Chemicals

"A bipartisan pair of senators introduced legislation on Tuesday that would overhaul U.S. chemical regulations."

"A Venezuela-bound tanker spilled an unknown amount of gasoline additive MTBE into the Houston Ship Channel after a crash with another vessel, shutting down a portion of the waterway and one container terminal."

New Mexico's Democratic Senator Tom Udall, who has a reputation as an environmental champion, has surprised environmentalists by his alliance with the chemical industry on toxics reform.

"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is overhauling its voluntary labeling system for designating that household cleaners and contain environmentally safe ingredients."

"The California Department of Toxic Substances Control has sued Ernest and Julio Gallo's glass production plant in Modesto. Keith Kihara with the state says the company improperly stored, then improperly recycled oil and hazardous dust -containing lead, arsenic, cadmium and selenium from 2009 -to- last year."

Prompted by a new California rule, manufacturers of polyurethane foam furniture are removing potentially toxic flame retardants from their new products. But the sale of old furniture in second-hand stores may put poor people at greater risk.

"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is looking to cut down on emissions from refrigerators."

"The EPA has been unable to collect the data it needs from the multibillion dollar oil and gas sector, which has stymied a five-year federal study."

"The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed last week to hear the first case to challenge U.S. EPA's role in the massive loss of bees in the last decade."

"The Los Angeles Fire Department has failed to properly inspect hundreds of hazardous sites scattered across the city, exposing the public to increased risks from potential spills and mishandling of toxic substances, according to a state report released Friday."