Latest Pollution Headlines

All the headlines from our Pollution Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Company Settles for $250K Over Hazardous Waste Claims at California Facility

Nov 18 2024 // The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement with a firm over claims of violations of hazardous waste regulations at the company’s facility in Irvine, California. Edwards Lifesciences LLC will pay...

PepsiCo Beats New York State’s ‘Predatory’ Lawsuit Over Plastics Pollution

Nov 4 2024 // PepsiCo won the dismissal of New York’s lawsuit accusing the beverage and snack-food company of polluting the environment with single-use plastic packaging, as the judge criticized the state’s attorney general,...

Los Angeles County Sues PepsiCo and Coca-Cola Over Plastic Pollution

Nov 1 2024 // Los Angeles County has sued beverage makers PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, accusing them of polluting the most populous U.S. county with plastic bottles and misleading the public about the environmental impact and recyclability of...

Toxic Waste That Set Off Global Outcry Seized by Albania’s Prosecutors

Oct 30 2024 // Albanian prosecutors ordered that containers filled with suspected hazardous industrial waste be seized after the cargo was forced to return to Europe from Southeast Asia.The prosecutors’ order Sunday directed...

Georgia County to Sue BioLab Over Chemical Fire and Toxic Fumes

Oct 25 2024 // CONYERS, Ga. (AP) โ€” A Georgia county is preparing a federal lawsuit that aims to shut down the BioLab chemical factory where a fire sent a toxic chemical cloud over Atlanta’s suburbs last month, the latest in a...

Tennessee Pollution Exclusion Confusion: Courts Differ But Clauses Can Apply

Oct 23 2024 // Insurers often include exclusions within their liability policies to prohibit coverage for claims arising out of pollution exposure. The exact wording of the exclusion can differ significantly, but the key issue is whether...

Walmart to Pay $7.5M to Resolve California Hazardous Waste Charges

Oct 23 2024 // Walmart will pay $7.5 million to resolve charges that the largest U.S. retailer illegally disposed of hazardous and medical waste from its facilities into California municipal landfills.The settlement was announced on...

Supreme Court Allows EPA Power Plant Pollution Curbs for Now

Oct 17 2024 // The US Supreme Court let the Environmental Protection Agency move ahead with its stringent new emissions limits for power plants, rebuffing businesses and Republican-run states that complained the rule will impose...

EPA Proposes $4.2M Settlement Related to 2019 Explosion at Philadelphia Refinery

Oct 10 2024 // The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached a tentative $4.2 settlement with a firm that owned and operated a major East Coast refinery that was shuttered after an explosion and fire in 2019.The deal with...

Court Reviews Civil Rights Lawsuit Alleging Environmental Racism in Louisiana Parish

Oct 9 2024 // NEW ORLEANS (AP) โ€” A federal appellate court is reviewing a civil rights lawsuit alleging a south Louisiana parish engaged in racist land-use policies to place polluting industries in majority-Black communities.The Fifth...

California Household Goods Seller to Pay EPA $250K for Unregistered Disinfectants

Oct 9 2024 // The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency got a settlement from Gardena, California-based U.S. Jaclean Inc. over claims of illegal distribution or sale of unregistered and misbranded disinfectants and other pesticide...

How Texas Weakened Its Own Air Pollution Monitoring Team

Oct 8 2024 // When disaster affects the sprawling industrial complexes of Texas, the state’s environmental authority often posts pictures online of its white vans patrolling public streets, verifying the local air is safe to...

Environmental Group Turns to Oyster Shells to Rebuild Sinking Louisiana Coastline

Oct 3 2024 // Jonathan Phillips says he thinks about Louisiana’s disappearing coastline every day.As a commercial fisherman and member of the Atakapa-Ishak/Chawasha tribe, he sees water levels rising in Plaquemines Parish...

Federal Agency Resumes Sending Hazardous Waste to Michigan From Ohio

Oct 1 2024 // VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) โ€” A federal agency said it has resumed sending hazardous waste to a Michigan landfill from Ohio while communities in suburban Detroit continue their legal fight to bar waste from a World...

Residents in East Palestine Express Distrust Over EPA’s Reporting Practices After Train Derailment

Sep 30 2024 // The way the Environmental Protection Agency has reported its test results since a Norfolk Southern train derailed and officials released and burned chemicals that spewed a toxic cloud over East Palestine, Ohio, makes it...

British Water Companies Fight $2 Billion Lawsuits Over Sewage Pollution

Sep 24 2024 // Six British water companies under-reported sewage discharges and overcharged millions of customers up to 1.5 billion pounds ($2 billion) as a result, lawyers bringing a landmark lawsuit told a London tribunal on Monday.The...

Environmental Groups, California Sue Exxon Over Global Plastic Pollution

Sep 24 2024 // California and several environmental groups sued Exxon Mobil on Monday and accused the oil giant of engaging in a decades-long campaign that helped fuel global plastic waste pollution.Speaking at an event during Climate...

Environmental Activist ClientEarth Sues Germany Over Pesticides Use

Sep 23 2024 // Environmental activist charity ClientEarth launched a lawsuit against Germany on Friday to push Berlin to implement an EU law to limit pesticide use in farming, the group said on Friday.The group said in a statement...

Methane Emissions Still Rising After Pledges to Curb Pollution

Sep 23 2024 // Methane releases from some of the world’s major fossil fuel hubs are continuing to rise, as key polluters make little progress on pledges to curb the potent greenhouse gas.Emissions of the gas across 13 large fossil...

Environmental Group Sues Tyson Foods for Alleged False Climate Claims

Sep 19 2024 // An environmental group is suing Tyson Foods for allegedly misleading consumers by saying it will reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and marketing climate-friendly beef without meaningful plans to achieve those goals.The suit...