"A leak in a container holding hazardous chemicals created a massive chemical spill early Thursday and sent 37 people to the hospital, including seven in critical condition, said authorities in Beach Park, Illinois."
"The Environmental Protection Agency is changing its approach to chemical toxicity oversight, according to a report issued recently by the Government Accountability Office. In the overhaul, the EPA reassigned staff from its Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)—a program that conducts comprehensive scientific reviews—to duties related to the Toxic Substances Control Act, which has a narrower mandate. The agency has also reduced the number of its ongoing chemical toxcity assessments from 20 to three. Former EPA officials contend the shake-up takes chemical assessments out of the hands of career scientists, potentially to the detriment of public health."
"After pressure from the Defense Department, the Environmental Protection Agency significantly weakened a proposed standard for cleaning up groundwater pollution caused by toxic chemicals that contaminate drinking water consumed by millions of Americans and that have been commonly used at military bases."
"Another tropical cyclone is expected to make landfall on Mozambique’s coast on Thursday, just over a month after a more powerful storm struck the Mozambican port city of Beira further south and killed hundreds of people."
"EPA has decided to continue excluding oil and gas waste from federal hazardous waste rules, agreeing with industry that states are already doing the job adequately."
"Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler left a former lobbying client off of his financial disclosure documents, according to a new letter from House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.)."
Do we need a bill to criminalize attacks against those who report the news? Some Dems in Congress think so. And the Interior Department is at the center of a conflicts over freedom of information involving lobbying contacts with the newly confirmed secretary. The latest WatchDog has those developments, plus more.
The latest release of the annual endangered rivers list provides boatloads of environmental reporting angles, including climate change-related threats like flooding and drought. This week’s TipSheet has the backstory and the new top-10 list, plus 10 suggested starting points for stories and a half-dozen key reporting resources.
"Six-year-old Madelina DeLuca was diagnosed with leukemia when she was just 23 months old."
"A U.S. appeals court is forcing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make a final decision on whether it will ban the use of a common pesticide linked to developmental disorders in children."
