"Among air experts, it's an open secret: federal and state officials grossly undercount a crucial type of air pollution, often by an order of magnitude and particularly in areas like Houston with its major concentrations of petrochemical plants."
"Salty bromide concentrations in the Monongahela River, which had risen in 2009 and 2010 due, at least in part, to discharges of Marcellus Shale gas drilling wastewater by sewage treatment plants, returned to normal levels in 2011 and this year, according to a Carnegie Mellon University river monitoring study."
"'Leave only footprints' may be the outdoor industry ethos, but Greenpeace says a study it recently conducted revealed troubling indications that the apparel made for outdoor recreation contains persistent chemicals, some of which are linked to negative health effects in both humans and animals."
"DONNA — The source of the toxic chemicals in the fish of the Donna Canal and reservoir is still a mystery almost 20 years after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency started looking. But residents of the South Texas town of Donna are still eating the fish laden with PCBs despite a ban and warning signs along the canal."
"PHILADELPHIA -- Pennsylvania officials reported incomplete test results that omitted data on some toxic metals that were found in drinking water taken from a private well near a natural gas drilling site, according to legal documents released this week."
"Today, OMB Watch and 16 local, regional, and national organizations filed a petition under the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to require the oil and gas industry – including companies engaged in fracking – to report their toxic emissions. Such reporting would provide EPA with more information on the identity, use, and quantity of chemicals used by the oil and gas industry and would help the agency evaluate their health and environmental risks."
"SANTA TERESA, N.M. -- An unknown hazardous material sickened about 200 people Tuesday just northwest of El Paso, Texas, as some workers in the industrial area where the substance released described feeling a burning sensation on their skin, according to New Mexico authorities."
"WASHINGTON -- As Sandy lashed the Eastern Seaboard this week, some environmental groups raised concerns that the superstorm’s brute force could overwhelm feeble storage pits adjacent to fracking sites."
"TEXAS CITY — A fire at BP's Texas City refinery sent a large plume of black smoke over the industrial sector of the city. The fire broke out at about 1:30 p.m. and was out by 3:05 p.m., BP officials said."
"BEIJING — A week of protests against the planned expansion of a petrochemical plant in the port city of Ningbo turned violent on Friday and Saturday when demonstrators attacked police cars and tossed bricks and water bottles at officers, according to accounts from participants posted on the Internet."
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