New California rules aimed at curbing the surprising amount of pollution coming from leaf blowers, lawn mowers and other small gas-powered machines cleared a final hurdle Monday, and are set to take effect on Jan. 1.
The requirements mark another step in the state’s long-running battle to reduce emissions from a category of small engines that have come to rival cars as a source of smog-forming pollution.
Exxon Mobil Corp. and the federal government have settled a case arising from the company being charged with violating the Clean Air Act due to air pollution violations at eight petrochemical plants in Texas and Louisiana.
News sources say the company has agreed to pay a $2.5 million civil penalty related the violations and spend approximately $300 million to install new equipment to improve operation and monitoring of industrial flares at the facilities.
The EPA’s announcement yesterday that it is reversing its decision to delay for one year designation of areas not meeting the 2015 ozone standards is being met with approval by the American Lung Association, American Public Health Association and American Thoracic Society.
Maryland state senator Richard S. Madaleno, Jr (D-District 18) has introduced a measure calling for stricter monitoring of air pollutants emitted by factory farms, also known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs).
The American Public Health Association (APHA) is voicing strong opposition to an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that directs federal agencies to eliminate two public protections for every new rule put in place.
Releases of toxic chemicals into the air fell 56% from 2005-2015 at industrial facilities submitting data to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) National Analysis, according to the EPA.
The recently released report shows an 8% decrease from 2014 to 2015 at facilities reporting to the program contributed to this ten-year decline. Hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, toluene and mercury were among chemicals with significantly lower air releases at TRI-covered facilities.
In its annual ‘State of the Air’ report for 2016, the American Lung Association reports that despite the continued improvement in air quality, there are still over 166 million Americans at risk of averse health effects on account of unhealthy air throughout the country.
Mercury and Lead Pollution from Mining-
More than two million people globally are affected by mining and ore processing. These mining sites provide various minerals and metals to produce variety of products and minerals. The most hazardous chemicals that are found near these sites are lead, chromium, asbestos, arsenic, cadmium and mercury.
The EPA has selected the City of Baltimore and the Lafayette, Louisiana, Consolidated Government as awardees of the Smart City Air Challenge. The challenge encourages communities to install hundreds of air quality sensors and share the data with the public.
Climate-related occupational hazards have historically received little attention. In 2009, NIOSH began work to address this gap and developed a framework to identify climate-related occupational hazards.