Chemical Accidents Rise as Trump Admin Proposes Weakening Safety Rules
"Hazardous chemical releases from industrial accidents that injured or killed people increased by nearly 50 percent in recent years."
"Hazardous chemical releases from industrial accidents that injured or killed people increased by nearly 50 percent in recent years."
"Some US lawmakers are rushing to introduce legislation to reverse the impact of a US Supreme Court ruling handed down last week that overturned years of precedent by limiting consumer lawsuits against pesticide companies."
"The Supreme Court has dealt a devastating blow to the Make America Healthy Again Movement by blocking a path for users of the popular Roundup weedkiller to secure payouts from Monsanto for failing to disclose the product’s cancer risk."
“While the movement has long railed against harmful pesticides — such as glyphosate and paraquat — that are sprayed on crops and linked to cancers and other health ills, there is mounting evidence that CAFOs, which generate massive amounts of manure, are linked to some of these same health problems, including increased cancer rates.”
"Although California laws prevent schools and nearby farmers from applying pesticides when students are present, cities are largely an exception. On May 1, Patterson city staff sprayed pesticides at Floragold Park next to Apricot Valley Elementary school while kids were outside."
"The Trump administration will soon propose softening Biden-era limits on “forever chemicals” in drinking water, delaying but keeping tough standards for two common types and rescinding limits on some rarer forms of the substance, according to an EPA official."
"Ted Turner built a media empire, then turned much of his wealth and attention toward land, wildlife, clean energy, and conservation. His vast private landholdings became working examples of restoration, from bison herds and native trout to longleaf pines and red-cockaded woodpeckers."
"More than 12 million people now have Parkinson’s Disease, nearly double the number from just six years ago. From kids who pedaled behind mosquito trucks in the 1950s and ‘60s to veterans exposed to Agent Orange to landscapers and farmers who attribute their Parkinson’s to pesticides, a generation of elders–and increasing numbers of young-onset patients–now suffer from what we didn’t know about chemicals in the 20th Century. "
"Supreme Court justices on Monday appeared skeptical of Monsanto’s argument that federal law prevents state courts from holding the company financially responsible for failing to warn consumers about the risk of cancer from its popular Roundup weedkiller."
"A bill in the Illinois General Assembly would require certified pesticide users—anyone licensed by the Illinois Department of Agriculture to use Restricted Use pesticides, such as paraquat or fumigant insecticides—to give written or emailed notice at least 24 hours before application at any school, child care facility or park located within 1,500 feet of application that opted to receive them."