PROTECTING ACCESS TO ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION

RTKnet: Notifications

New Oil Spill in the Gulf, Or More of the Usual Pollution? (Save Our Gulf)

There are reports of a potential new oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The Coast Guard is investigating.

(21 Mar 2011)

Drinking Chrome – New Studies Expose Threats to Tap Water (OMB Watch)

A new health study found drinking water in 31 out of 35 U.S. cities contaminated by hexavalent chromium. Another study found that hexavalent chromium, a known carcinogen when inhaled and a suspected carcinogen when ingested, often contaminates water leaching from coal ash impoundments. The revelations expose the need for greater monitoring of public drinking water and stronger protections against contamination.

(23 Feb 2011)

EPA Develops Software to Secure Nation's Water Supply (EPA)

The EPA and DOE have developed free water quality software to enhance a water system's ability to detect contaminants, such as pesticides, metals, and pathogens, able to distinguish between natural variation in water quality and hazardous contamination. The EPA's Office of Research and Development stated "This cutting-edge technology helps to protect all Americans...and allows water utilities to quickly advise customers when their water is not safe to drink."

(05 Aug 2010)

NRDC Is Testing the Waters for Health Risks (NRDC)

The NRDC's annual survey of water quality and public notification at U.S. beaches found that aging and poorly designed sewage treatment systems and contaminated stormwater are polluting beachwater, which can cause skin rashes, pink eye, respiratory infections, hepatitis, and meningitis in beach goers. The NRDC is also pushing Congress to pass the Clean Coastal Environment and Public Health Act, which would require states to use rapid water testing methods and fund research to identify sources of beachwater pollution.

(30 Jul 2010)

TAKE ACTION - Tell Your Representatives To Support the FRAC Act (Food & Water Watch)

Companies that are threatening our drinking water with hydraulic fracturing can't be held accountable under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and they don't have to disclose the 596 chemicals that they are injecting into the ground. Ask your representative to close the loophole and require companies to disclose the chemicals they are using by passing the FRAC Act.

(15 Jul 2010)

New Online Mapping Tool for Oil Spill Data (Unified Command for the BP Oil Spill)

Described as a "one-stop shop for detailed near-real-time information about the response to the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill," NOAA has launched a new website: www.geoplatform.gov/gulfresponse/, that provides an interactive map incorporating data from the various agencies responding to the spill.

(16 Jun 2010)

Wyoming Approves Hydraulic Fracturing Disclosure Rules (The Associated Press)

The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission approved a regulation requiring energy companies to reveal the chemicals they use in hydraulic fracturing. Energy companies were concerned that disclosing the chemicals in fracking fluid would hurt their competitiveness. However, Steven Jones of the Wyoming Outdoor Council affirmed, "It's going to be important for landowners and the public to get access to that information, to know what fluids they are using," particularly in the event of groundwater contamination.

(09 Jun 2010)

As Cleanup Nears, Neighbors of Price's Pit Superfund Site Still Worry About Long-Term Health Effects (Atlantic-City Pleasantville Brigantine)

Nearly thirty years after describing a New Jersey landfill as "the most serious environmental problem in the United States," the EPA plans to begin cleanup of the Superfund site in August. For years, local residents uknowingly consumed contaminated water and are now concerned about the link between the polluted groundwater and their health problems.

(08 Jun 2010)

New Estimates of Oil Spill Much Greater Than Original (USGS)

According to an expert panel, "the independent analysis of the Flow Rate Technical Group has determined that the overall best initial estimate for the lower and upper boundaries of flow rates of oil is in the range of 12,000 and 19,000 barrels per day." Accurate information on the BP spill has been hard to come by, as shown by the initial estimates that 5,000 barrels per day were spewing into the Gulf.

(27 May 2010)

How Toxic Are Dispersants Being Used In Gulf Oil Spill? (USA Today)

The two "dispersants" now being dumped onto the Gulf oil spill are banned in the UK; and more effective and less toxic alternatives exist. Information on the toxicitiy, ingredients, and health impacts of the dispersants is either unkown or being kept secret.

(20 May 2010)