Wastewater treatment plants can't mitigate the problem, which is compounded by other sources of water contamination, such as drugs that end up in landfills or flushed down toilets, and metabolites or unutilized drugs that pass through people who take the drugs.
In 1981, EPA labeled the 26-acre Price's Pit landfill in New Jersey as the most serious environmental problem in the U.S. Thirty years later, a permanent remedy is just beginning and residents nearby are wondering about their long-term health problems.
"llinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced criminal charges today in connection with dumping of a chemical cleaner into a South Elgin creek that leads to the Fox River in May. The chemical is alleged to have caused a fish kill in the creek."
"In a legal settlement that could affect the entire U.S. meat industry, the Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to identify and investigate thousands of factory farms that have been avoiding government regulation for water pollution with animal waste."
Anne Womack Kolton, who as former VP Dick Cheney's press aide defended the secrecy of his energy task force, has been brought in to fix BP's PR problems in the Gulf oil spill.
Dispersant manufacturer Nalco failed to disclose the chemical identity of the ingredients to the news media or public, and ignored a US EPA order to stop using the product in the Gulf.
US EPA withheld information, and twice during the five-day operation BP cut off the mud pumps for long periods without letting the public know, making statements that left the impression the operation was ongoing.
The WatchDog's special Gulf oil spill issue includes stories on media access problems, withholding of information by US EPA and misleading statements by BP, mystery dispersant ingredients, BP's new ex-Cheney spokesperson, prohibiting cleanup workers talking to media, and detaining rig survivors till they sign two statements.
After years of being written off as a putrid eyesore, the Chicago River is now slated for cleanup by the Obama EPA.
"FRESNO, Calif. - A hazardous-waste landfill suspected by Kettleman City residents of causing birth defects has been inaccurately testing treated contaminants for five years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says."
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