EPA's Toxics Releaser Inventory is the foundation of much of what the nation knows about toxic pollution. But it consists of estimates from industry, sometimes dramatically understating the extent of pollution, and omits whole industrial categories.
"The amount of toxic chemicals released into the environment nationwide in 2010 increased 16 percent over the year before, reversing a downward trend in overall toxic releases since 2006, according to a report released Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The spike was driven largely by metal mining, but other sectors — including the chemical industry — also contributed to the rise in emissions, according to the new analysis from the annual federal Toxics Release Inventory.
"Farmers and the food industry are asking the Obama administration to ease coming federal guidance that will advise consumers to minimize their intake of dioxins, chemicals that may be harmful at certain levels."
"ATLANTA -- For the first time in 20 years, a federal panel is urging the government to lower the threshold for lead poisoning in children."
"HILDEN, Nova Scotia -- Helene Van Doninck is tired of treating eagles for lead poisoning."
"WINFIELD, W.Va. -- Putnam County jurors chosen to sit in the upcoming case against Monsanto, a former Nitro chemical plant, will have to decide whether thousands of current and former Nitro residents should be periodically tested for disease at the expense of the company."
"The Louisville Water Co. has sharply lowered the levels of hexavelent chromium, a suspected carcinogen, in drinking water after solving a puzzle about the source of the pollutant."
"TODOS SANTOS, Mexico -- Clamshell containers on supermarket shelves in the United States may depict verdant fields, tangles of vines and ruby red tomatoes. But at this time of year, the tomatoes, peppers and basil certified as organic by the Agriculture Department often hail from the Mexican desert, and are nurtured with intensive irrigation. "
"The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has misled Congress about the effectiveness of a nearly five-year-old program that is meant to secure the nation’s chemical facilities against potential terrorist attacks, says Sen. Susan M. Collins (R-Maine).
"One of the nation's most widely planted crops -- genetically engineered corn that makes its own insecticide -- may be losing its effectiveness because a major pest appears to be developing resistance more quickly than scientists expected."
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