"A train derails and spills at least 1,000 gallons of hazardous materials in the U.S. about once every two months. Nearly half of those derailments resulted in evacuations; more than a quarter resulted in a fire or explosion since 2015, an analysis of federal derailment data showed. And many communities along the rail lines aren’t prepared to keep people safe when it happens."

"While touting a $50 million initiative to identify the causes of autism, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is helping lead an administration that is rolling back protections against pollution and toxic chemicals, including some linked to the condition."

"A commercially valuable but unpronounceable toxicant with multiple chemical variations is being increasingly found at harmful levels in Michigan waters. Sound familiar? It’s not PFAS or PCBs this time. Now, it’s neonicotinoids, or “neonics” — a type of synthetic pesticide that’s widely used on corn and soybeans."

"The medical world relies on horseshoe crab blood in the production of vaccines and equipment. A synthetic is available, but companies have been slow to adopt it."

"L.A. County’s Chiquita Canyon Landfill has spewed high levels of toxic gases and climate super-pollutants for years. Yet local residents’ pleas for help from state officials remain unanswered."

"A highly anticipated White House report on the health of American children would stop short of proposing direct restrictions on ultraprocessed foods and pesticides that the health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has called major threats, according to a draft of the document that was reviewed by The New York Times."

"The Trump administration is quietly taking steps to circumvent federal laws in its quest to bolster U.S. mineral production." "The Pentagon used a little-known legal provision to shield a multibillion-dollar rare earths deal from procurement and contracting laws."

"The plastics contaminating every corner of the Earth contain thousands of unregulated toxic chemicals. As global plastic talks end without a treaty, health experts say negotiators must consider their toxic cargo."

"EPA expressed alarm at contamination in a creek near a predominantly Black neighborhood. Then the agency eliminated its civil-rights office and has taken no further action."

"The Pennsylvania county where an explosion at a U.S. Steel plant south of Pittsburgh killed two people and injured more than 10 others announced Thursday that it is stepping up air quality monitoring in the area of the sprawling facility that has a troubled environmental record."