Chemicals

"The hilly Barroso region of northern Portugal has been recognized for its centuries-old and “globally important” farming system that combines agricultural biodiversity, resilient ecosystems and a valuable cultural heritage. But the region is also home to what’s believed to be one of Europe’s largest deposits of lithium ... ."

"Louisiana must strengthen rules over the release of ozone-creating nitrogen oxide air emissions by industries in the Baton Rouge area during startups, shutdowns and malfunctions, or the federal Environmental Protection Agency will write and enforce its own rules, the agency announced this week."

"Families near battery recycling plants face “dangerous" levels of lead in their blood and in soil, testing shows."

"Pregnant women living near farm fields show “significantly” increased concentrations of glyphosate weedkiller in their urine during periods when farmers are spraying their fields with the herbicide, according to a new scientific paper published on Wednesday."

"Three years after Bayer agreed to pay $10 billion to settle claims that its weedkiller, Roundup, caused cancer, juries continue to award plaintiffs in additional cases billions of dollars in damages, even as the German drug and chemicals giant insists it will continue its fight in court."

"A federal analysis released Tuesday confirmed Southern California’s Salton Sea contains enough lithium to meet the nation’s needs for decades."

"Eight people were taken to a hospital for treatment on Monday after a toxic gas leak at Altivia Chemicals’ plant in La Porte, Texas, local officials said."

"A substance found in hundreds of drinking water samples across England has been categorised as carcinogenic by the World Health Organization (WHO). The move will increase pressure on the UK government to take action on “forever chemicals”."

"The city’s nearly 400,000 pipes wouldn’t have to be fully removed for nearly 30 years after the rest of the nation."

"Appalachia’s fracking boom is fueling the expansion of American plastics manufacturing, including production of vinyl chloride, the carcinogen used to make PVC that burned in East Palestine, Ohio."