The EPA has classified Colorado as a ‘serious’ violator of federal air laws for ozone. Colorado has been failing ozone air pollution standards since 2004, creating a greater presence of asthma in the Denver and Front Range communities. Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment plans to issue 600 new permits that will set limits on air pollution. The state must reduce its ozone pollution to 70 parts per billion by August 2021 (current ozone levels are 79 parts per billion). Read More.
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Two weeks after the TPC plant explosion, the Environmental Protection Agency has transferred the site cleanup oversight to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Response efforts have been focused on site equipment recovery. TPC will continue to monitor the air surrounding the facility; however, current reports conclude that there is no actionable levels of butadiene (a known carcinogen). Read More.
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Saying goodbye to ToxNet and ToxMap
The National Library of Medicine is retiring access to helpful resources in toxics identification, including TOXNet and TOXMap. Both data resources were developed to make it easier for the public to view chemicals being released from plants located in their own neighborhoods. Access to these databases will end on Monday, December 16, 2019. Read More.
The Environmental Integrity Project has released a report examining the budget trends and staffing levels for state public health and environmental protection agencies from the years 2008 to 2018. The report found that of the 48 states examined (Hawaii and Alaska not included) 31 states reduced funding for environmental agencies with 25 states creating cuts up to 10%. Further, it was found that 40 states reduced employment within environmental agencies with 21 states reducing employment with cuts up to 10%. Read More.
Read Report: The Thin Green Line
Albany, New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo signed a bill yesterday, December 9, that will ban the sale of certain cleaning products, cosmetics and personal care products. The purpose of the ban is to reduce the risk of drinking water contamination from the 1,4 – dioxane chemical that can still be found in some consumer products. This bill will not go into effect until January 2022. Read More.
Read more from Governor Cuomo’s news release.
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New methane release mapping tool
The Environmental Defense Fund has created a new mapping resource to locate onshore oil and gas wells that release methane. The tool was developed in response to the EPA’s proposal to rollback regulations on methane emissions within the oil and gas industries. The map reports emissions data and demographic information to visualize the sensitive populations that might be exposed to the increased releases of methane. Read More.
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Port Neches Evacuations Increase
On Wednesday (December 4), residents of Port Neches were asked to voluntarily evacuate their homes in response to the TPC Group plant explosion that occurred early last week. Originally ordered to shelter-in-place, residents are now being asked to temporarily vacate the area surrounding the plant to reduce risk of exposure to harmful chemicals still lingering in the air. Read More.
The California Breast Cancer Research Program, in partnership with the California Department of Public Health, the Occupational Health Branch and the University of California, San Francisco, has developed a tool to research women’s exposure to chemicals in the workplace. The goal of the research and the basis behind this tool is to provide women with information on industries that have a higher risk of exposure to
chemicals that may cause breast cancer. The tool shows data on over 160 different occupations in California and data on over 1,000 different chemicals. Read More.
An explosion at the TPC Group plant in Port Neches, Texas this morning (Wednesday, November 27) has left 3 workers injured and hundreds other on evacuation notice. Families outside the evacuation zone are encouraged to shelter-in-place. Responders are still tending to the plant as officials work to uncover the cause of the explosion. Read More.
Louisiana health officials have plans to initiate a new study to determine how many individuals surrounding the Denka Performance Elastomer plant in St. John Parish have developed cancer. The Denka plant is the only one in the country to release chloroprene, a likely carcinogen to humans. The study will include graduate students going door to door of 1,900 homes in a 2.5 kilometer range to determine who has developed cancer. Read More.