Publication Items

Decades of Petrochemical Industry Documents on Hiding Toxicity in Online Archive [1]

The Center for Public Integrity, Columbia University, and City University of New York have just published some 20,000 pages of hitherto unpublished letters, e-mails, presentations, and meeting minutes from the oil and chemical industries in a public database, called "Exposed: Decades of Denial on Poisons."

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Consumer [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Health [6]
Pollution [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Decades of Petrochemical Industry Documents on Hiding Toxicity in Online Archive [1]
"Fukushima: The Story of a Nuclear Disaster" [9]

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [10]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [11]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [12]
Health [6]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [13]
People & Population [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [15]
Asia [16]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about "Fukushima: The Story of a Nuclear Disaster" [9]
"Eternal Harvest: The Legacy of American Bombs in Laos" [17]

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [10]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [11]
Environmental Health [12]
Health [6]
Military [18]
People & Population [14]
Planning & Growth [19]
Pollution [7]
Region:
Asia [16]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about "Eternal Harvest: The Legacy of American Bombs in Laos" [17]
Read the Congressional Reports You're Not Supposed To Read [20]

Journalists hurrying to get up to speed on environmental or energy issues can get objective background from reports by the Congressional Research Service (an arm of the Library of Congress), which does not release them to the taxpaying public that funded them. We thank the Federation of American Scientists' Government Secrecy Project for publishing them.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [21]
Disasters [11]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Health [6]
Laws & Regulations [22]
Military [18]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [13]
Science [23]
Transportation [24]
Wildlife [25]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Read the Congressional Reports You're Not Supposed To Read [20]
Between the Lines: Rain of Steel — Covering the Environment, Health Fallout of Unexploded Ordnance [26]

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [10]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [11]
Environmental Health [12]
Health [6]
Military [18]
People & Population [14]
Region:
Asia [16]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Between the Lines: Rain of Steel — Covering the Environment, Health Fallout of Unexploded Ordnance [26]
Will Fracking Disclosure Decisions Put Profits Above Health? [27]

Federal agencies are still grinding forward on decisions about disclosure of often-toxic ingredients pumped into the ground during "fracking" to produce gas and oil. Significant decisions may come eventually from the Interior Department, the EPA, and the Obama White House. But don't bet on any courageous decisions until after the November election.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Economy & Business [28]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Health [6]
Pollution [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Will Fracking Disclosure Decisions Put Profits Above Health? [27]
"The Science Beneath the Surface: A Very Short Guide to the Marcellus Shale" [29]

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [10]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [21]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Environmental Health [12]
Health [6]
Pollution [7]
Science [23]
Water & Oceans [30]
Region:
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [31]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about "The Science Beneath the Surface: A Very Short Guide to the Marcellus Shale" [29]
Firm Seeks To Silence Fracking Pollution Concerns with Defamation Suit [32]

The video of Steve Lipsky setting his drinking water on fire nearly went viral on You Tube. The fracking company he thinks caused the problem is suing him for defamation. Now that case is headed for the Texas Supreme Court. Oral arguments are scheduled for December 4.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Health [6]
Water & Oceans [30]
Region:
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [33]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Firm Seeks To Silence Fracking Pollution Concerns with Defamation Suit [32]
Congress Doesn't Want You To Read These Reports [34]

More evidence of Congress' ineffectiveness comes in its ongoing failure to keep its secrets actually secret. Its official policy is to keep the Congressional Research Service from publicly releasing the handy explainers it produces at taxpayer expense. Thanks again to the Federation of American Scientists' Government Secrecy Project for unauthorized publication of these reports.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [21]
Disasters [11]
Economy & Business [28]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Government [35]
Health [6]
Laws & Regulations [22]
Policy [36]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Congress Doesn't Want You To Read These Reports [34]
Shouldn't "Trade Secrets" Face a Sunset in Interests of Public Health? [37]

One of the oldest tricks U.S. industry has used to hide the potential harm to public health done by chemicals it puts into the environment is to claim that their identities are trade secrets via a loophole established under the antiquated Toxic Substance Control Act of 1976. On August 21st, a coalition of groups petitioned EPA for toxic trade secrets to have an expiration date.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Economy & Business [28]
Environmental Health [12]
Health [6]
Laws & Regulations [22]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Shouldn't "Trade Secrets" Face a Sunset in Interests of Public Health? [37]

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