The Trump administration has moved to rewrite rules designed to prevent disasters at thousands of chemical facilities across the country. The Environmental Protection Agency filed a motion in federal court on Thursday pulling back the safety regulations, introduced last year under former president Joe Biden. The rules, which took effect in May, require sites that…
The Trump administration plans to drop a federal lawsuit against a chemical manufacturer accused of releasing high levels of a likely carcinogen from its Louisiana plant, according to two people familiar with the plans. The government filed the lawsuit during the Biden administration after regulators determined that chloroprene emissions from the Denka Performance Elastomer plant…
A year ago, France embarked on an ambitious goal: To craft the world’s widest ranging ban on the use of harmful “forever chemicals” in everyday products. On Friday, that effort culminated in a national ban on PFAS that environmental and health experts hailed as a big step forward, with one notable exception. After campaigning by…
Tea leaves pull heavy metals from water, significantly lowering the amount of lead and other dangerous compounds that people may be unknowingly drinking, a new study found. Recent research has highlighted potential applications for used tea leaves, from biofuels to gluten-free cookies. But the new study shows a public health benefit from something that countless…
Formaldehyde, the chemical of choice for undertakers and embalmers, is also used in products like furniture and clothes. But it can also cause cancer and severe respiratory problems. So, in 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency began a new effort to regulate it. The chemicals industry fought back with an intensity that astonished even seasoned agency…
A Texas county is taking steps to declare a state of emergency and seek federal assistance over farmland contaminated with harmful “forever chemicals,” as concerns grow over the safety of fertilizer made from sewage. Johnson County, south of Fort Worth, has been roiled since county investigators found high levels of chemicals called PFAS, or per-…
The warnings, on thousands of products sold in California, are stark. “Use of the following products,” one label says, “will expose you to chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm.” Now, new research shows the warnings may be working. A study published Wednesday in the journal…
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to demote career employees who oversee scientific research, the enforcement of pollution laws, hazardous waste cleanup and the agency’s human resources department and replace them with political appointees, according to two people familiar with the approach. The move would give Trump administration loyalists more influence over aspects of the agency…
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to demote career employees who oversee scientific research, the enforcement of pollution laws, hazardous waste cleanup and the agency’s human resources department and replace them with political appointees, according to two people familiar with the approach. The move would give Trump administration loyalists more influence over aspects of the agency…
President Trump is stocking the Environmental Protection Agency with officials who have served as lawyers and lobbyists for the oil and chemical industries, many of whom worked in his first administration to weaken climate and pollution protections. Lee Zeldin, Mr. Trump’s choice to lead the E.P.A., has little experience with environmental policy. He will be…
