"More than 40 employees at a Woodland cannery were taken to Sacramento area hospitals and more than 800 people were evacuated shortly after noon Sunday when a chemical used in tomato processing leaked into a work area, authorities said."

Groundwater pollution from hexavalent chromium from Pacific Gas & Electric led to the "a $333-million-dollar, class-action settlement in 1996 -- one of the largest of all time -- and inspired the 2000 blockbuster movie bearing [Erin] Brockovich's name." Despite the settlement, PG&E has "done little to contain the plume of hexavalent chromium, which U.S. EPA deemed a likely carcinogen in a draft assessment last year."

"It is the nation's first public health goal for hexavalent chromium, made infamous in 'Erin Brockovich.' The goal isn't an enforceable standard but will help develop one, an official says."

'The cap-and-trade program, which would force industries to cut greenhouse gases by the end of the decade, continues to be challenged in court.'

"Odors are part of life in Mecca, a small farming community in the Southern California desert 140 miles east of Los Angeles."

"After the Navy complained that cargo ships were traveling through its testing area to avoid pollution regulations closer to shore, the California Air Resources Board votes to extend the clean-fuel zone."