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For Waste Industry, PFAS Disposal Leads to Controversy, Regulation, Mounting Costs [1]

The toxic compounds known as PFAS are causing a crisis in the waste and recycling industry, which faces mounting regulation and litigation over handling its presence in the waste stream. One reporter on the PFAS front lines explains the industry’s dilemma, as well as the challenges of covering the story and how a financial prism led to important insights into industry’s response.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat: 
Chemicals [3]
Economy & Business [4]
Environmental Health [5]
Health [6]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Military [9]
Pollution [10]
Waste [11]
Water & Oceans [12]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [13]
California [14]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [15]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [16]
Northwest (OR WA) [17]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [18]
Visibility: 
Public [19]
  • Read more about For Waste Industry, PFAS Disposal Leads to Controversy, Regulation, Mounting Costs [1]

"U.S. Military Responsible for Widespread PFAS Pollution in Japan" [20]

"A new book by Jon Mitchell exposes “countless” releases of PFAS chemicals by the U.S. military in Japan."

Chemicals [3]
Environmental Health [5]
Military [9]
Pollution [10]
Water & Oceans [12]
Public [19]
National (U.S.) [13]
Asia [21]
Source: The Intercept [22], 11/10/2020
  • Read more about "U.S. Military Responsible for Widespread PFAS Pollution in Japan" [20]

"Some Areas Protected As Formosa’s Louisiana Work Continues" [23]

"A Taiwan-based company and opponents to plans for a $9.4 billion plastics complex have agreed that site preparation can continue except in wetlands and in five known or possible sites of enslaved people’s graves."

Chemicals [3]
Energy & Fuel [24]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Justice [25]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Public [19]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [18]
Source: AP [26], 11/05/2020
  • Read more about "Some Areas Protected As Formosa’s Louisiana Work Continues" [23]

"Getting the Lead Out: Why Battery Recycling Is a Global Health Hazard" [27]

"From African shantytowns to the backstreets of China’s cities, small-scale businesses that recycle the lead from auto batteries are proliferating. Experts say the pollution from these unregulated operations is a lethal threat – with children being the most vulnerable to poisoning."

Chemicals [3]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Justice [25]
Waste [11]
Public [19]
International [28]
Source: YaleE360 [29], 11/03/2020
  • Read more about "Getting the Lead Out: Why Battery Recycling Is a Global Health Hazard" [27]

"EPA Limits Enforcement Of Pesticide Application Boundaries" [30]

"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday finalized a rule that narrows the areas where farmers are required to limit human presence during the application of pesticides."

Agriculture [31]
Chemicals [3]
Environmental Health [5]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Public [19]
National (U.S.) [13]
Source: The Hill [32], 10/30/2020
  • Read more about "EPA Limits Enforcement Of Pesticide Application Boundaries" [30]

"Dozens of Chlorpyrifos Lawsuits Coming Over Children’s Health" [33]

"The recent lawsuits filed against Corteva Inc. and Dow Chemical Co. in California are the beginning of an expected wave of toxic tort cases in the Golden State that take aim at the widely-used insecticide chlorpyrifos."

Agriculture [31]
Chemicals [3]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Justice [25]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Public [19]
National (U.S.) [13]
Source: Bloomberg Environment [34], 10/30/2020
  • Read more about "Dozens of Chlorpyrifos Lawsuits Coming Over Children’s Health" [33]

"Parents Sue Chlorpyrifos Makers Corteva, Dow Over Child’s Autism" [35]

"The farmworker parents of a girl with autism, obesity, and vision problems are suing Dow Chemical Co., Corteva, a California town, and two pesticide application companies, claiming that exposure to the powerful insecticide chlorpyrifos led to her significant health problems."

Agriculture [31]
Chemicals [3]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Justice [25]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Public [19]
National (U.S.) [13]
Source: Bloomberg Environment [36], 10/29/2020
  • Read more about "Parents Sue Chlorpyrifos Makers Corteva, Dow Over Child’s Autism" [35]

Auditor Slams CA For Exide Cleanup Delays, Sees Costs Near $650 Million [37]

"The cleanup of thousands of lead-contaminated homes, child-care centers, schools and parks surrounding the closed Exide battery recycling facility in Vernon is running behind schedule and over budget due to poor management by California regulators and has left children at continued risk of poisoning, according to a state audit released Tuesday."

Chemicals [3]
Environmental Health [5]
Laws & Regulations [8]
People & Population [38]
Pollution [10]
Public [19]
California [14]
Source: LA Times [39], 10/28/2020
  • Read more about Auditor Slams CA For Exide Cleanup Delays, Sees Costs Near $650 Million [37]

"EPA OKs Soybean, Cotton Farmers’ Use of Dicamba Weedkiller" [40]

"Farmers can continue to use dicamba for five years, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said Tuesday, offering certainty to cotton and soybean growers who are the most frequent users of the weedkiller make by Bayer AG, BASF SE, and Syngenta AG."

Agriculture [31]
Chemicals [3]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Public [19]
National (U.S.) [13]
Source: Bloomberg [41], 10/28/2020
  • Read more about "EPA OKs Soybean, Cotton Farmers’ Use of Dicamba Weedkiller" [40]

"How the Waters Off Catalina Became a DDT Dumping Ground" [42]

"Decades ago, the Los Angeles coast was a dumping ground for thousands of barrels of acid sludge laced with the toxic pesticide DDT. The ocean buried the evidence for generations. No one could see it — until now."

Chemicals [3]
Environmental Health [5]
Fish & Fisheries [43]
Waste [11]
Water & Oceans [12]
Public [19]
California [14]
Source: LA Times [44], 10/26/2020
  • Read more about "How the Waters Off Catalina Became a DDT Dumping Ground" [42]

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Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/publications/features/waste-industry-pfas-disposal-leads-controversy-regulation-mounting-costs [2] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication-types/features [3] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics [4] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business [5] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health [6] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health [7] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/journalism/media [8] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/laws [9] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/military [10] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/pollution [11] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/waste [12] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/water [13] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national [14] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/california [15] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-lakes [16] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/northeast [17] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/northwest [18] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southeast [19] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/81 [20] https://www.sej.org/headlines/us-military-responsible-widespread-pfas-pollution-japan [21] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international/asia [22] https://theintercept.com/2020/11/07/military-pfas-pollution-japan/ [23] https://www.sej.org/headlines/some-areas-protected-formosa-s-louisiana-work-continues [24] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/energy [25] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-justice [26] https://apnews.com/article/environment-wetlands-louisiana-la-state-wire-new-orleans-566e7f143268aad1016404e9a637f786 [27] https://www.sej.org/headlines/getting-lead-out-why-battery-recycling-global-health-hazard [28] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international [29] https://e360.yale.edu/features/getting-the-lead-out-why-battery-recycling-is-a-global-health-hazard [30] https://www.sej.org/headlines/epa-limits-enforcement-pesticide-application-boundaries [31] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/agriculture [32] https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/523442-epa-limits-enforcement-pesticide-application-boundaries [33] https://www.sej.org/headlines/dozens-chlorpyrifos-lawsuits-coming-over-children-s-health [34] https://bnanews.bna.com/environment-and-energy/dozens-of-chlorpyrifos-lawsuits-coming-over-childrens-health [35] https://www.sej.org/headlines/parents-sue-chlorpyrifos-makers-corteva-dow-over-child-s-autism [36] https://bnanews.bna.com/environment-and-energy/parents-sue-chlorpyrifos-makers-corteva-dow-over-childs-autism [37] https://www.sej.org/headlines/auditor-slams-ca-exide-cleanup-delays-sees-costs-near-650-million [38] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/people-population [39] https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-10-27/auditor-slams-states-management-exide-cleanup-says-it-may-cost-650-million [40] https://www.sej.org/headlines/epa-oks-soybean-cotton-farmers-use-dicamba-weedkiller [41] https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/soybean-cotton-farmers-get-epas-ok-to-use-weedkiller-dicamba [42] https://www.sej.org/headlines/how-waters-catalina-became-ddt-dumping-ground [43] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/fisheries [44] https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-coast-ddt-dumping-ground/ [45] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/108/all/target%3D%27_blank%27 [46] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/108/all/target%3D%27_blank%27?page=192 [47] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/108/all/target%3D%27_blank%27?page=189 [48] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/108/all/target%3D%27_blank%27?page=190 [49] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/108/all/target%3D%27_blank%27?page=191 [50] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/108/all/target%3D%27_blank%27?page=194 [51] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/108/all/target%3D%27_blank%27?page=195 [52] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/108/all/target%3D%27_blank%27?page=196 [53] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/108/all/target%3D%27_blank%27?page=197 [54] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/108/all/target%3D%27_blank%27?page=501