Published on SEJ (https://www.sej.org)

Home > Chemicals

"Drinking Water Not Tested For Tens Of Thousands Of Chemicals" [1]

"The fact that a second contaminant in West Virginia's drinking water eluded detection for nearly two weeks — despite intense testing of the water — reveals an important truth about how companies test drinking water: In most cases, they only find the contaminants they're looking for." ...

Chemicals [2]
Environmental Health [3]
Pollution [4]
Water & Oceans [5]
Public [6]
National (U.S.) [7]
Source: NPR [8], 01/27/2014

"Could Your Driveway Be Poisoning Your Kids?" [9]

"Every year about 85 million gallons of a toxic waste that is known to promote cancer is carefully painted across about 170 square miles of American cities and suburbs, a swath as big as the city of New Orleans."

Chemicals [2]
Environmental Health [3]
Pollution [4]
Public [6]
National (U.S.) [7]
Source: Investigate West/QUEST [10], 01/24/2014

"BPA Among Toxic Chemicals Driving Up Health Care Costs, Experts Say" [11]

"Health care spending in the U.S. has surged more than eightfold since the 1960s. Skyrocketing in that same time: Rates of chronic disease, use of synthetic chemicals, and evidence that many of these widely used substances may be wreaking havoc on human health."

Chemicals [2]
Environmental Health [3]
Public [6]
National (U.S.) [7]
Source: Huffington Post [12], 01/23/2014

"These 12 Popular Sodas Tested Positive for a Potential Carcinogen" [13]

"The chemical compound that gives some sodas a caramel-brown color could be a carcinogen—and according to a new study by Consumer Reports, it's in many popular soft drinks at levels that exceed what many experts consider safe. Between April and December of 2013, researchers tested 110 bottles of various brands of soda for the 4-methylimidazole, or 4-MeI for short. They found the highest levels of the substance in Goya Malta, a malt-flavored soda popular in Latin American communities, and in various Pepsi products."

Chemicals [2]
Environmental Health [3]
Food [14]
Public [6]
National (U.S.) [7]
Source: Mother Jones [15], 01/23/2014

"CDC: Pregnant Women Should Have Been Warned About Water Sooner" [16]

"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginians should have been given clearer information that the 1-part-per-million screening level for the toxic chemical "Crude MCHM" was not a "bright line" between what exposures are safe and unsafe, a top U.S. Centers for Disease Control scientist said Wednesday."

Chemicals [2]
Pollution [4]
Science [17]
Water & Oceans [5]
Public [6]
National (U.S.) [7]
Source: Charleston Gazette [18], 01/23/2014

Drinking Water Crisis Reveals Knowledge Gaps [19]

You read about the 300,000 West Virginians who don't know if they are drinking safe water — and ask "Could it happen here?" The answer is "You betcha!" Environmental journalists have many tools for discovering drinking-water disasters-waiting-to-happen in their own bailiwicks.

SEJ Publication Types: 
WatchDog TipSheet [20]
Topics on the Beat: 
Water & Oceans [5]
Laws & Regulations [21]
Disasters [22]
Chemicals [2]
Region: 
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [23]
National (U.S.) [7]
Visibility: 
Public [6]

Ten Questions Ken Ward Jr. Is Waiting for EPA to Answer [24]

  1. How is the 1 ppm "safe level" calculated? What was EPA's involvement, and how does this method match EPA's standard approach to such things?
  2. EXACTLY what is being done to contain and remediate the site? What is the process going forward for dealing with that?
  3. How is EPA's response to Sen Rockefeller's letter asking for a long-term study?
Topics on the Beat: 
Water & Oceans [5]
Health [25]
Environmental Politics [26]
Disasters [22]
Chemicals [2]
Visibility: 
Public [6]

"Elk River Leak Included Another Chemical" [27]

"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Federal and state investigators learned Tuesday that an additional chemical that wasn't previously identified was in the tank that leaked Jan. 9 at the Freedom Industries tank farm, just upstream from West Virginia American Water's regional drinking water intake."

Chemicals [2]
Environmental Health [3]
Pollution [4]
Water & Oceans [5]
Public [6]
National (U.S.) [7]
Source: Charleston Gazette [28], 01/22/2014

SEJ, SPJ Say Agency Media Obstacles Hurt Public Confidence in Water, Safety [29]

Journalists had trouble overcoming EPA and CDC press office obstacles and getting access to agency experts and officials during this month's drinking water contamination crisis in Charleston, WV. SEJ and the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) have sent a letter of complaint to heads of both agencies and their press offices. We urge them to adopt specific practices to end press office stonewalling and increase transparency, especially in times of crisis.

[UPDATE: Reply of January 29, 2014, from EPA [30] Assoc. Adm. for Ext. Affairs Tom Reynolds]

[UPDATE: Reply of January 22, 2014, from CDC [31] Public Affairs Director Barbara Reynolds]

[UPDATE: "CDC: Pregnant Women Should Have Been Warned About Water Sooner [18]," Charleston Gazette, January 22, 2014, by Ken Ward Jr.]

Topics on the Beat: 
Chemicals [2]
Journalism & Media [32]
Water & Oceans [5]
Visibility: 
Public [6]

West Virginia Looks To Tighten Rules After Chemical Spill Tainted Water [33]

"West Virginia's governor on Monday proposed legislation to regulate above-ground storage tanks, a move that comes after a spill of coal-processing chemicals shut off drinking water to about 300,000 people."

Chemicals [2]
Laws & Regulations [21]
Water & Oceans [5]
Public [6]
National (U.S.) [7]
Source: Reuters [34], 01/21/2014

Pages

The Society of Environmental Journalists
1629 K Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006
Telephone: (202) 558-2055
Email: sej@sej.org
© 2026 The Society of Environmental Journalists. All Rights Reserved.
All graphics © SEJ, unless otherwise stated.
Source URL:https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=361

Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/headlines/drinking-water-not-tested-tens-thousands-chemicals [2] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics [3] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health [4] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/pollution [5] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/water [6] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/81 [7] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national [8] http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/01/24/265520673/drinking-water-not-tested-for-tens-of-thousands-of-chemicals [9] https://www.sej.org/headlines/could-your-driveway-be-poisoning-your-kids [10] http://science.kqed.org/quest/2014/01/23/could-your-driveway-be-poisoning-your-kids/ [11] https://www.sej.org/headlines/bpa-among-toxic-chemicals-driving-health-care-costs-experts-say [12] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/22/bpa-health-care-costs_n_4644372.html [13] https://www.sej.org/headlines/these-12-popular-sodas-tested-positive-potential-carcinogen [14] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/food [15] http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2014/01/which-sodas-contain-caramel-colored-carcinogen [16] https://www.sej.org/headlines/cdc-pregnant-women-should-have-been-warned-about-water-sooner [17] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/science [18] http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201401220039 [19] https://www.sej.org/publications/watchdog-tipsheet/drinking-water-crisis-reveals-knowledge-gaps [20] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication/watchdog-tipsheet [21] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/laws [22] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/disaster [23] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/mid-atlantic [24] https://www.sej.org/ten-questions-ken-ward-jr-waiting-epa-answer [25] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health [26] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-politics [27] https://www.sej.org/headlines/elk-river-leak-included-another-chemical [28] http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201401210072 [29] https://www.sej.org/sej-spj-say-agency-media-obstacles-hurt-public-confidence-water-safety [30] https://www.sej.org/reply-january-29-2014-epa-assoc-adm-tom-reynolds [31] https://www.sej.org/reply-january-22-2014-barbara-reynolds-cdc-public-affairs-director [32] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/journalism/media [33] https://www.sej.org/headlines/west-virginia-looks-tighten-rules-after-chemical-spill-tainted-water [34] http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/70907 [35] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=360 [36] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=357 [37] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=358 [38] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=359 [39] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=362 [40] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=363 [41] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=364 [42] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=365 [43] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=507