Chemicals

2005 Archives: SEJ Speaks on FOI Issues [1]

November 15, 2005
SEJ joins call for post-Katrina FEMA contract disclosure

SEJ joined a number of open-government groups in urging President Bush to post online full copies of all contracts and other paperwork authorizing spending for relief and recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina.

Topics on the Beat:

Laws & Regulations [2]

Journalism & Media [3]

Government [4]

Disasters [5]

Chemicals [6]

Initiatives:

Freedom of Information [7]

Visibility:

Public [8]

Region:

Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [9]

National (U.S.) [10]

Read more about 2005 Archives: SEJ Speaks on FOI Issues [1]

National Response Center Changes Leak Report Policy [11]

The National Response Center has changed its policy on releasing chemical accident reports, making it much harder for journalists to gather crucial information about hazardous materials spills on deadline.

SEJ Publication Types:

WatchDog TipSheet [12]

Topics on the Beat:

Journalism & Media [3]

Chemicals [6]

Region:

National (U.S.) [10]

Visibility:

Public [8]

Read more about National Response Center Changes Leak Report Policy [11]

EPA Hides Data on Pesticide Link to Bee Die-Off [13]

The Environmental Protection Agency looks determined to keep the public from knowing whether a pesticide on which it has waived safety rules may be a factor in the worldwide bee die-off known as "colony collapse disorder."

SEJ Publication Types:

WatchDog TipSheet [12]

Topics on the Beat:

Agriculture [14]

Chemicals [6]

Biodiversity [15]

Region:

National (U.S.) [10]

Visibility:

Public [8]

Read more about EPA Hides Data on Pesticide Link to Bee Die-Off [13]

Coal Ash Stories Untold in Many Communities [16]

The December 2008 coal-ash spill at a Tennessee power plant has been making headlines for two weeks — but few journalists realize there are coal-ash stories to be unearthed in many communities. Here are some clues for finding them.

SEJ Publication Types:

TipSheet [17]

Topics on the Beat:

Chemicals [6]

Disasters [5]

Energy & Fuel [18]

Region:

National (U.S.) [10]

SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [19]

Visibility:

Public [8]

Read more about Coal Ash Stories Untold in Many Communities [16]

Comments Sought On Formaldehyde In Wood Products [20]

Concerns over emissions from formaldehyde in pressed-wood products have been building for many years. California's new rules addressing the problem went into effect Jan. 1, 2009. Now EPA is looking at following suit.

SEJ Publication Types:

TipSheet [17]

Topics on the Beat:

Chemicals [6]

Laws & Regulations [2]

Government [4]

Region:

National (U.S.) [10]

Visibility:

Public [8]

Read more about Comments Sought On Formaldehyde In Wood Products [20]

EPA HIDES INDUSTRY DATA ON ATRAZINE RISK [21]

An EPA database that has not been made public shows alarming levels of the pesticide atrazine are showing up in water bodies around the U.S.

SEJ Publication Types:

WatchDog TipSheet [12]

Topics on the Beat:

Chemicals [6]

Region:

National (U.S.) [10]

Visibility:

Public [8]

Read more about EPA HIDES INDUSTRY DATA ON ATRAZINE RISK [21]

Industry Keeps Secret the Gas-Drilling Toxins Seeping into Drinking Wells [22]

A series of drinking-water contamination incidents have raised doubts about EPA's safety claims regarding hydraulic fracturing in domestic gas wells. And it's hard for people to get to the bottom of those claims when the identity of the chemicals injected during the process is protected as a "trade secret."

SEJ Publication Types:

WatchDog TipSheet [12]

Topics on the Beat:

Chemicals [6]

Water & Oceans [23]

Region:

National (U.S.) [10]

Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [24]

Visibility:

Public [8]

Read more about Industry Keeps Secret the Gas-Drilling Toxins Seeping into Drinking Wells [22]

States Sue EPA Over Data on Plants' Toxic Threat to Communities [25]

Twelve states sued EPA Oct. 28, 2007, over the agency's cutbacks in data available to communities about the toxic threats presented to them by nearby industrial plants.

SEJ Publication Types:

WatchDog TipSheet [12]

Topics on the Beat:

Chemicals [6]

Region:

National (U.S.) [10]

Visibility:

Public [8]

Read more about States Sue EPA Over Data on Plants' Toxic Threat to Communities [25]

Rocky Mountain Region Asbestos Sites Reported [26]

There are at least 61 sites in CO, ID, MT, NM, and WY that naturally contain some form of asbestos, according to a report released July 9, 2007,by the US Geological Survey.

SEJ Publication Types:

TipSheet [17]

Topics on the Beat:

Chemicals [6]

Region:

Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [24]

Visibility:

Public [8]

Read more about Rocky Mountain Region Asbestos Sites Reported [26]

Early Results Support Replacement of Older Woodstoves [27]

Preliminary results from a Montana air quality study suggest that replacing older wood-burning stoves and fireplaces with cleaner-burning, EPA-certified models can substantially reduce airborne fine particulates.

SEJ Publication Types:

TipSheet [17]

Topics on the Beat:

Chemicals [6]

Region:

Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [24]

Visibility:

Public [8]