Chemicals

"Power plants, refineries, and other industrial sources may now be able to avoid stringent pollution controls if the toxic air particles they emit fall below a mandated legal threshold."

"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday diminished studies linking a widely-used pesticide associated with brain damage in children, a move that could enable years of continued use of controversial chlorpyrifos."

"Asphalt—a petroleum product used on roads and roofs—is a significant source of harmful chemicals that end up contributing to ozone and particulate matter pollution, according to a study published today in Science Advances."

"After reviewing the risks of atrazine for more than 7 years, the US Environmental Protection Agency says the widely used herbicide can stay on the market with some new restrictions. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced this final decision on Sept. 18, during an event in Missouri attended by farm-group leaders and local lawmakers."

"An international team of prominent scientists has published what they say is the most comprehensive study to date calculating the complex climate impact of aviation emissions, reaffirming that contrail clouds produce more warming than carbon dioxide."

"For decades, farmers in California's Kern County have turned to wastewater from oil production to help irrigate their crops during extended dry spells."

"Chicago, the last big American city to require water pipes made of brain-damaging lead, is now the last one beginning to rip toxic pipes out of the ground."

"The Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Maryland sued the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, claiming the agency failed to enforce bay cleanup goals for New York and Pennsylvania."

"In a rare show of defiance of the Trump administration, key Senate Republicans joined Democrats on Thursday in agreeing to phase out chemicals widely used in air conditioners and refrigeration that are warming the planet."