Air

"Thirteen U.S. oil refineries released the cancer-causing chemical benzene in concentrations that exceeded federal limits last year, according to government data published by the green group Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) on Wednesday."

"By some accounts, Pennsylvania has the worst accumulation of old, unplugged, ownerless oil and gas wells in the nation. There are an estimated 200,000 of them, and the cost to plug them could exceed $6 billion. The state’s orphan well plugging program has been underfunded for decades, but it is primed to take advantage of an influx of cash."

"A major United Nations report will declare that slashing emissions of methane, the main component of natural gas, is far more vital than previously thought."

"Persuaded by testimony from the leaders in the Glades agriculture community that sugar burning is not harming their residents, the Florida House on Thursday sent to the governor a bill that gives the agriculture industry protection from lawsuits related to long-term health damage."

"The Transportation Department announced Thursday it was withdrawing part of a Trump-era rule that blocked states from setting their own tough car pollution standards, setting the stage for a return of broader power to California to fight climate change."

"New research from the American Lung Association finds that more than four in 10 people – a whopping 135 million in the US – live in counties with unhealthy levels of particle or ozone pollution."

"The problem-plagued Suncor Energy oil refinery’s push to renew its operating permits, and questions about state regulatory oversight, have intensified fears of residents, business owners and elected officials that toxic pollution north of Denver won’t end."

"A Trump administration political official delayed the publication of information about a chemical that has been linked to health issues – including cancer – in Illinois, an internal government watchdog said Thursday."

"Diagnosed with asthma at 8 years old, Karlaine Francisco grew up thinking everyone had it. ...  After California began making environmental data available through an online mapping tool, Francisco and others in her Filipino immigrant community realized their chronically under-invested neighborhood Little Manila suffered high air pollution and groundwater contamination."