Risk


EPA Releases MDI, TDI Action Plans to Protect Consumers

Do-it-yourselfers may be exposed to methylene diphenyl diisocyanate and toluene diisocyanate from spray foam insulation or sealing concrete applications.

Oregon Fines Two Companies for Asbestos Mishandling

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has placed penalties on Cascade Paving and Oregon Employees Federal Credit Union for improper removal of asbestos from the demolition of a 90-year-old house in Salem.

New York No Longer Tolerates Lead Wheel Weights

Those who violate the ban can face stiff penalties, including fines up to $1,000 per violation and an additional $1,000 per day the violation occurs.

Groups Request Info on Reactor Exemptions, Evacuation

Richard Brodsky with Demos, a national policy center, and three other groups have filed Freedom of Information Act requests prompted by the nuclear disaster in Sendai, Japan.

Window Company to Pay Fine for Lead Notification Violations

EPA said Permanent Siding and Windows, a contractor specializing in spray-on vinyl siding and replacing windows and doors, failed to provide the lead hazard information pamphlet to at least 17 owners or occupants before the company began renovation activities.

radiation monitor

Monitors Confirm No Radiation Levels of Concern Have Reached U.S.

A national radiation lab is analyzing a sampling filter containing minuscule levels of an isotope from Hawaii consistent with the Japanese nuclear incident but still below levels of concern, EPA said.

EPA Updates Air Toxics' Assessment with 2005 Data

The assessment shows that between 1990 and 2005, air toxic emissions were reduced by about 42 percent from industrial and mobile sources.

Auto Body Repair Shop Sues Kinder Morgan for Soil Contamination

Lawyers for the plaintiffs are seeking cleanup of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes on property that formerly provided petroleum storage in above-ground tanks, most recently by Kinder Morgan.



EPA Awards $32M to Understand Health Impacts of Air Pollution

The research centers will explore the health impacts on children and older citizens to determine which health effects occur at different life stages.

Ceres is offering a free report on disclosing climate risks.

Ceres Tackles Climate Risk Disclosure in New Report

March 31 is the deadline for 10-K financial filings, which this year should include climate-related disclosures, based on the Securities and Exchange Commissions' guidance.

EPA Awards $5.5M to 3 Consortia to Support Nanotechnology Research

In collaboration with the United Kingdom, the agency and the Consumer Product Safety Commission are pooling funds to determine whether health risks exist in products using nanotechnology.

Attorneys General Urge Upton to Let Toxic Emissions Rules Stand

New York's Schneiderman warns that proposed resolution would weaken protections from mercury emitted by cement plants.

Risk Assessment Conference Slated for Feb. 15-16

EPA will host a conference on advancing the next generation of risk assessment in Washington, D.C.

14 Chemicals Not Eligible for Confidentiality Claims, EPA Says

As a part of its commitment to transparency, the agency is reviewing confidential business information claims related to health and safety studies submitted under TSCA.

More than 24 million Americans have asthma.

NRDC: Lawmakers' Actions against Clean Air Will Put Children at Risk

The Natural Resources Defense Council and Health Care Without Harm say that efforts to block EPA's carbon dioxide pollution actions will result in adverse health consequences.

Virgin Islands' Refinery to Install $700M Worth of Pollution Controls

Hovensa LLC also will pay more than $5.3 million to settle Clean Air Act violations; EPA estimates smog and asthma-causing emissions will be reduced by 8,500 tons per year.

EPA Awards $25M to Support HEI Research on Air Quality

The Health Effects Institute will develops tools to examine the combined effects of air pollution exposures on public health and the relationship between air quality and climate change.

Alaska Coal Mine Agrees to Fine for Discharges into Local Waterways

Usibelli Coal Mine Inc., owner of an open-pit coal mine near Healy in Alaska’s central interior, has signed a consent agreement and final order that resolves water permit violations and numerous unpermitted discharges.

$7M in STAR Grants Target Effects of Exposures, Social Stressors

EPA is asking universities to gather comprehensive community-wide data on human health impacts,

Oil Spill Commission's Final Report: Systematic Failures in Risk Management

The European Union's energy commissioner, meanwhile, is watching the U.S. actions and will propose his own legislation soon.

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