Chemicals

"Several environmental groups are suing federal regulators over what they say is a failure to set safe limits on harmful chemicals pouring into waterways from refineries, including eight facilities in Louisiana that are considered among the nation’s top polluters."

"The Environmental Protection Agency proposed Tuesday to limit the use of the chemical ethylene oxide after finding higher than expected cancer risk at facilities that use it to sterilize billions of medical devices each year."

"A senator questioned the EPA chief and a group sued the agency after ProPublica and the Guardian revealed that the EPA gave a Chevron refinery approval to make a fuel that could leave people nearby with a 1-in-4 lifetime risk of cancer."

"A February train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, shone a spotlight on the impact of toxic chemicals. But communities who are exposed to such chemicals on a more routine basis say they’re still waiting for the same level of recognition."

"Women with higher levels of so-called “forever chemicals” in their blood have a 40% lower chance of becoming pregnant within a year of trying to conceive, according to the first known study on the effect of PFAS on female fertility."

"The Biden administration on Thursday proposed a new regulation to significantly reduce hazardous air pollutants from chemical plants, a move that environmental advocates predicted would significantly reduce the health risks to by people living near industrial sites."

"The Biden administration said Wednesday that it would require coal- and oil-fired power plants to reduce emissions of several hazardous air pollutants, including mercury, a neurotoxin that can cause developmental problems in infants and children."

"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Tuesday that it estimates that there are 9.2 million lead pipes carrying water throughout the country and said it was allocating some of the funds from the bipartisan infrastructure law to replace them."

"Johnson & Johnson said it has agreed to pay $8.9 billion to settle claims that talc in its popular baby powder caused cancer."

"A U.S. chemical plant in Louisiana that produces a common refrigerant may be partly to blame for increased emissions of CFCs—chemicals thousands of times more potent at warming the planet than carbon dioxide."