Environmental Health

"U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler said Tuesday he was signing a memo to reduce agency-funded animal testing, vowing to almost completely end the practice by 2035."

"Suez [a private water company] has begun to adjust the acidity of its water and increase the amount of an anti-corrosion chemical, in the company's latest effort to lower the amount of lead leaching into some Bergen and Hudson county residents' drinking water."

"The water fountains have either been turned off, wrapped in plastic, or fitted with a device to prevent students from using them. Much of the food preparation has moved off campus, and a water jug sits in the kitchen sink, replacing the faucet. The bathrooms are covered with signs that warn students in bold, red letters: “DO NOT DRINK FROM THE SINK.”"

After an investigation, EPA's Inspector General is saying the agency is not enforcing lead paint abatement rules adequately.

"An algal bloom in the Gulf is devastating coastal businesses."

"Sterigenics is a step closer to reopening its sterilization plant in west suburban Willowbrook, but local officials and community groups are pushing new measures that could drive the company out of town."

"The Justice Department has opened an antitrust inquiry into the four major automakers that struck a deal with California this year to reduce automobile emissions, according to people familiar with the matter, escalating a standoff over one of the president’s most significant rollbacks of climate regulations."

"Air quality regulators on Friday killed a years-long push for stronger regulation of a dangerous acid used at two South Bay refineries that has frightened many neighbors, voting instead to accept a voluntary, oil industry pledge to enhance safety measures."

"Environmental groups are watching dozens of lagoons of swine waste stored directly in Hurricane Dorian’s path in North Carolina with growing trepidation, fearful that a breach will release millions of gallons of manure."