Pollution

"Cooling water levels have fallen in two reactors at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant since a powerful earthquake hit the area last weekend, indicating possible additional damage, its operator said Friday."

"Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Hassan Diab said on Monday he was following up on an oil spill that may have originated from a ship passing near the Israeli coast and has now reached the southern shores of Lebanon."

"The largest U.S. oil refiners released tons of air pollutants into the skies over Texas this past week, according to figures provided to the state, as refineries and petrochemical plants in the region scrambled to shut production during frigid weather."

"Chemicals giant DuPont decided to sell a plant in south Louisiana that emits a likely cancer causing pollutant, citing “major concerns” that government agencies would regulate its emissions to protect the community living nearby, internal documents seen by the Guardian reveal."

"Fifteen U.S. states sued the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Tuesday after it agreed last month under then-President Donald Trump to an auto industry request to delay the start of dramatically higher penalties for companies that fail to meet fuel efficiency requirements."

"Across the country, battling water scarcity requires a vast array of workers, from inspectors and fumigators to truck drivers and pipe layers."

"A metal recycling plant is due to open on the polluted Southeast Side months after the same firm shut a metal scrapyard in a white, affluent part of town"

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded three contracts for the clean-up of more than 50 abandoned uranium mine sites on the Navajo Nation, worth up to $220 million over the next five years."

"As the first heavy rains of the season poured across the Santa Cruz Mountains last month, emergency responders and residents braced for debris flows, road closures and power outages. Others also feared for their drinking water."

"The Environmental Protection Agency asked courts on Friday to partially freeze a mandate that was issued when judges scrapped the Affordable Clean Energy rule last month."