Tag: Hazardous and Toxic Substances

We Regulate a Tiny Fraction of the 12,000 ‘Forever Chemicals.’ There’s a Better Way.

When I was 12 years old, I sat inside a raucous tent revival in West Texas, gripping my seat in fear that a traveling evangelist would accuse me of killing my father. A healthy former Air Force pilot who’d averaged an eight-minute mile in the New York City Marathon, my father had just been diagnosed […]

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E.P.A. Will Make Polluters Pay to Clean Up Two PFAS Compounds

The Biden administration is designating two “forever chemicals,” man-made compounds that are linked to serious health risks, as hazardous substances under the Superfund law, shifting responsibility for their cleanup to polluters from taxpayers. The new rule announced on Friday empowers the government to force the many companies that manufacture or use perfluorooctanoic acid, also known […]

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Are ‘Forever Chemicals’ a Forever Problem?

Fact-checking by Susan Lee. The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle […]

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U.S. to Limit Deadly Mining Dust as Black Lung Resurges

Federal regulators on Tuesday will issue new protections for miners against a type of dust long known to cause deadly lung ailments — changes recommended by government researchers a half-century ago. Mining companies will have to limit concentrations of airborne silica, a mineral commonly found in rock that can be lethal when ground up and […]

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U.S. to Limit Deadly Mining Dust as Black Lung Resurges

Federal regulators on Tuesday will issue new protections for miners against a type of dust long known to cause deadly lung ailments — changes recommended by government researchers a half-century ago. Mining companies will have to limit concentrations of airborne silica, a mineral commonly found in rock that can be lethal when ground up and […]

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Six Things to Know About ‘Forever Chemicals’

Almost half the tap water in the United States contains PFAS, a class of chemicals linked to serious health problems. On Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that, for the first time, municipal utilities will have to detect and remove PFAS from drinking water. Here’s what you need to know. What are PFAS? In 1938 […]

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E.P.A. Says ‘Forever Chemicals’ Must Be Removed From Tap Water

For the first time, the Biden administration is requiring municipal water systems to remove six synthetic chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems that are present in the tap water of hundreds of millions of Americans. The extraordinary move from the Environmental Protection Agency mandates that water providers reduce perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known […]

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Norfolk Southern Settles Derailment Suit for $600 Million

Norfolk Southern announced on Tuesday that it agreed to pay $600 million to settle a class-action lawsuit stemming from a February 2023 derailment of a train carrying hazardous materials in East Palestine, Ohio. The settlement, which must be approved by a judge, includes payments to residents and businesses within 20 miles of the derailment. It […]

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Environmental Protection Agency Limits Pollution From Chemical Plants

More than 200 chemical plants across the country will be required to curb the toxic pollutants they release into the air under a regulation announced by the Biden administration on Tuesday. The regulation is aimed at reducing the risk of cancer for people living near industrial sites. This is the first time in nearly two […]

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A Breakthrough in Plastic Recycling Is Coming Up Short

By 2025, Nestle promises not to use any plastic in its products that isn’t recyclable. By that same year, L’Oreal says all of its packaging will be “refillable, reusable, recyclable or compostable.” And by 2030, Procter & Gamble pledges that it will halve its use of virgin plastic resin made from petroleum. To get there, […]

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Baltimore’s Traffic Reporter on Congestion After Bridge Collapse

When the Francis Scott Key Bridge was built in the 1970s, it was intended to relieve congestion from the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel. Forty-seven years later, some of that traffic will be diverted back to the tunnel after the bridge collapsed last week upon being struck by a giant cargo ship, killing six construction workers. With […]

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