The agency would add slightly more acreage to the lists of sensitive land and water areas where fire retardant could be dropped only in cases where human life or public safety is threatened. There would be no significant changes in the formula of the retardant, or the general strategy used to determine when and where it's appropriate to drop retardant.
'U.S. EPA has still not implemented recommendations from the agency's inspector general that stretch as far back as 2001, according to a recent IG review.'
'Indian children play on the sloping face of a man-made mountain of mining detritus. Factory workers toil in a blizzard of white fibre with little or no protection. These are just some of the disturbing daily scenes in India where asbestos is a booming building product.'
'Scientists Increasingly Link Vehicle Exhaust With Brain-Cell Damage, Higher Rates of Autism'
Universities like Penn State take money from gas and oil companies to do research on the Marcellus Shale, raising issues about conflict of interest. The universities' secrecy makes it worse.
An independent EPA science panel has taken issue with EPA's longstanding conclusion that Atrazine, the second most widely used pesticide on US farms, is not likely to cause cancer.
'About one tenth of China's farmland is polluted by lead, zinc and other heavy metals to 'striking' levels exceeding official limits, a government expert said according to reports on Monday.'
'Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the passing of her government's carbon tax is a major milestone in Australia's efforts to cut carbon pollution.'
'The State Department's inspector general will conduct a special investigation of the handling of the pending decision on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline in response to reports of improper pressure on policy makers and possible conflicts of interest, according to documents released on Monday.'
'A 300-square-mile portion of the Pine Island Glacier is expected to break off in the next few months, creating a massive Antarctic iceberg. The glacier is contributing the sea-level rise.'
