"AUSTIN — In 2007, Texas regulators quietly relaxed the state’s long-term air pollution guideline for benzene, one of the world’s most toxic and thoroughly studied chemicals. The number they came up with, still in effect, was 40 percent weaker, or less health-protective, than the old one."

"What could be worse that getting a bag of coal for Christmas? A bag full of toxic chemicals, health groups say."

Theo Colborn, who pioneered research on endocrine-disrupting chemicals, has died at age 87.

"It was the late 1970s and Theo Colborn was, like pretty much everyone else in the ’70s, getting divorced. She was in her 50s and already retired from a career as a pharmacist.

"WESTLAKE, La. — Stacey Ryan already knows where he'll be buried."

"A new study looked at the health impacts on adults drinking a liquid from bottles lined with BPA, and found that the chemical not only made it into their bodies but seems to have caused a significant increase in blood pressure."

"Gary Southern, the former Freedom Industries president, faces federal charges for allegedly lying about his role at the bankrupt firm to protect his personal fortune from legal actions over the January chemical spill at Freedom’s Elk River facility."

"Here’s some good news for wild salmon lovers: Right before Thanksgiving, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new restrictions on pesticide use in California. The first-of-its-kind move is aimed at protecting salmon and steelhead trout native to the state’s rivers and it sets the stage for protections that could benefit salmon along the Pacific coast."

"Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, encouraged by whopping awards and settlements in other states, could join what one analyst calls a 'nationwide cascade' of litigation against the oil industry for its use years ago of a gasoline additive that has contaminated groundwater across the state."

"Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials announced Monday that they have cited E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. for 11 alleged violations and proposed $120,300 in fines related to problems found after toxic chemicals leaked from a tanker truck in May and exposed workers to health risks at a Deepwater, N.J., plant that is one of DuPont's largest facilities in the United States."