A scandal at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over regulatory capture of some toxic chemical officials has surfaced another serious issue — the EPA says it can’t provide related phone text messages. But it’s required to do so by law. And for environmental journalists, access to such records is key to holding the agency to account, argues WatchDog Opinion.
"The Environmental Protection Agency is investigating whether Colorado’s regulation of air pollution from industrial facilities discriminates against Hispanic residents and other racial minorities, according to a letter released Wednesday."
"At a sprawling 3M chemical manufacturing complex here, where the company makes adhesives for Post-it notes, golf clubs and LCD displays, several hundred pounds of a potent climate killer are vented into the atmosphere each day."
"Many companies and investors are eager to recycle batteries, but it could take a decade or more before enough used lithium-ion batteries become available."
"The insecticides that target disease-spreading mosquitoes are running into nature’s ultimate defense mechanism: evolution. Scientists reported Wednesday that mosquitoes in Cambodia and Vietnam increasingly carry a mutation that makes them resistant to a commonly deployed insecticide."
"EPA failed to properly consider the environmental impacts of a controversial pesticide, according to an appeals court decision that faulted the agency over a Trump-era decision that drew outrage from environmental groups."
"Almost four years since the Alliance to End Plastic Waste launched, its on-the-ground recycling is negligible compared to the new plastic produced by its core members, petrochemical companies."
"3M announced this week that it will stop making chemicals commonly known as “forever chemicals” and stop using them in its products in the coming years."
"EPA is taking steps to heighten transparency around its review process for new chemicals, amid an outpouring of criticism from advocates and watchdog groups who have called on the Biden administration to prioritize targeting toxic substances."
"Alarmed by the threats to public health, Minnesota officials pressured 3M to dramatically reduce pollution released into the Mississippi River at its manufacturing plant southeast of Minneapolis-St. Paul, where the global conglomerate pioneered the highly toxic, almost indestructible chemicals after World War II."
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