Chemicals

"RFK Jr., Once Poisoned By Mercury, Is Silent As EPA Weakens Rules Against It"

"The HHS secretary has fought mercury pollution for years. He’s now in an administration that wants to make it easier for industries to dump it into the air and water."

Source: E&E News, 03/19/2025

"Trump Administration Aims to Eliminate E.P.A.’s Scientific Research Arm"

"The Environmental Protection Agency plans to eliminate its scientific research arm, firing as many as 1,155 chemists, biologists, toxicologists and other scientists, according to documents reviewed by Democrats on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology."

Source: NYTimes, 03/19/2025

Trump Halted Agent Orange Cleanup, Putting Hundreds of Thousands at Risk

"In mid-February, Trump administration leaders received a desperate warning from their diplomats posted in Vietnam, one of the most important American partners in Asia. Workers were in the middle of cleaning up the site of an enormous chemical spill, the Bien Hoa air base, when Secretary of State Marco Rubio abruptly halted all foreign aid funding."

Source: ProPublica, 03/18/2025

Desperately Seeking Data? OECD Has Loads

If the possibility of a politically driven dearth of data for your climate and environment reporting has you on edge, the new Reporter’s Toolbox just may have something to soothe your nerves: A data source from beyond the grasp of the Trump administration and outside the boundaries of the United States. Take a quick tour of environmental data from the OECD.

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"Decision To Axe Advisory Groups Could Spell Trouble For US Food Safety"

"A Trump administration move to axe key food safety advisory committees could leave the public more vulnerable to food-borne illnesses, critics fear, particularly alongside current legislative efforts to undermine proposed safety regulations on food processors."

Source: The New Lede, 03/17/2025

"Burn Pit Fund For Veterans On Chopping Block In GOP Spending Bill"

"Democratic lawmakers and veterans’ groups are fuming over a provision in a stopgap federal spending bill passed by House Republicans this week that would cut a Department of Veteran Affairs fund meant to cover costs for illnesses linked to military burn pits and other chemical exposure."

Source: The Hill, 03/17/2025

New Angle for Reporting on Oil and Gas Industry — Radioactive Waste

Industry experts and government regulators have long known that radionuclides reside in oil and natural gas. Yet radioactive emissions and waste continue to threaten the lives of workers and community members across the country. Investigative journalist Justin Nobel on the opportunities and urgent need for reporters to drill into a story steeped in questions of accountability, health and justice.

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Landmark Ruling on Uncontacted Indigenous Rights Strikes at Oil Industry

"The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordered the Ecuadorian government to protect Indigenous groups from oil operations and to leave oil in the ground underneath their lands."

Source: Inside Climate News, 03/14/2025

"Destruction Of Ukraine Dam Triggered Toxic ‘Time Bomb,’ Researchers Say"

"The destruction of Ukraine’s Kakhovka dam in June 2023 exposed lake bed sediment containing more than 90,000 tons of dangerous heavy metals, setting off what researchers say is a toxic “time bomb.”"

Source: Washington Post, 03/14/2025

Ducks, Once A Conservation Bright Spot, Now Declining In US: New Report

"At least 112 North American bird species have lost more than half their populations in the past 50 years, according to a new report published Thursday. Among the birds showing the steepest declines are Allen’s hummingbirds, Florida scrub jays, golden-cheeked warblers, tricolored blackbirds and yellow-billed magpies."

Source: AP, 03/14/2025

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