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Press Release September 18, 2023

Health and Environmental Justice Advocates Sue EPA to Force Action on Overdue Toxic Chemical Reviews

EPA missed its deadlines to evaluate twenty-two toxic chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act

Press Release September 18, 2023

Environmental Groups Sue EPA to Limit Cancerous Air Pollution from Chemical Manufacturing Plants

Plants manufacturing polyether polyols release the carcinogen ethylene oxide and are concentrated in Texas, West Virginia, and Louisiana

In the News: Miami Herald September 2, 2023

We deserve a zero-waste future, not another incineration nightmare

An opinion piece by Dominique Burkhardt (attorney in the Florida office of Earthjustice) and Dr. Selma Garcia (resident of Doral and a member of the grassroots advocacy organization Florida Rising).

Press Release August 25, 2023

After Almost a Decade of Missed Deadlines, EPA Ordered to Finalize Ethylene Oxide Regulations

Vulnerable communities were exposed to this aggressive carcinogen for years waiting for agency action. EPA must now right this wrong.

Document August 24, 2023

EtO Consent Decree

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a consent decree mandating the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to finalize much-needed updates to ethylene oxide regulations by March 1, 2024. This court-enforced deadline comes as a result of years of tireless advocacy from communities across the country and a corresponding lawsuit filed by Earthjustice on behalf of California Communities Against Toxics, Clean Power Lake County, Rio Grande International Study Center, Sierra Club, and Union of Concerned Scientists.

In Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley, a cemetery stands in stark contrast to the chemical plants that surround it.
(Photo by Julie Dermansky)
feature August 24, 2023

How Big Oil is Using Toxic Chemicals as a Lifeline – and How We Can Stop It

Petrochemicals are an environmental and public health disaster. What you need to know.

From the Experts August 24, 2023

EPA announces that cleaning up coal ash will be a top priority for enforcement

EPA acknowledges widespread noncompliance from coal-fired power plant owners.

Document August 22, 2023

Lead Wheel Weights Petition (Aug 2023)

Public health advocates represented by Earthjustice today sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its unreasonable delay in regulating lead wheel weights, despite granting the advocates’ 2009 petition requesting regulation of the manufacture, processing, and distribution of lead wheel weights.

In the News: CAL Matters August 22, 2023

Hidden Hazards: Toxic Waste in California

Angela Johnson Meszaros, Managing Attorney, Community Partnerships Program, Earthjustice: “It can’t be that a system that’s held together at best by bubble gum and baling wire is the thing that we’re doing in a developed nation to manage hazardous waste.”

A youth scientist who spoke to the U.S. EPA to ask the agency to ban lead wheel weights holds up a fragmented part of a lead wheel weight found a block from the U.S. EPA building along Constitution Ave., in Washington D.C. (Matt Roth for Earthjustice)
Press Release August 22, 2023

Advocates Declare ‘No More Delay,’ Sue EPA for Stalled Lead Wheel Weight Regulation

Millions of pounds of lead wheel weights contaminate the environment, exposing people to a highly toxic heavy metal

A bald eagle lands in the snow at the edge of the Chilkat River, near Haines, Alaska. In this area is the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, where thousands of bald eagles gather to feast on the last runs of coho and chum salmon—a globally unique phenomenon. (Sergei Uryadnikov / Getty Images)
Press Release August 21, 2023

State of Alaska Upholds Weak Mining Wastewater Permit While Requiring Additional Safeguards for Water Quality in the Chilkat River Watershed

In a partial win for the Chilkat Indian Village, salmon and conservation groups, additional water quality analysis is now required to safeguard against mining

Document August 21, 2023

Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Decision, Palmer Project Mining Waste Management Permit for Exploratory Drilling

In a final agency decision issued on an administrative appeal, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) upheld a flawed waste management permit for exploratory drilling at the Palmer Project mine in Southeast Alaska while also determining that more work must be done to ensure Alaska’s water quality standards are not exceeded due to wastewater from the mining project.

In the News: KALB August 15, 2023

Colfax Community Group Sues LDEQ Over Clean Harbors Permit Renewal

Thein Chau, Attorney, Community Partnerships, Program, Earthjustice: “Under the law, there are minimum requirements that hazardous waste incinerators need to meet, and they can’t go any lower. LDEQ failed to apply the law correctly despite the clear language.”

A coho salmon spawning in an Oregon river. (Bureau of Land Management)
Press Release August 15, 2023

Fishing Industry Groups Notify Tire Companies of Intent to Sue Over 6PPD Impacts to Salmon, Steelhead

6PPD interacts with ground-level ozone to create the highly toxic 6PPD-q

Document August 15, 2023

60-Day Notice: 6PPD in Tires

The Institute for Fisheries Resources (IFR) and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA) notified U.S. tire manufacturers of their intent to sue over the use of a chemical called 6PPD in rubber tires because of its devastating impacts on Endangered Species Act (ESA)-protected salmon and steelhead.

Lead-based paint disintegrates over time and contaminates dust throughout homes or schools; lead in soil around these buildings also leads to children’s exposure. (M.R. / CC BY-ND 2.0)
Update August 4, 2023

EPA Proposes New Rule That Would Help Protect Kids from Lead Dust

After a decades-long battle, the EPA has proposed a rule that would deem any amount of lead dust found in schools, daycares, and homes to be a “lead hazard.”

Coho salmon returning from its years at sea to spawn, seen near the Suquamish Tribe's Grovers Creek Hatchery. 
(K. King / USFWS)
Article August 1, 2023

What’s Killing the Salmon in Our Urban Streams? A Mystery is Now Solved.

A chemical called 6PPD that’s found in tires is devastating aquatic life.

Coho salmon returning from its years at sea to spawn, seen near the Suquamish Tribe's Grovers Creek Hatchery. 
(K. King / USFWS)
Press Release August 1, 2023

Tribes Petition Environmental Protection Agency to Ban Toxic Chemical from Tires

Water contamination from 6PPD use in tires imperils salmon recovery