"Staffing shortages and infighting among a dwindling number of decision-makers are hampering investigations of chemical fires, explosions and other petrochemical industry accidents in Louisiana and across the country, according to a new federal inspector’s report."

"Louisiana communities containing industrial plants and high percentages of Black residents experienced seven to 21 times more toxic air emissions than similar locations with higher percentages of White residents, according to a new study by researchers with the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic."

"The EPA is vowing to move quickly to designate two “forever chemicals” as hazardous substances under the Superfund law, but has to balance the Biden administration’s desire to better protect disadvantaged communities with public and private sector fears they’ll be held liable for a problem not of their own making."

"Habitat loss and food shortages have pushed bats into closer proximity to horses and humans, fueling Hendra virus spillover, a new study suggests."

"Global average sperm count is declining at a quicker pace than previously known, chemical exposure is a suspected culprit."

"State public health officials and experts are increasingly concerned about residents’ chronic exposure to toxin-filled smoke."

"A federal appeals court has vacated a ruling that would have helped to clear the way for a project to build a road through a national wildlife refuge in Alaska. The court said it would rehear the case, which involves a land swap that was approved by the Trump administration."

"The site of a former coal-fired power plant northwest of Pittsburgh is leaking coal ash and poisoning surrounding groundwater, according to a new report."

"Texas officials claimed that no prisoners have been killed by heat. A new report shows they're wrong." "In the dozens of Texas prisons that don’t have air conditioning, new research shows that 13 percent of deaths during the six hottest months every year from 2001 through 2019 were likely due to extreme heat."