Chemicals

Chem Safety Board Makes Embargo Watch Honor Roll

Journalist Ivan Oransky posted on his blog a critical assessment on January 30, 2014, of a new embargo policy set by the CSB. He found requirements not to seek comment or confirmation of material in an embargoed report "alarming." Unlike many government agencies, the CSB took another look at its policy, and revised it.

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"Undermanned And Limited, Chemical Safety Board Confronts A Crisis"

"The lead federal agency investigating the West Virginia chemical leak is one that most Americans have probably never heard of. The Chemical Safety Board is an independent body, modeled after the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates plane crashes and the like. But critics say that the Chemical Safety Board is understaffed, underfunded and takes too long to finish its investigations, and that its non-binding recommendations are often ignored anyway."

Source: NPR, 02/04/2014

"N.Y. Health Dept. Fracking Review Done in Secret"

"ALBANY — After four rounds of hearings, hundreds of thousands of public comments, two governors and a pair of voluminous draft reports, New York’s review of hydraulic fracturing is now taking place entirely behind closed doors."

Source: Elmira Star-Gazette, 02/03/2014

"Banned Scotchgard Chemical Still Contaminating San Francisco Seals"

"SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – In a shallow arm of the bay, where Pacific tides cause hardly a ripple, hundreds of harbor seals lounge, mate and bear young. With placid expressions on bewhiskered faces and bulky bodies reclining on shorelines, the seals belie a disturbing burden they carry."

Source: EHN, 01/30/2014

"Tests Said to Find Formaldehyde in West Virginia Tap Water"

"Tests on the water supply in Charleston, W. Va., a week after a chemical spill tainted the city’s water system turned up traces of formaldehyde, suggesting that 'there’s a lot more we don’t know' about the consequences of the spill, an environmental expert told a state legislative committee on Wednesday."

Source: NY Times, 01/30/2014
February 5, 2014

Key Legal Issues Facing the Administration in 2014: Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources

The Environmental Law Institute will host a panel of four expert practitioners with an “inside-baseball” discussion about upcoming policies and regulatory agendas at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Justice, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Department of Interior, among other regulatory agencies. Attend live in Washington, DC or via teleconference, 12:00-1:30 p.m. RSVP by Jan 31.

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