Pollution

"MORGAN HILL -- Ten years ago this month, community leaders were shocked by the discovery that a company that manufactured road flares here had disposed of toxic chemicals improperly, creating a 10-mile-long underground plume of perchlorate, a chemical used in rocket fuel."

"PORTLAND, Maine -- More than 1,000 people rallied in Portland on Saturday in what was billed as the largest protest yet against the possibility of so-called tar sands oil being piped in from Montreal."

"Two oil barges pushed by a tugboat slammed into a railroad bridge in Vicksburg, Mississippi, on Sunday, causing one to leak crude oil into the Mississippi River, the U.S. Coast Guard said."

"VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Canadian environmental groups today warned that a new proposal by Kinder Morgan pipeline company would "exponentially" raise the risk of a major oil spill in the Salish Sea's most populous region, including the cities of Vancouver and Victoria."

"The Railroad Commission of Texas regulates one of the most advanced industries in the world — oil and gas drilling. Yet the commission's software systems, many of its rules and even its name are from another era."

"SUQUAMISH, Wash. — Stormwater runoff from highways appears to contain one or more unidentified compounds shown to be highly toxic to coho salmon and perhaps other salmon as well."

"The volume of drilling wastes from Pennsylvania’s Marcellus shale is growing and threatening to overwhelm existing waste-handling infrastructure in Ohio and other states, according to a study released Tuesday."

"A landmark report on Portland harbor cleanup alternatives drafted by key harbor property owners last year has 'many deficiencies' and needs 'substantial revision,' the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says."

"A new federal report finds toxic contamination remains widespread in the Chesapeake Bay, with severe impacts in some places, which health and environmental advocates say lends support to their push in Annapolis for legislative action on pesticides and other hazardous chemicals."

"An antibiotic widely used in soaps and cosmetics that mostly goes down the drain is slowly converting to toxins at the bottom of many of Minnesota's lakes and rivers."