Disasters

A new Office of Inspector General report found many chemical facilities storing large amounts of dangerous chemicals had not filed their required RMPs -- and that EPA was not checking often for compliance.

A new map and report by the Center for Public Integrity make it easier to pinpoint exact locations of coal-ash deposits, a waste product of coal-fired power plants.

On Aug. 13, 2001, President Bush and Interior Sec. Norton endorsed a 10-year fire plan proposed by the Western Governors Assoc. that would grant Western states and localities more discretion in preventing and fighting wildfires.

Flood maps for riparian areas and coastal zones are in need of significant improvement, according to a new National Academies report. The benefits of implementing the improvements would substantially outweigh the costs.

After the disastrous collapse of a Kentucky coal waste impoundment in October 2000, Congress asked the National Research Council to recommend ways to help reduce the potential for future calamities at about 700 U.S. facilities.

The Poynter Institute Web site has published an array of resources and advice for journalists who are covering the attacks and tragedies of September 11, 2001.

A few lessons were buried in the rubble of the World Trade Center. Humans change the environment -- and build environments -- in ways that make them vulnerable to catastrophe.

Drinking water sources, purification, and distribution systems are essential to public health, and failures could be catastrophic.

Security of nuclear power plants was definitely on people's minds as the WTC burned and nobody knew where the next plane would hit.