Publication Items

The Bush Administration, through the OMB, pressured EPA to water down lead monitoring requirements it had tightened in October 2008. Now EPA may get more or all of the monitors it originally wanted, near facilities that emit about a half ton of lead per year.

In response to lawsuits, EPA was scheduled to release its proposed rule for a new primary health-based standard by July 30, 2009. That has been postponed once again, and the new court-ordered date for release of the proposed rule is Nov. 16, 2009, with a final rule due by June 2, 2010.

 

By MIKE DUNNE

 

An effort to document the lives of Oklahoma Indians introduced reporter Vicki Monks to a story that begged to be told: how a carbon black plant affected the health of a neighboring Ponca Indian community.

Carbon black, made by the burning of waste oil, is used primarily to strengthen the rubber in tires.

The Commission for Environmental Cooperation, which is a joint effort of Canada, the US, and Mexico, released on June 10, 2009, its annual report tracking and comparing toxic emissions.