Chemicals

"A Taiwan-based company and opponents to plans for a $9.4 billion plastics complex have agreed that site preparation can continue except in wetlands and in five known or possible sites of enslaved people’s graves."

"From African shantytowns to the backstreets of China’s cities, small-scale businesses that recycle the lead from auto batteries are proliferating. Experts say the pollution from these unregulated operations is a lethal threat – with children being the most vulnerable to poisoning."

"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday finalized a rule that narrows the areas where farmers are required to limit human presence during the application of pesticides."

"The recent lawsuits filed against Corteva Inc. and Dow Chemical Co. in California are the beginning of an expected wave of toxic tort cases in the Golden State that take aim at the widely-used insecticide chlorpyrifos."

"The farmworker parents of a girl with autism, obesity, and vision problems are suing Dow Chemical Co., Corteva, a California town, and two pesticide application companies, claiming that exposure to the powerful insecticide chlorpyrifos led to her significant health problems."

"The cleanup of thousands of lead-contaminated homes, child-care centers, schools and parks surrounding the closed Exide battery recycling facility in Vernon is running behind schedule and over budget due to poor management by California regulators and has left children at continued risk of poisoning, according to a state audit released Tuesday."

"Farmers can continue to use dicamba for five years, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said Tuesday, offering certainty to cotton and soybean growers who are the most frequent users of the weedkiller make by Bayer AG, BASF SE, and Syngenta AG."

"Decades ago, the Los Angeles coast was a dumping ground for thousands of barrels of acid sludge laced with the toxic pesticide DDT. The ocean buried the evidence for generations. No one could see it — until now."

"Now the companies and countries responsible for a powerful greenhouse gas won’t be able to hide from view."

"Five environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday for using tear gas at the protests in Portland, Ore."