"A chemical spill along a West Virginia river on Thursday triggered a tap water ban for up to 300,000 people, shutting down schools, bars and restaurants and forcing residents to line up for bottled water at stores. Governor Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency for nine counties following the spill of 4-Methylcyclohexane Methanol, a chemical used in the coal industry."
Sometimes hydraulic fracturing of underground shale formations to produce oil and gas goes awry. Pumping fluids into formations at high pressure to release hydrocarbons can cause oil, gas, and toxic liquids to spew from old abandoned wells.
"BEIJING -- China approved the construction of more than 100 million tonnes of new coal production capacity in 2013 - six times more than a year earlier and equal to 10 percent of U.S. annual usage - flying in the face of plans to tackle choking air pollution.
"The Spokane Tribe of Indians has adopted new water quality standards aimed at protecting the health of members who eat a subsistence diet of nearly two pounds of fish daily."
"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A state-sponsored study meant to examine potential pollution from the boom in natural gas drilling never actually tested key wastes from the Marcellus Shale formation, according to a West Virginia University researcher who led the effort."
"The Camorra mafia has been dumping and burning toxic waste for decades in the area between Naples and the province of Caserta."
"Federal regulators are unlikely to step up enforcement of potential water contamination cases linked to natural gas drilling -- despite new concerns about water safety -- given a lack of political will and limited resources to pursue such cases, analysts said."
"Associated Press review of complaints casts doubt on industry view that it rarely happens."
"Bill Williams, the president of the company that wants to open a $1.5 billion iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin, is being charged with contaminating an emergency water supply at a mine in Spain."
"Three coal-fired generators that opened in the 1960s near Farmington, N.M., closed Monday as part of a $182 million plan for Arizona Public Service Co. to meet environmental regulations, the utility reported."
