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A new study by the National Academies of Science published on Monday concluded that in 2011, the finest scale particulate matter air pollution (PM2.5) caused 107,000 premature deaths in the U.S. and cost the economy nearly $900 million dollars. The study’s authors, using data from the Environmental Protection Agency, calculated location-specific estimates of the damage […]
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The Australian government has given the go-ahead, according to The Guardian, for the Port Authority of North Queensland to dump more than 1 million tons of dredge spoil near the reef, taking advantage of an unfortunate loophole in the laws that were supposed to protect the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
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Yesterday the EPA released its long-awaited plan to address Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) a family of chemicals that are linked to cancer and other illnesses, and that are found widely across the U.S. in drinking water and soil. But the “action” plan, which promises to begin a process by the end of the year […]
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Sixteen State Attorneys General have formed a coalition and petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to issue new rules that would require the reporting of asbestos uses, The Hill reported. The coalition, led by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, believes that inadequate reporting and tracking systems on imported and domestic asbestos make it impossible for EPA to comply with its mandate to prevent risks to the health and environment posed by the widespread use of asbestos.
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Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer last week denied claims for financial compensation from 4400 claims (some claims were made on behalf of groups of people) that alleged people exposed were made ill by contaminated drinking water at the Marine Corps’ Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. The claims have been filed since 1999, and all together the claims totalled $963 billion, with one claim alone for $900 billion. Stars and Stripes reported that the health benefits for impacted persons are not impacted – they can still receive free health care for claims related to exposure.
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The Wall Street Journal published a stinging critique of big agriculture’s impact on rural drinking water supplies, which they say are being spoiled “by fewer, more-intensively worked farms, bigger cows and shifting crop mixes.” As a result, these large farms are more productive than ever, but as a result, the percentage of U.S. drinking water with nitrates concentrations above safe levels is rising.
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