In response to a court order, the U.S. EPA finalized on December 14, 2012 an update to its national air quality standards for harmful fine particle pollution (PM2.5), setting the annual health standard at 12 micrograms per cubic meter. This announcement has no effect on the existing daily standard for fine particles or the existing daily standard for coarse particles (PM10)…

The EPA released its annual national analysis of the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for 2010 on January 5, 2012. The TRI program publishes information on toxic chemical disposals and other releases into the air, land, and water, as well as information on waste management and pollution prevention activities in neighborhoods across the country. Total releases including disposals for the latest reporting year, 2010, are higher than the previous two years but lower than 2007 and prior year totals . . .

Ongoing concerns about the potential impact of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on drinking water have pushed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to investigate public concerns in light of the growing importance of natural gas in the clean energy future of the United States.  On 23 June 2011, the EPA announced plans to conduct a draft
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The U.S. EPA released the final health assessment for trichloroethylene (TCE) to the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database. The final assessment characterizes TCE as carcinogenic to humans and as a human noncancer health hazard. According to the EPA, this assessment will allow for a better understanding of the risks posed to communities from exposure to TCE in soil, water, and air. It will provide federal, state, local, and other policymakers with the latest scientific information to make decisions about cleanup and other actions to protect …

This fall, colleges across the United States can compete to see which schools reduce, reuse, and recycle the most waste as part of the U.S. EPA’s 2011 Game Day Challenge. The challenge is for schools to design a waste reduction plan for one 2011 regular season home football game. Registration for the competition is now open, and champions will be crowned this December…

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is making it easier to find data about chemicals. EPA is releasing two databases — the Toxicity Forecaster database (ToxCastDB) and a database of chemical exposure studies (ExpoCastDB) — that scientists and the public can use to access chemical toxicity and exposure data. Improved access supports EPA Administrator
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The USEPA finalized four related air emissions rules in February that will impose new air emission limitations and work practice standards on industrial boilers, process heaters, and incinerators fueled with fossil fuels, biomass, natural gas, producer gas, and solid waste fuels. The new air rules will affect refineries, chemical and manufacturing plants, steel and paper mills, commercial and institutional facilities that provide steam to heat buildings, for example at colleges and universities, and incinerators that burn commercial or industrial solid waste [...]

A pending Information Collection Request (ICR) from the USEPA will require all 152 operating petroleum refineries in the United States to update their air emissions inventories in accordance with the newest protocols and may require them to conduct air emissions testing on an accelerated schedule. NPRA and API estimate that up to 2,000 man-hours per refinery will be required to respond to the ICR. [...]

With cold weather setting in across the northern hemisphere, homeowners are looking for ways to heat their homes while reducing their energy bills. The U.S. EPA’s Energy Star program offers five easy energy saving tips that can help you stay warm while keeping money in your wallet. [...]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has denied a petition calling for a ban on the manufacture, use and processing of lead in fishing gear. The announcement dated November 4, 2010 followed the EPA’s announcement in August that it had denied a petition calling for a ban on the manufacture and distribution of lead ammunition used for hunting. [...]