Pollution

Toxic coal-tar liquids from ancient gas-manufacturing plants have been creeping through the soil of the mid-Hudson Valley for more than a century. Cleanup projects may cost some $3 billion.

"In December, the Justice Department announced a settlement in one of the largest environmental bankruptcies in U.S. history. The American Smelting and Refining Company, known as Asarco, will pay a record $1.79 billion to settle claims for hazardous waste pollution at 80 sites in as many as 20 states."

"A drilling technique that is beginning to unlock staggering quantities of natural gas underneath Appalachia also yields a troubling byproduct: powerfully briny wastewater that can kill fish and give tap water a foul taste and odor."

Lake Alice "is one of many water bodies on campus that would be considered impaired under new limits on nutrients proposed earlier this month by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous can cause algal blooms that can be deadly for fish and hazardous to humans."

Millions of gallons of raw and partially treated sewage are spilling into San Francisco Bay in dozens of places.

"Thousands of eastern Coachella Valley residents live in areas that potentially contain hazardous levels of arsenic in their groundwater, a problem officials say could cost millions to remedy."

"General Motors and Delphi Corp. spent 60 years making door and trunk latches, seat-belt fasteners and other metal parts for cars and trucks before shutting the Franklin Township [OH[ factory in 2007."

"A material that’s spread on parking lots and driveways in Jacksonville and nationally may be causing buildups of cancer-causing dust inside some homes, government researchers say."

"The old DuPont munitions plant that left behind a trail of lead and mercury, contaminated soil and water and a plume of toxic vapor still capable of leaking into at least 450 houses. The story has no end in sight."

"The U. S. military is long gone from bases in the Philippines, but its legacy remains buried here. Toxic waste was spilled on the ground, pumped into waterways and buried in landfills for decades at two sprawling Cold War-era bases."