On November 23, 2011 the EPA issued a letter partially granting a petition from the environmental group Earthjustice requesting disclosure and evaluation of the fluids and chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Earthjustice had submitted the petition in August 2011 on behalf of more than 100 public health, environmental, [...]
Archive for the ‘Toxic Substances’ Category
1 Sep
Seeking Medical Monitoring After Environmental Contamination
A Legal Update from Mayer Brown covered the recent Third Circuit opinion in Gates v. Rohm & Haas Co. The plaintiffs in the case, which started as a complaint filed against Rohm and Haas (a manufacturing company that is now a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company) in a Pennsylvania district court five years ago, [...]
22 Jul
This Week in Environmental Disclosure: Alcoa’s Decades-Plus Struggle with the Grasse River
In yesterday’s 10-Q, Alcoa brought us up to speed on the current status of their Massena plant site – one of more than 100 locations at which the aluminum company is participating in environmental assessments or cleanups – and the reserves slated for the costs associated with its remediation. The Grasse River on which the [...]
9 Jun
EPA Chips Away at Confidential Business Information
You can now know precisely which chemicals were administered to which laboratory rats and rabbits! In what they are calling an “unprecedented” action, the EPA yesterday announced that they have made public the identities of more than 150 previously confidential chemicals mentioned in 100+ health and safety studies. Under Section 8(e) of the Toxic Substances [...]
27 May
Compliance During Inclement Weather
While tornadoes dominate headlines, the EPA is looking forward a few weeks to the onset of hurricane season. As if your personal safety weren’t enough to look out for, a recent EPA news release reminds us that extra precautions should be taken to minimize chemical releases associated with natural disasters. This is not only a [...]
15 Apr
GM’s Toxic Secret: RACER Trust’s Contaminated Properties
Did you know? In October of 2010, “Old” General Motors – now Motors Liquidation Company (MLC) – signed a settlement agreement with the United States (along with 14 states and one tribal government) establishing an environmental trust “to address contamination and position for redevelopment 89 industrial plants and other properties used by the former General [...]
8 Apr
High Levels of Lead, Low Levels of Communication
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) got a public lesson in post-publication clarification when the GAO’s report “CDC Public Health Communications Need Improvement” was published earlier this week. The GAO report takes us back to Washington, D.C., in the year 2001, when the District’s Water and Sewer Authority became aware of lead levels in [...]
24 Mar
Bayer CropScience and Methyl Isocyanate (MIC): A Timeline
It’s been …41 years since Aldicarb was introduced to the world. Aldicarb is a pesticide sold under the brand name Temik® by Bayer CropScience; its key component is methyl isocyanate (MIC), a highly toxic chemical. …26 years since MIC gas leaked from a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, killing more than 10,000 people and setting [...]
7 Mar
EPA Boils Down Final Rules to Bare Essentials, Conservative Groups Still Emitting Concerns
In April 2010, after three years of delayed litigation, the EPA released its proposed Boiler MACT (Maximum Achievable Control Technology) rules that would govern emission standards for commercial, institutional and industrial boilers, solid-waste incinerators, and furnaces. The rules, long-awaited by environmental groups and clean-air industries alike, aimed to make significant cuts to emissions of hazardous [...]
17 Feb
Chevron Company Found Guilty in Historic Environmental Lawsuit
On Tuesday, Chevron Corporation was ordered by Ecuadorian courts to pay $9 billion in damages for massive environmental contamination of the Amazon rainforest. The lawsuit was filed in 2003 by Ecuadorian citizens, many of whom are representatives of multiple indigenous groups from northeastern Ecuador. The litigation was originally brought against Texaco Petroleum Company in a [...]
