Small communities left behind as advanced water treatment for PFAS proves broader benefits
By Brian Bienkowski
As the US wrestles with how to deal with widespread PFAS pollution in drinking water supplies, most utilities are lacking advanced filtration systems that could protect public health from not just PFAS but an array of harmful contaminants, according to a new study.
EPA walks back proposal to limit water pollution from meat and poultry plants
By Shannon Kelleher
In a move celebrated by US meat and poultry producers but mourned by environment and health advocates, federal regulators are walking back a proposed rule that would have strengthened water pollution standards for slaughterhouse operators.
As Iowans wrestle with polluted waters, politics get in the way
By Carey Gillam
When a team of scientists embarked two years ago on a $1 million landmark study of Iowa’s persistent water quality problems, they knew that the findings would be important to share. But now, after the completed study pointed to agricultural pollution as a significant source of the key US farm state’s water quality problems, public officials have quietly stripped funding away from plans to promote the study findings.
Congress proposes scrapping PFAS measures that protect public servants and others
By Shannon Kelleher
Congress is proposing to reverse measures that protect military service members, firefighters and others from harmful PFAS chemicals.
Postcard from California: State’s status as clean energy pacesetter threatened by Trump’s attacks
By Bill Walker
For decades, California has been on the cutting edge of US environmental policy. The state has enacted landmark measures to regulate air and water pollution, protect residents from exposure to toxic chemicals, and combat the climate crisis. Many of its groundbreaking policies have spread to other states.
Oil and gas industry linked to thousands of yearly US deaths and preterm births, study finds
By Shannon Kelleher
Air pollution from oil and gas activities is responsible for an estimated 91,000 deaths and over 10,000 premature births in the US each year, according to a new study that examined the impacts of the industry through its lifecycle from extraction to refining to burning fuel in power plants.
The unseen harvest: Pesticides, cancer and rural Missouri’s health crisis
KENNETT, MO. — Nestled in Missouri’s Bootheel is the small town of Kennett, the Dunklin County seat. With just over 10,000 residents, it’s a close-knit community where good-natured teasing is a common show of affection. Once a sprawling swampland, it has since been transformed into an expanse of flat, fertile fields where agriculture stands as the backbone of the region’s economy.
EPA delay threatens fenceline communities near steel and coke plants, report warns
By Brian Bienkowski
Steel and coke plants in the US are regularly releasing illegal amounts of air pollutants and the Trump administration’s delay on stricter rules at these plants leaves fenceline communities struggling for long-sought federal help, according to a new report.
Trump – Making America Polluted Again
By Keith Schneider
President Donald Trump’s campaign to carve up federal environmental agencies and paralyze statutes that cleared the air, cleaned US waters, and protected wildlands marks the opening of MAPA, the new era to Make America Polluted Again.
“How can this happen?” Fight over sewage sludge on farms intensifies
By Marin Scotten
Ryan Dunham heard his eleven-year-old daughter’s scream from his living room. He bolted up the stairs to the bathroom where she was taking a shower and couldn’t believe his eyes. The water flowing from the faucet was brown, and it smelled like “decay, rot and death.”