Pollution

"TOKYO -- A crisis over contaminated water at Japan's stricken nuclear plant worsened on Saturday when the plant's operator said it had detected high radiation levels near storage tanks, a finding that raised the possibility of additional leaks."

"Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday pledged $90 million for a new bridge along historic Tamiami Trail, a project that promises to restore natural water flow to part of the Everglades and ease -- at least eventually -- unnatural Lake Okeechobee releases now fouling two coastal rivers."

"Mercury found in high levels in deep Pacific Ocean fish such as swordfish has a chemical fingerprint, and it implicates coal-burning power plants in Asia, according to a new study."

"DETROIT -- Remaining mounds of petroleum coke have been removed from the Detroit riverfront ahead of a city-imposed deadline but more time is needed to haul construction materials away from the sites, according to a storage company."

"The 53,000 water utilities in the United States deliver some of the safest drinking water in the world — a public health victory of unrivaled success that began in 1908 with chlorination campaigns in Jersey City and Chicago. Still, millions of individual cases of waterborne diseases occur annually and related hospitalization costs approach $1 billion each year. In 2007 and 2008, the most recent years for which figures are available, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 164 waterborne disease outbreaks, almost entirely from protozoan cysts of the parasite Cryptosporidium."

"Detroit is already failing its citizens. Climate change is compounding the woe. With downpours up 45 percent in the past 50 years, the city's outdated sewer system can't handle the flow."

"Maryland officials pulled back a proposed regulation Monday aimed at reducing farm runoff polluting the Chesapeake Bay after chicken growers warned it could cripple the state's lucrative poultry industry if imposed now."

"WATERFLOW — The sickness came in increments, a slow onslaught of weight loss, stomach pain and extreme diarrhea."

"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Obama administration officials on Friday proposed to update the federal government's 42-year-old exposure limits for silica dust, a move the Labor Department said would prevent 700 deaths and 1,600 new cases of silicosis every year. The proposal would provide new protections for 2.2 million American workers, cutting in half the legal limit for dust exposure on the job."

"California public health officials suggest limiting hexavalent chromium in drinking water to 10 parts per billion. Environmentalists say that's not nearly strict enough."