounds for Toxic Secrecy [1]

Witnesses at a House Energy Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection hearing in February said excessive and unjustified claims of "confidential business information" dampen EPA's efforts to regulate commonly used chemicals.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Economy & Business [3]
Chemicals [4]
Laws & Regulations [5]
Government [6]
Region:
National (U.S.) [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about "Trade Secrets" — Largely Untested Grounds for Toxic Secrecy [1]
EPA Reverses Bush-Era Toxics Release Inventory Blackout [9]

A new rule signed by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson restores cuts in how much data communities can get about nearby industrial releases of toxic substances.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [4]
Laws & Regulations [5]
Government [6]
Policy [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about EPA Reverses Bush-Era Toxics Release Inventory Blackout [9]
Lung Association To Release Air Quality Report [11]

The ALA's annual State of the Air report can provide a useful hook for reporting on air quality in your community, but for the big picture, do go beyond the sound-bite information emphasized in the report.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [12]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [13]
Chemicals [4]
Region:
National (U.S.) [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Lung Association To Release Air Quality Report [11]
EPA To Test School Air Quality [14]

Following a December 2008 USA Today investigation into toxic air enveloping US schools, EPA will begin monitoring air quality around 62 schools in 22 states.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [12]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [13]
Chemicals [4]
Journalism & Media [15]
Region:
National (U.S.) [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about EPA To Test School Air Quality [14]
Consent Decree Forces Regs on Selected Gas and Diesel Engines [16]

Restrictions would be placed on many types of stationary diesel and gas-fired engines under a proposed EPA rule.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [12]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [13]
Chemicals [4]
Energy & Fuel [17]
Laws & Regulations [5]
Pollution [18]
Government [6]
Region:
National (U.S.) [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Consent Decree Forces Regs on Selected Gas and Diesel Engines [16]
EPA Inspector General Rips Risk Management Plan Follow-Up [19]

A new Office of Inspector General report found many chemical facilities storing large amounts of dangerous chemicals had not filed their required RMPs -- and that EPA was not checking often for compliance.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [4]
Disasters [20]
Government [6]
Region:
National (U.S.) [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about EPA Inspector General Rips Risk Management Plan Follow-Up [19]
Blue Sky for TRI? [21]

EPA's public release of the latest Toxics Release Inventory data -- and rollback of Bush-era cutbacks on the amount of information chemical companies must report -- may have marked the beginning of a new era for the embattled program.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [4]
Laws & Regulations [5]
Government [6]
Policy [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Blue Sky for TRI? [21]
CSB Reschedules W.VA. Meeting After Bayer Secrecy Demands [22]

A public meeting regarding the U.S. Chemical Safety Board's investigation of the August 2008 explosion at Bayer CropScience which killed two workers, originally scheduled for March 19, was postponed to April 23, 2009.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [20]
Chemicals [4]
Region:
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [23]
National (U.S.) [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about CSB Reschedules W.VA. Meeting After Bayer Secrecy Demands [22]
New Government Effort To Produce More Data On Toxic Chemicals [24]

By CHERYL HOGUE

We don't have a lot of information about many of the industrial chemicals that are in our air, water and soil, or those that are increasingly found in our blood.

This dearth of data often leaves audiences hanging when journalists report about pollution and biomonitoring. Too often, scientists just can't tell us what the presence of Chemical X in our bodies means.
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [4]
Region:
National (U.S.) [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about New Government Effort To Produce More Data On Toxic Chemicals [24]
Groups Call On EPA To Settle Suit, Restore TRI [25]

Hundreds of civic groups and individuals called on EPA March 1, 2009, to restore the Toxics Release Inventory to its former usefulness for informing people of what toxic chemicals companies are releasing into their air, water, and land.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [4]
Laws & Regulations [5]
Government [6]
Region:
National (U.S.) [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Groups Call On EPA To Settle Suit, Restore TRI [25]

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