air pollution News

Fire Rages in a Plastics Factory in Eastern Croatia; Residents Asked to Stay Indoors

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Firefighters in eastern Croatia were battling to contain a huge fire in a plastics factory on Wednesday, and authorities asked residents to remain indoors and keep their widows shut. The fire erupted early Wednesday in the …

Study Finds Cleaner Air Leads to More Atlantic Hurricanes

Cleaner air in United States and Europe is brewing more Atlantic hurricanes, a new U.S. government study found. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration study links changes in regionalized air pollution across the globe to storm activity going both up …

NFL Owner Kraft Sued Over South Carolina Paper Mill’s Air Pollution

A South Carolina paper mill, whose foul smell has triggered more than 30,000 complaints, has become one of the dirtiest polluters in the United States since being acquired by an investment group led by Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of …

1 Person Dead, 4 Still Missing in German Chemical Explosion

BERLIN (AP) — An explosion at an industrial park for chemical companies in Germany killed at least one person Tuesday, with 16 injured and four still missing. Fire officials who tested the air said there did not appear to be …

Australia Counts Wildfire Devastation After Calamitous Weekend

Hundreds of properties were destroyed across southeastern Australia after searing temperatures and strong winds exacerbated catastrophic wildfires Saturday in one of the worst days of the weeks-long crisis. Dozens of communities, from small towns on the south coast of New …

Air Quality Plummets as Wildfire Smoke Hits Alaska’s Most Populous Cities

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Smoke and soot from central Alaska wildfires have afflicted the subarctic city of Fairbanks with some of the world’s worst air pollution in recent days, forcing many residents indoors and prompting one hospital to set up a …

Charges Filed After Fire at Texas Petrochemical Facility

HOUSTON — Water pollution charges were filed Monday against a company that owns a Houston-area petrochemical storage facility where a large fire that burned for days in March caused chemicals to flow into a nearby waterway. The Harris County District …

Investigators to Begin Hunt for Cause of Texas Petrochemical Disaster

U.S. investigators hope this week for the first time to enter the site of a massive fuel fire and chemical spill outside Houston to begin the hunt for a cause and to determine whether the operator followed safety regulations. The …

Investigators May Probe Houston Chemical Fire

Federal and local investigators are weighing a probe of the Houston chemical blaze as hazardous compounds waft near the burned-out site. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board “is following up on the incident and should be making a decision to send …

Houston Chemical-Fire Smoke Set to Descend, Closing Schools

About the photo: Residents look on at the plume of smoke rising from a fire at the Intercontinental Terminals Co. petrochemical storage site on Tuesday. As a towering plume of black smoke billowed a mile above Houston for a third …