Shannon Kelleher

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April 22, 2025

Over 50 million Americans lack access to federal air quality data, study reveals

By Shannon Kelleher

More than half of US counties lack a single federally monitored station for keeping tabs on air quality, meaning more than 50 million Americans (about 15% of the population) live in “air quality monitoring deserts” that lack crucial data for protecting people from harmful pollutants, according to new research.

The findings come as environmental and public health advocates grow increasingly concerned about how recent Trump administration actions will impact air quality and the availability of data and resources for monitoring it.

The study, published April 21 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, used September 2024 data from a US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) directory to pinpoint gaps in air quality monitoring, finding that rural counties and those more heavily populated by minorities were less likely to have monitoring stations.

Air quality monitoring deserts, meaning those without a single monitoring station in the EPA’s database, are “highly concentrated” in the Midwest and the South, the study found. In states with higher populations and more urban areas, including California and Massachusetts, less than 20% of counties lacked monitoring stations, while in more rural states, including Arkansas and South Dakota, about 80% of counties or more lacked monitoring.

In some cases, state and local governments conduct their own air quality monitoring in the absence of federal coverage, which may not necessarily collaborate with the EPA’s monitoring program, according to the study.

“Current gaps in air quality monitoring in the United States have profound implications for communities, research, policy, and climate action,” the authors write. “Based on our findings, there is a need to reevaluate current air quality monitoring strategies and infrastructure.”

April 18, 2025

Nebraska residents call for tighter insecticide regulations after contamination event

By Shannon Kelleher

More than four years after a massive contamination event tied to pesticide-coated farm seeds rocked a rural Nebraska community, environmental and public health advocates are calling on state officials to remove regulatory exemptions for the coated seeds, and to monitor waterways for the pesticide pollutants.

Supporters of the action have launched a petition drive, and plan to protest at the Nebraska state capitol this weekend as part of an observance of April 22 as Earth Day, and as part of national protests against actions by the Trump administration.

The action reflects persistent frustrations and fears among residents in the area of Mead, Nebraska, the site of a former ethanol plant that used discarded seeds coated with neonicotinoids (neonics) as feedstock and failed to properly dispose of the neonic-laden waste. The plant accumulated thousands of pounds of the waste onsite, failed to prevent it from leaking into waterways, and spread some on farm fields as a soil-conditioner.

Research has shown that neonics, which are types of neurotoxic insecticides, are known to be harmful to insects and a range of species, including potentially humans.

While the contamination crisis in Mead resulted from activities at one plant, the contamination concerns are part of a nationwide battle over neonics and neonic-treated seeds. The seeds are marketed by several of the world’s largest seed companies as tools for farmers to use to repel unwanted insects that threaten crops, and are largely exempted from specific US regulatory oversight.

“This is a window of opportunity where there is some nationwide focus on the issue,” said Janece Mollhoff, an area resident who lives downstream from Mead who is helping lead the petition drive. “We’re not sure if it will change the Governor’s mind, but we do want to raise awareness of the issue with folks in Nebraska. It’s a Big Ag issue and not a partisan issue, necessarily.”

April 15, 2025

Study reveals US hotspots for poor water quality and “water injustice”

By Douglas Main

New research has identified hotspots in the US with concerning levels of water quality and poor access to clean drinking water, revealing that Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Washington had the most water quality violations across the board.

The paper, published Tuesday in the journal Risk Analysis, also developed county-level scores across most of the country for unequal access to safe and clean drinking water, finding that eight of the 10 counties with the worst “water injustice” scores were in Mississippi, with the other two in Texas and South Dakota. Water injustice tends to disproportionately impact low-income households and people of color.

The top 10 counties with the most water violations were located in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Oklahoma.

“You can see some pretty stark differences between states,” said study lead author Alex Segrè Cohen, a social scientist at the University of Oregon. In Arizona, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania, “almost every county has high water violation scores,” she said.

The study also noted that 2 million people in the US lack access to running water or indoor plumbing in their homes. Many of these communities are found on the US-Mexico border, or on tribal land. Another 30 million live “where water systems operate unsafely.”

The findings add to other recent work on water quality in the US, including a trove of data made public in February by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) in their tap water database, which shows widespread pollution of US tap water with more than 320 chemical contaminants, including industrial chemicals and farm-related pollutants.

April 3, 2025

Amid EPA upheaval, states fear losing strong federal limits on PFAS in drinking water

By Shannon Kelleher

With the looming possibility that the Trump administration could reduce federal limits on toxic PFAS chemicals in drinking water, public health advocates are warning that people across the country would suffer.

Concerns for the future of the federal limits come amid ongoing litigation over the federal limits on six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water. A 60-day stay on the litigation granted in February ends Tuesday, after which the Trump administration could seek to make changes to the standards, which were put into place a year ago under the Biden administration.

The Biden-era rule requires public water systems to complete initial monitoring for the PFAS chemicals by 2027, and to implement technologies for reducing PFAS in their water by 2029 if levels exceed the limit.

The nation’s first legally enforceable limits for PFAS in drinking water include limits of 4 parts per trillion (ppt) for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). PFOA has been classified as carcinogenic and PFOS has been classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans by an international cancer research group.

The rule has drawn widespread opposition from public utilities, which could face substantial costs for implementing new technologies, and penalties for failing to do so.

The American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) sued the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last June contending that the EPA broke the law when it established the limits.

The groups argue that the agency violated the Safe Drinking Water Act by cutting the rulemaking process short and failed to consider critical data.

March 31, 2025

PFAS found in household dust near North Carolina chemical plant

By Shannon Kelleher

Residues of harmful industrial chemicals, including some phased out of production 20 years ago, have been found in household dust in research that shows exposure risks go beyond contaminated food and water, according to a study published Monday.

The study analyzed kitchen dust collected in 2019 from 65 households in an area of North Carolina near a plant owned by DuPont spin-off company Chemours, looking for 48 types of toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The researchers identified at least one type of PFAS in every sample, with higher concentrations of the chemicals in homes located closer to the facility.

Twelve of the PFAS chemicals the researchers detected were per- and polyfluoroalkyl ether acids [PFEAs], a subset of PFAS chemicals had previously been found in the plant’s air emissions or wastewater. All were detected at least once in the dust samples, with seven found in more than three-quarters of all samples. The researchers also found high levels of PFAS chemicals not necessarily linked to the plant in over 90% of samples.

“The detection of PFEAs [per- and polyfluoroalkyl ether acids, a subset of PFAS chemicals] in residential dust is important considering growing evidence of PFEA toxicity,” the authors wrote in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. “Our findings demonstrate the need for more rigorous exposure monitoring of dust in homes in PFAS impacted communities and more work to identify sources of ultrashort chain PFAS.”

Out of the 65 households, nine reported having at least one participant who had ever worked at the nearby chemical plant, the researchers said.

March 30, 2025

Federal hearing to take up hotly debated issue of wetlands protections

By Shannon Kelleher

In a court hearing that could have implications for the fate of federal protections for US wetlands, lawyers for an Iowa farmland owner will face off on Monday against the federal government and environmental advocates over the constitutionality of the Farm Bill’s hotly debated “Swampbuster” law.

The hearing in the case pits CTM Holdings LLC against the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and several organizations that intervened in the case in support of USDA, and addresses a provision of the US Farm Bill dealing with wetlands management.

First introduced by Congress in 1985 after more than half of all US wetlands had been drained or filled, the provision prohibits farmers from using designated wetlands on their property if they want to be eligible for crop insurance subsidies, farm loans and other federal benefits.

The measures aims to prevent farmers from draining, filling in or otherwise altering wetlands, which provide critical habitats for fish and waterfowl, help mitigate flooding and sequester carbon. The provision currently protects about three-quarters of remaining wetlands in the contiguous US – at least 78 million acres.

CTM and supporting organizations are challenging Swampbuster, arguing that the provision violates farmers’ Fifth Amendment rights because it amounts to a taking of private property without just compensation and exceeds the federal government’s authority.

CTM owns a 71-acre parcel of land that includes 9 acres deemed wetlands by the government, but argues that the land in question is dry and not connected to any water source. Regardless, CTM is not allowed to farm the land in question without putting USDA benefits at risk, the plaintiffs argue.

March 24, 2025

Dissolving EPA’s research arm may jeopardize toxic chemical protections

By Shannon Kelleher

The Trump administration’s plan to eliminate the entire research arm of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would have devastating impacts on toxic chemical research, destabilizing infrastructure that forms the scientific backbone of regulations that protect people and the environment, according to former agency leaders.

The move to dissolve the EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD), first reported by The New York Times last week, would stagnate new environmental regulations for years to come, the former EPA officials claim.

The ORD, which employs more than 1,000 scientists, operates six research programs that work to inform policy making on a range of environmental issues, including air and water quality, climate concerns, and chemical safety. ORD research topics include chemicals such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), pesticides, greenhouse gases and health-harming soot.

The administration reportedly plans to cut 75% of ORD’s staff and to relocate those left to other parts of the agency.

“What it means is that any child born in 2025 will grow up in an environment that has more contaminated air, more contaminated water, and more contaminated land than any previous generation that was born after the 1970s,” when Congress put in place major environmental statutes, said Betsy Southerland, a former EPA senior scientist and a director in the agency’s Office of Water. “Any new administration that comes in, it will take them years to rebuild that scientific expertise and capability,” she said.

If the Trump administration dismantles the EPA’s research office and rolls back existing environmental rules, it could force the nation into a fragmented, state-by-state regulatory approach reminiscent of a pre-1970s era when city air was thick with smog and oil-coated rivers caught fire, said Southerland.

March 20, 2025

Past greenhouse gas emissions may raise sea levels by nearly two feet, study finds

By Dana Drugmand

Heat-trapping emissions released over more than a century and a half by the world’s largest fossil fuel and cement producers are projected to cause global sea levels to rise about one to two feet through the year 2300, even if future emissions are drastically cut, according to new peer-reviewed research.

The study, published March 18 in the journal Environmental Research Letters, is the first to measure how past greenhouses gas emissions from fossil fuel companies may contribute to future long-term sea level rise, one of the consequences of human-caused climate change, according to the authors.

“This research contributes to the growing body of work that quantifies how fossil fuel producers’ past emissions will harm future generations,” Delta Merner, co-author of the study and associate director of the Science Hub for Climate Litigation at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in a statement. “Island and coastal communities will bear the disproportionate brunt of the impacts of sea level rise over time, including infrastructure damage, habitat loss, saltwater intrusion, increased flooding, economic burdens and forced displacements.”

The researchers also found that nearly half (37% to 58%) of present-day surface air temperature rise and about one-third (24% to 37%) of global mean sea level rise to date can be attributed to the historical emissions of the 122 biggest oil, gas, coal, and cement producers, known as the ‘Carbon Majors.’ The study builds on previous analyses examining how emissions stemming from these companies’ products contribute to climate change impacts including surface warming, sea level rise, and drying conditions that help fuel wildfires.

March 19, 2025

California bill aims to phase out harmful ultra-processed school foods

By Shannon Kelleher

As states across the country move to ban food dyes, California lawmakers on March 19 introduced the first bill in the nation that would phase out certain ultra-processed foods from school meals.

If signed into law, Assembly Bill 1264 would establish the first statutory definition of what qualifies as an ultra-processed food and would direct state scientists to work with university experts to identify particularly harmful products, which would then be removed from school cafeterias by 2032.

“We have not done enough to protect [children] from ultra-processed foods and beverages that have far more in common with a cigarette than they do a fruit or vegetable,” Ashley Gearhardt, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan and director of the school’s Food Addiction Science & Treatment Lab, said on a March 19 press call.

AB 1264 is a “courageous step forward” towards treating ultra-processed foods like the serious health threats they are, said Gearhardt.

To identify which ultra-processed foods should be eliminated from school offerings, scientists will consider whether a product includes additives that are banned elsewhere, whether it has been linked to health harms, whether it has been show to contribute to food addiction, and whether it contains excessive fat, sugar or salt, California Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, one of the lawmakers who introduced the bill, said on the call.

The scientists will be required to publish a first report outlining this subcategory of especially harmful ultra-processed foods by July 1, 2026, said Gabriel, and will be required to update the list every two years as research on these foods evolves.

The bill was embraced by both Democrat and Republican lawmakers, added Gabriel. “Protecting our kids from harm is, and always should be, a bipartisan issue,” he said

March 14, 2025

Decision to axe advisory groups could spell trouble for US food safety

By Shannon Kelleher

A Trump administration move to axe key food safety advisory committees could leave the public more vulnerable to food-borne illnesses, critics fear, particularly alongside current legislative efforts to undermine proposed safety regulations on food processors.

The decision to cut the committees, which brought together academics, industry researchers and consumer advocates to advise agencies on food safety, comes after hospitalizations and deaths from foodborne illnesses more than doubled last year, with most illnesses attributed to the same harmful pathogens that the groups were working to address. And it comes less than a month after Republican lawmakers introduced legislation that would block the implementation of a proposed new regulatory framework for reducing Salmonella contamination in raw poultry that was introduced under former President Joe Biden.

“It doesn’t appear that this administration at the highest level seems to care about food safety,” said Michael Hansen, a senior staff scientist for the group Consumer Reports who was serving on the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF).

The USDA announced March 6 that it was terminating NACMCF, which provided scientific advice and recommendations to the USDA, the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on a broad range of issues related to pathogens and public health. The USDA said all work should stop immediately, citing President Donald Trump’s Feb. 19 executive order to pare down the federal bureaucracy.

The agency also terminated the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI), which advised the USDA on the safety of meat and poultry inspection programs.

Elaine Scallan Walter, the co-director of the Colorado Integrated Food Safety Center of Excellence at the Colorado School of Public Health who has not served on either committee, said she was “dismayed” by the decision to eliminate them.