Chemicals

"RESERVE, Louisiana — In a Louisiana town of 10,000 people, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said there is some of the most toxic air in America. More than 100 petrochemical plants and refineries dot the corridor between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, often referred to as 'cancer alley.'"

"Secretary Mark Esper created a task force to review the military’s obligation in cleaning up contamination of cancer-linked “forever chemicals” in his first act at the helm of the Department of Defense."

The plastics industry is sponsoring PR and lobbying campaigns to make it illegal for local governments to ban plastic producsts to limit waste and pollution.

In a worst-case scenario, the June 21 Philadelphia refinery explosion could have released a cloud of deadly hydrogen fluoride gas that could travel for seven miles and threaten more than a million people.

"A new assessment from the agency downplays the risks of ethylene oxide, a known carcinogen."

"The Environmental Protection Agency rejected a petition by environmental and public health groups Thursday to ban a widely used pesticide that has been linked to neurological damage in children, even though a federal court said last year there was “no justification” for such a decision."

"After a 19-year legal struggle, three former makers of lead paint have agreed to a $305 million settlement with California county and city governments to mitigate poisoning dangers still present in old housing."

"Iron particles released by industrial activities are falling into the seas in greater quantities than previously thought".

"New research shows that the extreme weather and fires of recent years, similar to the flooding that has struck Louisiana and the Midwest, may be making Americans sick in ways researchers are only beginning to understand."