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"Blast Rips Through South Philadelphia Refinery, Triggering Major Fire" [1]

"An explosion ripped through a refinery in South Philadelphia early Friday, lighting up the night sky and triggering a massive fire. No injuries were reported and it appears firefighters have contained the blaze."

Chemicals [2]
Disasters [3]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Health [5]
Public [6]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [7]
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer [8], 06/21/2019

Primer Helps To Prep for Reporting on PFAS [9]

It’s a category of more than 4,000 industrial chemicals that affect our lives nearly every day — and many of which are toxic. So what do journalists need to know to report on the emerging contaminants known as PFAS? Our most recent Issue Backgrounder offers a detailed primer on what PFAS are, where they come from, what their health effects are and how they might be cleaned up.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Backgrounders [10]
Topics on the Beat: 
Agriculture [11]
Chemicals [2]
Consumer [12]
Food [13]
Health [14]
Science [15]
Water & Oceans [16]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [17]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [18]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [19]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [20]
International [21]
Australia & Oceania [22]
Visibility: 
Public [6]

Database Helps Track PFAS Drinking Water Contamination [23]

Millions of people across the United States are believed to be drinking PFAS-contaminated water. And a growing database could prove an invaluable resource for environmental journalists trying to get a handle on that public health risk. Our latest biweekly Reporter’s Toolbox, recently refocused on data journalism tools and techniques, explains how to tap the expanding PFAS data.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Reporters Toolbox [24]
Topics on the Beat: 
Chemicals [2]
Consumer [12]
Government [25]
Health [14]
Journalism & Media [26]
Laws & Regulations [27]
People & Population [28]
Pollution [29]
Water & Oceans [16]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [17]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [18]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [7]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [19]
Visibility: 
Public [6]

Recovery Begins On Agent Orange Barrels In Wallowa Lake [30]

"After a 10-month wait, preliminary work began Thursday on the delicate task of removing barrels sitting in Wallowa Lake marked as containing defoliants used in Agent Orange."

Chemicals [2]
Pollution [29]
Water & Oceans [16]
Public [6]
Northwest (OR WA) [31]
Source: Portland Oregonian [32], 06/14/2019

"3M Knew About PFAS Food Contamination in 2001" [33]

"Last week, we learned that the Food and Drug Administration had detected PFAS compounds in pineapple, sweet potato, meat, and chocolate cake. ... [I]t has become clear that 3M, the company that originally developed PFOS and PFOA, had known for a very long time that these toxic and persistent chemicals were in our food."

Chemicals [2]
Environmental Health [5]
Food [13]
Laws & Regulations [27]
Public [6]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: The Intercept [34], 06/14/2019

"As Legal Cannabis Spreads, Growers Go Organic — And Beyond" [35]

"Pot prohibition is gradually lifting, but state and federal growing guidance is lacking. EHN visited West Coast growers committed to nudging the fledgling industry in a chemical-free, Earth-friendly direction."

Agriculture [11]
Chemicals [2]
Environmental Health [5]
Public [6]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: EHN [36], 06/13/2019

"Trump Orders Federal Agencies to Ease Approval of New GMO Crops" [37]

"President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday directing federal agencies to ease rules for approving genetically modified crops and other agricultural biotechnology."

Agriculture [11]
Chemicals [2]
Laws & Regulations [27]
Technology [38]
Public [6]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: Bloomberg [39], 06/12/2019

Sifting Through 'Toxic Secrets' To Nail Polluter [40]

A lengthy investigation yielded one small-market environmental reporting team an award-winning project examining the adequacy of a toxic solvent cleanup in a polluted community. Our latest “Inside Story” talks with a team member behind the project to learn about the challenges, the lessons learned and advice for others tracking similar problems.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Inside Story [41]
Topics on the Beat: 
Chemicals [2]
Environmental Health [5]
Health [14]
Journalism & Media [26]
Laws & Regulations [27]
People & Population [28]
Pollution [29]
Water & Oceans [16]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [17]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [19]
Visibility: 
Public [6]

"Warning of ‘Pig Zero’: One Drugmaker’s Push to Sell More Antibiotics" [42]

"Overuse of antibiotics in livestock has given rise to drug-resistant germs. Drugmakers say they want to be part of the solution. But a recent campaign urged farmers to administer the drugs to healthy animals daily."

Agriculture [11]
Chemicals [2]
Environmental Health [5]
Public [6]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: NY Times [43], 06/10/2019

Companies Leave Some Residents In The Dark After Chemical Emergencies [44]

"Mary Gonzalez wanted to know why there wasn’t an alarm when a tank holding toxic chemicals caught fire in Deer Park in March."

Chemicals [2]
Disasters [3]
Environmental Health [5]
Journalism & Media [26]
Laws & Regulations [27]
Public [6]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [20]
Source: Houston Chronicle [45], 06/05/2019

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Source URL:https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=254

Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/headlines/blast-rips-through-south-philadelphia-refinery-triggering-major-fire [2] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics [3] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/disaster [4] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/energy [5] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health [6] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/81 [7] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/mid-atlantic [8] https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/refinery-explosion-fire-south-philadelphia-energy-solutions-20190621.html [9] https://www.sej.org/publications/backgrounders/prep-reporting-pfas [10] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication-types/backgrounders [11] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/agriculture [12] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/consumer [13] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/food [14] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health [15] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/science [16] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/water [17] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national [18] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-lakes [19] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/northeast [20] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southwest [21] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international [22] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international/australia-oceania [23] https://www.sej.org/publications/reporters-toolbox/database-helps-track-pfas-drinking-water-contamination [24] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication-types/reporter%E2%80%99s-toolbox [25] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/government [26] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/journalism/media [27] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/laws [28] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/people-population [29] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/pollution [30] https://www.sej.org/headlines/recovery-begins-agent-orange-barrels-wallowa-lake [31] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/northwest [32] https://www.oregonlive.com/environment/2019/06/recovery-begins-on-wallowa-lake-barrels-that-may-contain-agent-orange-ingredients.html [33] https://www.sej.org/headlines/3m-knew-about-pfas-food-contamination-2001 [34] https://theintercept.com/2019/06/12/3m-pfas-chemicals-food/ [35] https://www.sej.org/headlines/legal-cannabis-spreads-growers-go-organic-and-beyond [36] https://www.ehn.org/as-legal-cannabis-spreads-growers-go-organic-and-beyond-2638712724.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1 [37] https://www.sej.org/headlines/trump-orders-federal-agencies-ease-approval-new-gmo-crops [38] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/technology [39] https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/trump-plans-to-sign-order-to-ease-approval-of-new-gmo-crops [40] https://www.sej.org/publications/inside-story/sifting-through-toxic-secrets-nail-polluter [41] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication-types/inside-story [42] https://www.sej.org/headlines/warning-pig-zero-one-drugmaker-s-push-sell-more-antibiotics [43] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/07/health/drug-companies-antibiotics-resistance.html [44] https://www.sej.org/headlines/companies-leave-some-residents-dark-after-chemical-emergencies [45] https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Patchwork-emergency-response-efforts-leave-some-13916547.php [46] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=253 [47] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=250 [48] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=251 [49] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=252 [50] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=255 [51] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=256 [52] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=257 [53] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=258 [54] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=522