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New York Becomes Third State To Ban Brain-Damaging Pesticide

Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Beginning next year, a neurotoxic pesticide that at low doses can trigger brain and behavioral damage in children will be banned from use by agricultural operations in New York State
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Key Issues: 
Toxics
Pesticides
Farming
Food

Report: Trump Considering Former Chemical Industry Shill To Lead Nation’s Consumer Watchdog Agency

Wednesday, December 11, 2019
President Trump is considering nominating a former top chemical industry executive, who at the Environmental Protection Agency has led the rollback of important chemical safety regulations, to lead the Consumer Product Safety Commission, according to a report in The Washington Post.
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Key Issues: 
Children's Health
Toxics
Consumer Products
Food

New EWG Map: 305 Military Sites That Used PFAS-based Firefighting Foam

Tuesday, December 10, 2019
Environmental Working Group today published a map of 305 military installations that used the firefighting foams made with the toxic fluorinated chemicals called PFAS, which have likely contaminated drinking water or ground water on or around the bases
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Key Issues: 
Toxics
PFAS Chemicals
Water
Tap Water

Congress Fails to Protect Americans From PFAS Pollution

Tuesday, December 10, 2019
The defense bill finalized by Congress last night excludes key provisions designed to reduce ongoing releases of the toxic fluorinated chemicals called PFAS, remove PFAS from tap water and clean up legacy PFAS contamination.
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Key Issues: 
Toxics
PFAS Chemicals
Water
Tap Water

As U.S. Ignores Risks to Kids, E.U. Bans Brain-Damaging Pesticide

Friday, December 6, 2019
The European Union today confirmed it will ban the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on food crops early next year, citing the risk of brain damage to children – evidence the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ignored in scuttling a proposed ban on the chemical.
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Key Issues: 
Children's Health
Toxics
Pesticides
Food

Key PFAS Reform Provisions in Jeopardy

Thursday, December 5, 2019
Manufacturers of the highly toxic fluorinated chemicals called PFAS may have scored a big win if key provisions to reduce releases and clean up these contaminants from drinking water sources were scrapped from a final defense spending bill before Congress.
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Key Issues: 
Toxics
PFAS Chemicals
Water
Tap Water

Report: EPA Broke Law by Ignoring Kids’ Health To Roll Back Rules on Dirty Engines in Big Trucks

Thursday, December 5, 2019
The Trump Environmental Protection Agency violated federal regulations in order to speed up repeal of pollution rules for old, dirty diesel engines in new freight trucks, instructing agency officials to ignore the impacts on children’s health.
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Key Issues: 
Children's Health
Toxics

EPA Chief Promises Year of ‘Progress’ To Mark Agency’s 50th Anniversary

Tuesday, December 3, 2019
To mark the Environmental Protection Agency’s 50th anniversary, agency chief Andrew Wheeler has announced plans for a year-long celebration, promising “to build on our progress for future generations” – a boast that invites skepticism, given the Trump administration’s continued rollback of environmental protections.
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Key Issues: 
Energy
Renewable Energy
Coal, Natural Gas and Nuclear
Water

EWG Hires Jamie Konopacky, Environmental Attorney, as New Midwest Office Director

Tuesday, December 3, 2019
The Environmental Working Group has hired environmental attorney Jamie Konopacky as EWG’s Midwest director, based in Minneapolis, to strengthen and expand EWG’s work at the state and local level in the region.
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Navy Asks To Delay Landmark PFAS Case in Federal Court

Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Last week, the Navy asked a federal court to delay a lawsuit seeking to require the military to pay for medical monitoring of people who live near naval installations to determine whether they have developed health problems from exposure to fluorinated chemicals, commonly called PFAS.
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Key Issues: 
Toxics
PFAS Chemicals
Water

Trump EPA Ignores Worker Safety in Decision on Paint-Stripper Chemical

Friday, November 22, 2019
The EPA announced today it will allow methylene chloride, a dangerous chemical that can kill a person on contact, to remain an ingredient in paint-stripper products for commercial use while banning those products for sale to consumers.
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Key Issues: 
Toxics
Consumer Products

Pentagon Admits it Undercounted Military Bases Contaminated with ‘Forever Chemicals’

Thursday, November 21, 2019
The number of military installations and adjacent communities likely contaminated with toxic fluorinated chemicals, or PFAS, is higher than previously disclosed, a top Defense Department official admitted – but the Pentagon can’t say how badly it undercounted contaminated sites.
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Key Issues: 
Toxics
PFAS Chemicals
Water

Trump EPA Quashes Chemical Safety Rule to Ease ‘Burden’ on Industry

Thursday, November 21, 2019
The Environmental Protection Agency today repealed major safety requirements for chemical, agro-chemical and petroleum plants, which President Obama’s administration put in place to protect workers and people who live near more than 12,000 such facilities across the nation.
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Key Issues: 
Toxics

‘Forever Chemicals' Found in Half of Drinking Water Systems Tested in Kentucky

Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Half of the tap water supplies tested by Kentucky environmental officials were contaminated with the toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS, the state announced this week.
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Key Issues: 
Toxics
PFAS Chemicals
Water

House Democrats Push To Expand, Extend Renewable Energy Tax Credits

Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Democratic members of the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday released details of a legislative proposal to extend and expand federal tax incentives designed to combat climate change by further boosting investments in renewable energy.
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Key Issues: 
Energy
Renewable Energy
Clean Energy and You
Federal and State Policy

House Energy & Commerce Panel Considers Sweeping PFAS Package

Wednesday, November 20, 2019
The House Energy and Commerce Committee will consider a package of bills today addressing risks from the highly toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS.
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Key Issues: 
Toxics
Asbestos
PFAS Chemicals
Water

Dark Waters: Mark Ruffalo Urges Congress To Clean Up ‘Forever Chemicals’

Tuesday, November 19, 2019
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/10/magazine/the-lawyer-who-became-dupont... , producer and environmental activist Mark Ruffalo joined Environmental Working Group, other public interest groups and advocates on Capitol Hill today in calling on Congress to protect Americans from toxic "forever chemicals" that contaminate drinking water, food, personal care products and more than 1,000 communities nationwide.
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Key Issues: 
Toxics
PFAS Chemicals
Water
Tap Water

Trump EPA to Weaken Safeguards of Pesticide Linked to Birth Defects, Cancer

Friday, November 15, 2019
The Trump administration announced in a document posted Thursday that it plans to weaken environmental safeguards for atrazine, a weedkilling pesticide linked to birth defects and cancer in humans.
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Key Issues: 
Toxics
Pesticides
Water
Tap Water

Court: Trump EPA Acted ‘Unlawfully’ in Refusing To Consider Legacy Use of Asbestos, Lead

Friday, November 15, 2019
A federal court on Thursday ruled the Trump EPA acted “unlawfully” when the agency refused to consider “legacy” uses of toxic substances like asbestos and lead when reviewing health risks under a revamped chemicals safety law signed by President Obama.
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Key Issues: 
Toxics
Asbestos
Lead

Report: Trump EPA To Limit Science for Chemical, Air, Water Safety Standards

Tuesday, November 12, 2019
The Environmental Protection Agency has broadened the scope of a proposed rule that will dramatically limit the scientific and medical research the agency considers when crafting chemical, air and drinking water standards, according to a report by The New York Times .
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Key Issues: 
Water

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