"In April, a dozen years after a federal agency classified formaldehyde a human carcinogen, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is tentatively scheduled to unveil a proposal to consider banning the chemical in hair-straightening products."
"The European Commission is shelving plans to cut pesticide use and is taking the pressure off agriculture in its latest emissions recommendations, as farmers around Europe continue protests demanding higher prices for their products and an easing of EU environment rules."
"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed to designate nine toxic “forever chemicals” as “hazardous constituents” under the nation’s law for cleaning up ongoing pollution, in a move that would enable states to require cleanups if the substances are released."
"Stalled efforts to reform the nation’s rail safety and chemical oversight as well as lingering toxic exposure concerns will loom over President Joe Biden’s upcoming visit to the Ohio town devastated by last year’s train wreck."
"In December 2021, a small team of scientists working for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a stark report on a controversial weed killer that had been the subject of years of complaints from farmers and environmentalists."
"A group of 25 California counties have sued Elon Musk's Tesla, claiming the electric vehicle maker mishandled hazardous waste at its facilities across the state."
"Less than a year ago, a disastrous train derailment sent a massive plume of dangerous chemicals billowing over East Palestine, Ohio, startling the town of nearly 5,000 residents and onlookers nationwide. Now, a new report warns that more of these catastrophes may loom: At any given moment, more than an estimated 3 million people are unknowingly at risk, as toxic trains full of a highly combustible and carcinogenic chemical used to make plastic move between Texas and New Jersey."
"Chemours and state regulators say the Fayetteville Works plant has reduced air emissions, but we found levels of 'forever chemicals' as much as 30 times higher than state tests".
"A federal worker safety enforcement directive for refineries, chemical plants, and other facilities with large amounts of chemicals has received an overhaul for the first time in 30 years."
With the world in the midst of wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, it’s time for journalists to appraise — and report on — the intersection of conflict and the environment, argues the new Backgrounder. That means considering the environment not only as a victim of war, but also as the cause of war and a means of carrying it out.
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