"U.S. EPA has agreed to consider clamping down on corrosive dust after watchdogs complained that the current standards failed to protect rescue workers after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks."

"CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Two former owners of Freedom Industries pleaded guilty on Monday to environmental violations stemming from last year's Charleston chemical spill that prompted a temporary tap water ban for 300,000 residents."

"The 100 global power companies most at risk from growing pressure to shut highly polluting coal plants have been revealed in a new report from Oxford University. Chinese companies dominate the top of the ranking but US companies, including Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, occupy 10 of the top 25 places."

"The Ohio River once again leads the nation for industrial pollution."

"West Virginia lawmakers approved a measure on Saturday to roll back strict water-protection rules enacted last year after a chemical spill contaminated drinking water for 300,000 people in West Virginia’s capital."

"Over the last year, federal authorities built what appeared to be a strong criminal case against Exide Technologies, the Vernon battery recycler that has long faced scrutiny for spewing lead and arsenic into neighborhoods in southeast Los Angeles County."

"The eight-state commission that sets water quality standards for the Ohio River has recommended relaxing its rules for mercury and certain other toxic pollutants that concentrate as they move through the food web."

"Despite huge progress made in reducing chemical discharges since the 1960s, many birds nesting across the Great Lakes region still struggle to reproduce or they give birth to chicks with twisted beaks or other deformities — signs that a full recovery is still likely decades away for some of the region’s most historically polluted areas."

"SAN FRANCISCO — Lax oversight by the state has allowed the oil and gas industry to contaminate protected water aquifers and endanger the public, California regulators acknowledged Tuesday while pledging to intensify supervision."