Latest Pollution News
DNA sucked into air filters can reveal what plants and animals are nearby
NEW YORK (AP) — DNA is all around us — even in the air we breathe. Now scientists have found that air quality monitoring stations — which pull in air to test for pollution — also pick up lots of DNA that can reveal what plants and animals have been in the area. The method...
Minnesota plans rewrite of rules for copper-nickel mining near popular wilderness
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota regulators have concluded that state rules governing where copper-nickel mines can be built are insufficient to protect the pristine Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from noise and light pollution, creating another potential obstacle to the proposed Twin...
Federal appeals court halts EPA effort to impose air pollution plan in Missouri
A federal appeals court has put on hold an Environmental Protection Agency regulation aimed at reducing air pollution in Missouri, drawing criticism from environmentalists but praise from the state's attorney general who called the proposal “unconstitutional overreach.” ...
Chile closes state copper smelter that polluted bay for decades
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chile's state-owned copper mining giant Codelco on Wednesday shut down its Ventanas copper smelter after decades of polluting Quintero Bay with toxic gases and turning it, along with 15 other companies, into what environmentalists called a “sacrifice zone.” ...
Earth is 'really quite sick now' and in danger zone in nearly all ecological ways, study says
Earth has pushed past seven out of eight scientifically established safety limits and into “the danger zone,” not just for an overheating planet that's losing its natural areas, but for the well-being of people living on it, according to a new study. The study looks not just at...
Judge says fire retardant drops are polluting streams but allows use to continue
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The U.S. government can keep using chemical retardant dropped from aircraft to fight wildfires, despite finding that the practice pollutes streams in western states in violation of federal law, a judge ruled Friday. Halting the use of the red slurry material...
Federal appeals court stays EPA's rejection of Arkansas' ozone plan
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal appeals court on Thursday halted the Environmental Protection Agency’s rejection of Arkansas' plan to comply with federal rules designed to assure that the state’s coal-fired power plants and industrial sites don’t pollute the air in other states. ...
Shell agrees to pay $10 million for air pollution at massive new Pennsylvania petrochemical plant
Shell has agreed to pay $10 million to resolve allegations that it polluted the air around its massive new petrochemical refinery in western Pennsylvania, the administration of Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Wednesday. Shell acknowledged that the plant, located along the Ohio River...
Biden administration invests in carbon capture, upping pressure on industry to show results
The Biden administration on Wednesday announced $251 million for carbon capture and storage projects in seven states, aiming to reduce planet-warming pollution from power plants and other industrial facilities. The announcement represents a vote of confidence by the government in the...
EPA rule would force clean-up of toxic coal ash dumped in landfills, ponds near power plants
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency is strengthening a rule aimed at controlling and cleaning up toxic waste from coal-fired power plants. A proposal announced Wednesday would for the first time require safe management of so-called coal ash dumped in hundreds of older landfills,...
