EPA News

EPA Prepares Chemical PFA Safety Plan Amid Calls for Tougher Action

The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to announce a plan for dealing with a class of long-lasting chemical contaminants amid complaints from members of Congress and environmentalists that it’s not moved aggressively enough to regulate them. So-called forever chemicals, perfluoroalkyl …

Victims Still Unpaid 3 Years After Colorado Mine Spill

Three years after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency triggered a massive mine spill that polluted rivers in three states, the federal government still has not repaid any of the victims for the millions of dollars in economic damage they claimed. …

NYC Readies Sandbags to Barricade Steam-Pipe Blast Site

New York City had sandbags at the ready Friday night to barricade the site of a Manhattan steam-pipe explosion against possible heavy rains that could complicate the cleanup of asbestos-laced debris. Hundreds of residents in Manhattan’s Flatiron District were shut …

EPA Plans to Rescind Safety Rules Prompted by Fatal Texas Plant Blast

Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt moved Thursday to rescind much of a package of safety measures proposed for chemical plants nationwide after a deadly blast at a Texas fertilizer plant. Pruitt signed a significantly revised slate of rules from …

EPA May Have Overstated Colorado Mine Spill Damages

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it has almost finished an overdue review of damage claims from a Colorado mine waste spill that the agency accidentally triggered, but an internal agency accounting of those claims appears to be off by …

EPA Considers Using Robots in Old Mines to Prevent Toxic Spills

Crumbling mine tunnels awash with polluted waters perforate the Colorado mountains, and scientists may one day send robots creeping through the pitch-black passages to study the mysterious currents that sometimes burst to the surface with devastating effects. One such disaster …

Hundreds of Superfund Sites Face Flood Risks

When Anthony Stansbury moved down the street from the Anclote River in Florida last year, he didn’t know his slice of paradise had a hidden problem. The neighborhood is adjacent to the Stauffer Chemical Co. Superfund site, a former chemical …

Nearly 80% of Illinois Debris Sites High in Toxins

Four in five Illinois quarries that backfill with concrete and other demolition waste show higher-than-acceptable levels of toxins, according to state sampling results obtained by The Associated Press. Illinois Environmental Protection Agency testing last spring produced levels exceeding allowable limits …

Asbestos, Dry Cleaning Agent Among 10 Chemicals Under EPA Review

Under a congressional mandate, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is reviewing 10 chemicals to determine if they pose an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment and should be subject to additional regulation. They range from asbestos, which was …

Montana Set to Take Over Deadly Libby Asbestos Cleanup Site

The cleanup of a northwest Montana community where health professionals say hundreds of people have been killed by asbestos exposure entered a new phase Thursday as officials turn their focus to keeping residents safe over the long term. The five-member …