Chemicals

"Here’s some good news for wild salmon lovers: Right before Thanksgiving, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new restrictions on pesticide use in California. The first-of-its-kind move is aimed at protecting salmon and steelhead trout native to the state’s rivers and it sets the stage for protections that could benefit salmon along the Pacific coast."

"Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, encouraged by whopping awards and settlements in other states, could join what one analyst calls a 'nationwide cascade' of litigation against the oil industry for its use years ago of a gasoline additive that has contaminated groundwater across the state."

"Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials announced Monday that they have cited E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. for 11 alleged violations and proposed $120,300 in fines related to problems found after toxic chemicals leaked from a tanker truck in May and exposed workers to health risks at a Deepwater, N.J., plant that is one of DuPont's largest facilities in the United States."

"30 Years Later, Survivors of Lethal Gas Leak Still Fight for Justice."

"A new study suggests that whole classes of BPA-free plastics—including the kind in styrofoam—release estrogenic chemicals."

"A growing body of evidence found an array of flame-retardant chemicals – many which are carcinogenic – in test participants, a potential health concern for firefighters and others exposed to the chemicals."

"FAIRBANKS -- The city of North Pole [AK] filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the two most recent owners of the oil refinery within its borders over sulfolane contamination that has spread into residents' groundwater."

"DuPont Co. ’s chemical plant in La Porte, Texas, for many years has gained a strong reputation among industrial-safety experts for migrating to safer chemicals. ... So when a gas leak at the plant earlier this month caused four employees—two of them brothers—to be fatally overcome by an industrial chemical called methyl mercaptan, some in the chemical safety world were taken aback."

"Wineries and vineyards dot the landscape of Livermore with brand new homes and schools popping up right next to them. ... The beauty, however, soon became overshadowed by her family’s illnesses, and nobody knew why it was happening."