Above the fold... News aggregated by EnvironmentalHealthNews.org Daily links to top stories in the news about environmental health. Court rules against EPA on feedlot discharges in big win for farm groups. A federal court ruled yesterday that U.S. EPA cannot require a West Virginia poultry operation to obtain a Clean Water Act permit for its stormwater in what farm groups are calling a major victory. Greenwire bit.ly/1bl9SIs Love hurts. On the 35th anniversary of Americas most notorious environmental disaster, there are new allegations of pollution at Love Canal. Newsweek bit.ly/1heTle1 Houston air pollution: Preview for Pennsylvania. From Pennsylvania to Texas, the chemical industry is building new plants to take advantage of vast deposits of natural gas opened up by the fracking boom. Allegheny Front, Pennsylvania. bit.ly/16zOb4M US advocates see ‘glimmer of hope’ for chemical law reform. Health and safety advocates joined a green chemical manufacturer on Thursday to press Congress to reform the country’s decades-old chemical safety law. The Hill, District of Columbia. bit.ly/1ac2CC3 Arsenic contamination found in Vietnams water: Study. A study in Vietnam has revealed that massive over-pumping of groundwater sources to meet surging demand is drawing arsenic into the countrys village wells. Australia ABC News, Australia. ab.co/1blfC55 Burlington, Vermont makes slow step toward lead-abatement goals. Jake and Rebecca Marin watched their daughter nervously as she touched surfaces and put her hands in her mouth in their 100-year-old colonial home in Burlington’s Old North End — which, like approximately 80 percent of the homes in the city, contains hazardous lead-based paint. Burlington Free Press, Vermont. bfpne.ws/1fZJVUy Response to a city’s smog points to a change in Chinese attitude. Awareness in China of various kinds of pollution – air, water and soil – has risen quickly this year, especially among middle-class urbanites. Chinese news media, including official state outlets, are reporting more aggressively on the causes and effects of pollution. New York Times [Registration Required] nyti.ms/1c2MUXz Wildfire smoke a health hazard to millions, even far from flames. About two-thirds of Americans, or nearly 212 million people, lived in counties that two years ago contended with wildfire smoke linked to respiratory problems like asthma, pneumonia and chronic lung diseases, according to a report released Thursday. Los Angeles Times [Registration Required] lat.ms/16xuAHF Federal inspectors cite 3 mines under new pattern of violations rule. The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration on Thursday took stepped-up enforcement actions against three coal mines -- including two in West Virginia -- citing them under a tougher new pattern of violations rule written in the wake of the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster. Charleston Gazette, West Virginia. bit.ly/1gLTK9Y Kansas fracking regulations spell out what companies must disclose. New state regulations governing hydraulic fracturing will limit the circumstances in which a company must disclose the chemicals it uses, but Kansas Corporation Commission staff members said Thursday that emergency personnel will have all the information they may need. Topeka Capital-Journal, Kansas. bit.ly/1ePkDp8 Fukushimas tainted water still flowing, no end to environmental fears. Even after the company that operates the Fukushima nuclear power plant admitted this summer that tons of contaminated groundwater was leaking into the Pacific Ocean every day, new accidents have added to the uncontrolled releases of radioactive materials. New York Times [Registration Required] nyti.ms/1a4A73p Albertas oil legacy: Bad air and rare cancers. Ten known or probable carcinogens now saturate the air downwind of Albertas Upgrader Alley, the nations largest bitumen and hydrocarbon processing centre, while male blood cancers and leukemia in the region are the highest in the province. Vancouver Tyee, British Columbia. bit.ly/Hg1XTS In Uzbekistan, slave labor used to harvest cotton. This year, Uzbekistan expects to harvest 3.35 million tons of cotton between September and November. Its citizens will be forced to pick the crop — as they have been since 1991. Toronto Star, Ontario. bit.ly/HlbB7c Local officials try to take air out of pollution study. Regional leaders dismissed a new pollution study that raises concerns about air quality downwind of industrial plants northeast of Edmonton. Edmonton Journal, Alberta. bit.ly/17inFTp Greenland gives green light for uranium and rare earths mining. Greenlands parliament has voted to end a decades-long prohibition on mining for radioactive materials such as uranium, further opening up the country to investors from Australia to China eager to tap its vast mineral resources. Reuters bit.ly/168me6T Thailand suffers worst dengue epidemic in more than 20 years. Thailand is experiencing its largest dengue epidemic in more than two decades, with a record number of people infected by the mosquito-borne disease and 126 fatalities so far this year, health experts said on Thursday, pointing to climate change as a factor behind the spike in cases. Reuters trust.org/item/20131024100249-aqxiv/ Indonesias forests are shrinking despite reforms. At home and abroad, Indonesia is highlighting its progress in curbing the environmental destruction that has depleted forests and made it a leading source of greenhouse gases. But environmentalists are unconvinced. Associated Press bit.ly/19DeU3L Chinook salmon thrive in flooded-field experiment. Researchers who fattened young chinook salmon in flooded fields after the rice harvest last winter reported Thursday that the fish grew fast and to record sizes, offering a promising new way to improve survival of the long-threatened salmon. San Francisco Chronicle, California. sfgate/science/article/Chinook-salmon-thrive-in-flooded-field-experiment-4924225.php
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 13:30:34 +0000
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