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Fumigant and Far Between
EPA cracks down on the pesticides on your peppers |
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11 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:35 PM on 11 Jul 2008 The U.S. EPA plans to tighten restrictions on five nasty soil fumigants that keep pests away from strawberries, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, and peppers. The proposed mitigation measures include buffer zones, warning signs, air-quality monitoring, management and outreach plans, emergency-response training, and provision of breathing masks for farmworkers. The rules would apply to five sca ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, food, news, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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To Clean Up or Not to Clean Up ... We're Still on Defense
U.S. Defense Department fighting EPA orders to clean up Superfund sites |
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30 Jun 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 8:17 AM on 30 Jun 2008 Defying environmental law, the U.S. Defense Department has resisted repeated orders lately from the U.S. EPA to clean up some of the nation's most contaminated places. The DoD/EPA standoff has turned into a bureaucratic pissing match wherein the EPA has asserted its authority to order and oversee cleanup of ultra-polluted Superfund si ... |
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| Topics: Department of Defense, news, politics, toxics, United States, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Rocket Bottle
EPA not super-interested in keeping rocket fuel out of drinking water |
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06 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:53 PM on 06 May 2008 There is a "distinct possibility" that the U.S. EPA will pass on restricting perchlorate in the nation's water supplies, an agency official said Tuesday. Perchlorate, a rocket fuel ingredient that has been found at some 400 places in 35 states, can muck up normal thyroid function. But Benjamin Grumbles, the EPA assistant administrator for water, told the Senate Environm ... |
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| Topics: food, news, politics, toxics, US EPA, water pollution (all these topics) |
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More on Gade ouster
Bush supporter apparently fired for doing her job |
Kate Sheppard |
02 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| An EPA controversy brewing in the Midwest calls to mind the U.S. attorneys scandal, as Brad Johnson noted yesterday. Top officials in the agency have forced Mary Gade, head of the EPA's Region 5 office in Chicago, to step down from her post or be fired by June 1. The ouster comes after Gade pressured Dow Chemical to clean up the dioxin-saturated soil and sediment extending 50 miles downstream from its Michigan headquarters. Gade is also the former director of the ... |
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| Topics: Muckraker, news, politics, shenanigans, toxics, US EPA, water pollution (all these topics) |
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If the Leaders Lead, the Lead Standards Will Follow
U.S. EPA to tighten standard for airborne lead |
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02 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 6:24 AM on 02 May 2008 Compelled by court order to review its 30-year-old standards for airborne lead, the U.S. EPA proposed a new, tougher standard this week that would cut allowable lead levels by over 90 percent. True to form, though, the agency proposed a range of standards that exceeded the maximum limit of what its scientific advisers recommended as necessary to protect public heal ... |
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| Topics: air pollution, news, toxics, United States, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Mary, Mary, Too Contrary
Bush admin ousts top EPA official over Dow Chemical pollution case |
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01 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 8:41 PM on 01 May 2008 The Bush administration forced out the U.S. EPA's top Midwest regulator on Thursday, after months of contention over a pollution case involving Dow Chemical, the Chicago Tribune reports. Mary Gade, who was appointed by President Bush in 2006, had been tussling with Dow over plans to get the company to clean up extensive dioxin pollution that it dumped into Michigan waterw ... |
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| Topics: news, shenanigans, toxics, US EPA, water pollution (all these topics) |
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Health Bent
EPA chemical-review process sucks, says GAO |
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29 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 1:32 PM on 29 Apr 2008 U.S. EPA reviews of the health risks posed by ubiquitous chemicals are hampered by extensive nonscientist involvement, says a report from the Government Accountability Office. The EPA review process, rejiggered by the White House in 2004, is cloaked in secrecy, causes years of delay, and has lost credibility, the GAO says. The Defense Department, Energy Department, and NASA, all of which have a vested inter ... |
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| Topics: Government Accountability Office, health, news, politics, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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If It's Broke, Fix It
EPA announces new lead standards for renovation of older buildings |
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31 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:04 PM on 31 Mar 2008 Contractors will have to train workers to follow "lead-safe work practice standards" when renovating or repairing older dwellings that house children or pregnant women, according to new standards introduced Monday by the U.S. EPA. The new requirements are an attempt to keep lead out of the bloodstreams of babes, as structures built before 1978 are likely to contain ... |
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| Topics: green building, green living, health, news, placemaking, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Twisted Mettle
Bush admin appeals ruling on mercury cap-and-trade plan |
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27 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:00 AM on 27 Mar 2008 The Bush administration has appealed a court ruling that struck down the U.S. EPA's controversial mercury cap-and-trade plan. The earlier ruling by a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals found the EPA violated the Clean Air Act when it enacted the mercury rule in 2005. The cap-and-trade system allowed dirtier power plants to buy the right to pollute from cleaner ones; 17 sta ... |
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| Topics: litigation, news, toxics, United States, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Conflicts of Interest of Interest
House committee to investigate EPA panel members' conflicts of interest |
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18 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:22 AM on 18 Mar 2008 A House committee has opened an investigation into possible conflicts of interest concerning members of U.S. EPA expert panels that advise the agency on matters such as banning or restricting the use of certain toxic chemicals. The EPA stirred up controversy last year when it dismissed a toxicologist from a panel that was reviewing the potential health dange ... |
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| Topics: Congress, news, politics, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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The Cost of Doltish Business
Company agrees to pay record $250 million in Superfund cleanup costs |
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12 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:26 AM on 12 Mar 2008 W.R. Grace & Co. agreed to pay $250 million to reimburse the U.S. EPA for ongoing cleanup of the asbestos-ridden mining town of Libby, Mont. A mine owned by Grace that operated from 1963 until 1990 contaminated much of the town with asbestos-tainted vermiculite. Over 200 area residents have died from related cancers, and over 1,200 more show signs of lung abnorm ... |
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| Topics: business, litigation, news, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Cutting Carbofuran
EPA attempt to ban bird-killing pesticide runs into opposition |
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03 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:54 PM on 03 Mar 2008 The U.S. EPA has proposed a ban on a pesticide lethal to birds, but is running into resistance from the company that produces the chemical. The pesticide, carbofuran, is typically used on crops such as corn, alfalfa, and potatoes, and has been linked to the dieoff of 558 separate bird flocks since 1972. A manager with pesticide manufacturer FMC Corp. says carbofuran, "when use ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, Big Ag, business, Congress, industrial ag, news, politics, toxics, US EPA, wildlife (all these topics) |
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Like Spite on Rice
Scientist with concerns about chemical removed from EPA panel |
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29 Feb 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 5:52 PM on 29 Feb 2008 An award-winning toxicologist was removed from a U.S. EPA panel reviewing the potential health dangers of deca, a flame retardant widely used in electronics, after the American Chemistry Council claimed she was biased. Deborah Rice had testified for the Maine legislature in support of a state ban on deca; EPA officials cited "the perception of a potential conflict of interest&q ... |
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| Topics: Environmental Working Group, news, politics, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Living Through Chemistry
Toxics report shows slight dip in U.S. releases overall, mercury releases up |
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22 Feb 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:56 AM on 22 Feb 2008 The U.S. EPA's 2006 Toxics Release Inventory just came out, showing a slight decline in total toxic chemicals released in the country, as well as a 17 percent increase in releases of mercury. Individual states showed mixed results, with Arizona's total toxic releases shooting up by 52 percent from 2005 to 2006 due almost entirely to pollution from one mine that ... |
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| Topics: news, toxics, United States, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Cap 'n' Crunched
Bush's controversial mercury rule for power plants struck down by federal court |
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08 Feb 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 9:57 AM on 08 Feb 2008 Bad news for the Bush administration: A federal appeals court on Friday struck down a U.S. EPA rule that would have let coal-fired power plants trade the right to emit mercury, a neurotoxin that contaminates waterways, accumulates in fish, and has been linked to nerve and brain damage, particularly in children. Environmentalists and public health advocates, among oth ... |
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| Topics: litigation, news, toxics, United States, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Letting Goad
White House pressured EPA to ease toxics reporting requirements, GAO says |
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13 Dec 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 7:15 AM on 13 Dec 2007 Congress' investigative arm, the Government Accountability Office, has concluded that the Bush White House pressured the U.S. EPA to ease toxics reporting requirements for businesses. The Toxics Release Inventory was born in 1986 and serves as a community right-to-know tool, requiring that companies report annually on their toxic pollution. However, the EPA, apparently under p ... |
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| Topics: Government Accountability Office, news, politics, toxics, US EPA, White House (all these topics) |
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A Thorn in Our Sulfide
U.S. EPA considers regulating hydrogen sulfide, industry not into the idea |
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11 Dec 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 2:29 PM on 11 Dec 2007 It may be shocking to learn that a gas with the odor of rotten eggs is actually not good for you, but sure enough: the U.S. EPA is considering regulating hydrogen sulfide, a nasty-smelling gas that emanates from oil refineries, paper mills, landfills, CAFOs, and any other place where organic material containing sulfur decomposes. Hydrogen sulfide is known to be dead ... |
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| Topics: air pollution, health, jackassery, news, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Angrier By the Dozen
EPA sued by 12 states over relaxed toxic-chemical rule |
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29 Nov 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 6:07 AM on 29 Nov 2007 The U.S. EPA's moves to relax the nation's toxics reporting rule will not go unchallenged. Twelve states have announced they're suing the agency over rule changes to the Toxics Release Inventory that allow companies to file less-informative reports and escape reporting if they release less than 5,000 pounds of toxic chemicals, up from the previous threshold, set under President Reagan, o ... |
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| Topics: litigation, news, toxics, United States, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Berry Bad News
EPA approves carcinogenic pesticide |
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08 Oct 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 1:45 PM on 08 Oct 2007 Just when we think the U.S. EPA might have some sense, it goes and approves a carcinogenic pesticide, ignoring scientists' warnings that "pregnant women and the fetus, children, the elderly, farmworkers, and other people living near application sites would be at serious risk." As a substitute for ozone-depleting fumigant methyl bromide, California and Florida strawberry growers and other farmers will w ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, California, Florida, health, news, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Iodide and Gone to Heaven
EPA delays approval of nasty pesticide |
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28 Sep 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 3:06 PM on 28 Sep 2007 Delightfully defying our dire predictions, the U.S. EPA will (again) delay approval of nasty pesticide methyl iodide, after 54 scientists wrote a letter expressing shock that the agency was even considering giving such a toxic chemical the thumbs-up for agricultural use. source: Associated Press From the Archives Dimmockery. British citizen sues government over distributi ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, news, progress, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Sludging Along
U.S. agencies don't prioritize public in toxin-affected communities |
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28 Sep 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 10:27 AM on 28 Sep 2007 The U.S. Department of Energy found high levels of toxic hydrogen sulfide in the soil of suburban Versailles, Pa., and has neglected to inform local officials. The U.S. EPA was lackadaisical about cleaning up toxic paint sludge left by automaker Ford in Trenton, N.J., and disregarded complaints from the community. Luckily, those failures of the U.S. government to protect and infor ... |
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| Topics: Department of Energy, health, jackassery, New Jersey, news, Pennsylvania, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Into the Drink
California may require labels on bottled water, EPA strengthens lead-in-water regulations |
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27 Sep 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 5:08 PM on 27 Sep 2007 Bottled-water companies would have to disclose the source of their H2O under a bill that has passed through the California legislature and awaits the pen of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bill would require companies to list the minerals, chemicals, and bacteria present in bottled water, as well as whether it came originally from a well, aquifer, spring, or ... |
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| Topics: California, food, green living, health, news, regulation, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Spare the Ozone and Despoil the Riled
EPA may soon approve toxic alternative to ozone-depleting pesticide, despite criticism |
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26 Sep 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 7:11 AM on 26 Sep 2007 To replace the toxic, ozone-depleting pesticide methyl bromide -- a favorite of stubborn U.S. berry growers -- the U.S. EPA is reportedly set to soon approve an alternative that doesn't deplete ozone but is "one of the more toxic chemicals used in manufacturing" according to opponents, including six Nobel Prize-winning chemists. ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, news, toxics, United States, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Watch Out for the Sugar, Sugar
Everglades still polluted, says EPA analysis |
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20 Sep 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 2:57 PM on 20 Sep 2007 Pollution in the Everglades remains significant despite billions of dollars spent on cleaning and restoring the park over the last decade, according to new analysis from the U.S. EPA. On the bright side, erosion has stabilized and mercury levels in the tiny mosquitofish have dropped; on the, um, not-bright side, mercury levels still accumulate in higher-up-the-food-chain fish enough to r ... |
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| Topics: Florida, national parks, news, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Remedial Math
U.S. EPA falls short of fiscal-year goals for Superfund cleanup |
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14 Sep 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 3:34 PM on 14 Sep 2007 The U.S. EPA had aimed to clean up 40 Superfund sites in the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, but only got around to 24 of them. The Bush administration will now average 39 finished cleanups a year; just for comparison's sake, the Clinton administration gussied up an average of 76 sites annually. More than 1,200 sites are still awaiting remediation, which means that at this rate ... oh, ... |
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| Topics: news, toxics, US EPA, waste (all these topics) |
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