Shannon Kelleher

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October 24, 2024

Pesticides found in 80% of air samples from California farm communities

By Shannon Kelleher

Almost 80% of air samples collected last year in California’s four most agriculture-intensive communities contained pesticide residues, though the concentrations were “unlikely to be harmful to human health,” according to a recently released state regulatory report.

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) collected 207 air samples at stations in Oxnard, Santa Maria, Shafter and Watsonville once a week throughout 2023, finding at least one of the 40 pesticides they tested for in 163 of the samples, according to the results.

The monitoring stations detected a total of 19 different pesticides in the air samples, including the herbicide pendimethalin and the fumigant 1,3-dichloropronene (Telone), which have both been linked to cancer.

These chemicals and others detected by CDPR have also been linked to nausea, shortness of breath, and eye and respiratory irritation.

Despite being banned in 34 countries, Telone is the third-most heavily used pesticide in California, and CDPR has been criticized for failing to implement regulations that adequately protect mostly Latino farmworkers from the chemical.

The samples were all collected on school grounds, raising concerns among environmental and health advocates about safety risks for children and other vulnerable community members.

“The latest air sampling results continue to show pesticides sprayed on fields drift off site and contaminate the air nearby, a serious concern for those who live, go to school or work near farm fields,” Alexis Temkin, a senior toxicologist at the Environmental Working Group (EWG), said in a press release.

October 17, 2024

Progress seen on overall industry emissions, even as oil and gas emissions rise, EPA finds

By Shannon Kelleher

US power plants, the largest stationary sources of greenhouse gases in the nation, continue to show reduced emissions but the good news from that sector comes as oil and gas emissions rise, according to new regulatory data.

Power plant emissions totaled about 1.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide last year, down 7% from 2022, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported. The agency collects data from over 8,000 industrial facilities for its Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, accounting for about half of total US emissions.

However, greenhouse gas emissions from petroleum and natural gas plants increased 1.4% in 2023 over 2022, and the 2023 tally was up 16.4% from 2016, the EPA said.

Nine coal-fired power plants were among the top ten greenhouse gas-emitting industrial facilities for 2023, along with a Texas-based ExxonMobil refinery.

The worst emitter – for the ninth year in a row – was the James H Miller power plant outside Birmingham, Alabama.

Altogether, large industrial facilities’ greenhouse gas emissions, the chemicals that are driving human-caused climate change, dropped by 4% last year, the EPA reported.

“The progress is largely driven by the power sector, [which] has seen steadily declining emissions,” Amanda Levin, director of policy analysis at the National Resources Defense Council, said in an email, noting that the change reflects a shift away from coal over time. “The power sector can, and must, continue to decarbonize,” she said.

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October 11, 2024

In Hurricane Milton’s wake, toxic “gypstacks” threaten Tampa Bay area

By Shannon Kelleher

As southwest Florida reels from the impact of Hurricane Milton this week, the first hurricane to directly hit the Tampa Bay area in a century, environmentalists are bracing for another possible impact – the contamination of local waterways from towering stacks of toxic industrial waste in the storm’s path.

When phosphate is processed into fertilizers for farmland, enormous quantities of phosphogypsum are left behind as heaps of concrete-like waste called “gypstacks,” which are topped with liquid waste ponds. Most US phosphate production takes place in Florida, with 25 of the 30 gypstacks located in the Sunshine State – a quantity totaling over a billion tons. The waste contains heavy metals as well as radium, which decays into a radioactive gas that causes lung cancer, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“We refer to [the stacks] as ‘Florida’s Mountains’,” said Ragan Whitlock, staff attorney for the environmental nonprofit the Center for Biological Diversity, noting that the heaps of toxic chemical waste are each hundreds of feet wide and hundreds of feet tall. “Lesser storms than hurricanes have created massive structural integrity problems at these stack systems,” he said.

Of Florida’s 25 gypstacks, 22 were “at least generally in Hurricane Milton’s track,” said Whitlock, with three located directly near the bay. Whitlock said he is worried about pollution from the stacks impacting both the bay and the Floridan aquifer, which almost 10 million people depend on for drinking water.

The largest US producer of phosphate fertilizer, The Mosaic Company, confirmed in an email Friday that stormwater at its Riverview site, where it stores toxic phosphogypsum waste from fertilizer production, made its way into Tampa Bay after a water collection system onsite became overwhelmed following the hurricane.

“At this time, we believe some of that impacted stormwater made its way to an outfall which discharges into Tampa Bay,” said the Mosaic spokesperson. “The issue was addressed yesterday and is not continuing. The volume may have been greater than the 17,500 gallon reporting standard. We expect water quality impacts, if any, to be modest.”

Mosaic said in a September 30 statement that early assessments showed “limited damage” to its facilities following Hurricane Helene, a Category 4 storm that hit Florida on September 27, although its Riverview facility “experienced water intrusion caused by the storm surge.” In an early June statement, Mosaic said it was “prepped and ready” for hurricane season.

October 8, 2024

PFAS levels increasing in Arctic animals, study finds

By Douglas Main

Concentrations of toxic pollutants known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are continuing to increase in Arctic animals such as polar bears despite efforts to rein in their use, according to a new study.

One type of PFAS known to be of particular harm, PFOS, was largely phased out starting 20 years ago. But average levels in several populations of polar bears and seals have continued to go up in recent years, according to the paper, published this month in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

Exposure to some PFAS, also called “forever chemicals,” increases the risk of a wide range of health harms to humans and animals, scientists have found.

“There’s nothing in the Arctic that isn’t contaminated by PFAS,” says study co-author Rainer Lohmann, who studies persistent organic pollutants as an environmental chemist at the University of Rhode Island. “It’s just very sad.”

Of the animals looked at in the study, polar bears had the highest concentrations of various types of PFAS, approximately 10 times what has been found in people in the region.

Troubling findings were also seen for a type of PFAS called PFNA. Average concentrations of PFNA have steadily risen over the last couple decades in all populations of polar bears and seals studied, and appear to still be on the rise, according to the paper.

The latest published work adds to more than 200 studies that have turned up PFAS in well over 600 animal species, including those that are threatened or endangered.

October 3, 2024

EPA not protecting public from neonic exposure, analysis suggests

By Shannon Kelleher

Rodent studies given to US regulators by insecticide makers close to 20 years ago revealed the chemicals could be harmful to the animals’ brain development – data worrisome for humans exposed to the popular pesticides but not properly accounted for by regulators, according to a new research report published this week.

The analysis examined five studies that exposed pregnant rats’ to various types of insecticides known as neonicotinoids (commonly called neonics). The studies found that the offspring born to the exposed rats suffered shrunken brains and other problems.

Statistically significant shrinkage of brain tissue was seen in the offspring of rats exposed to high doses of five types of neonics – acetamiprid, clothianidin, imidacloprid, thiacloprid, and thiamethoxam, the paper states. The authors said the impacts on the brain appeared similar to the effects of nicotine, which they said is known to disrupt mammalian neurological development.

The animal studies also support the possibility of a link between neonic exposure and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the authors said.

In most cases, the companies submitting the studies did not submit data for all dosage levels, leading the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assume negative effects were only seen at the high dose, according to the study.

“We found numerous deficiencies in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s regulatory oversight and data analyses,” the authors state in the paper, published in the journal Frontiers in Toxicology. The industry studies, which the EPA used to determine what neonic exposure levels are considered safe for humans, were not publicly available and were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

“Consistently, effects were found at the high dose and EPA did not demand data for the lower doses, therefore leaving it unclear how little of a substance it takes to actually cause adverse effects such as reduced size of certain brain regions,” said Bill Freese, the science director for the environmental advocacy group Center for Food Safety and an author of the study.

September 19, 2024

EPA inspector general says agency improperly retaliated against scientists

By Douglas Main

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s inspector general concluded in a report released this week that three government scientists who filed disquieting complaints about their work within the agency under the Trump administration were indeed improperly treated.

The report concluded that the EPA scientists experienced retaliation for speaking out and scientifically disagreeing with leadership and others in the agency.

Most of the scientists had spoken out, internally, about disagreements concerning the safety of various chemicals, which was part of their work within the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.

Among their concerns, the scientists claimed that the EPA was not doing enough to protect the public from health risks of multiple substances, and that industry pressure was affecting the agency’s ability to do its job properly.

The report notes that one scientist sought to classify a certain unidentified chemical as having “reproductive toxicity,” only for a senior advisor to remove this wording.

In response to the scientists’ disagreeing and speaking out, the EPA reassigned them, skipped them over for promotion, and generally harassed them, calling them “piranhas,” “problematic,” or “pot-stirrers,” according to the complaints. A copy of the employees’ complaint that identified them by name was sent around to senior leaders and individuals mentioned in the complaint, including former coworkers, according to the inspector general’s report.

“The Inspector General’s findings point to ongoing scientific integrity problems in EPA that directly endanger public health,” Kyla Bennett, a former EPA attorney and scientist who is now the science policy director for the watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which helped file three of the complaints, said in a statement.

September 19, 2024

Wide variety of pesticides found in baby foods sold at major retailer

By Douglas Main

Samples of puréed apple and pear baby food sold online and at Target stores in San Francisco, Washington, DC and Minneapolis were found to contain a wide variety of pesticides, according to a new report by an environmental group.

All eight samples of the baby food products, which are made by the popular retail store’s house brand, Good & Gather, contained a class of chemicals called neonicotinoids, according to the study published this week, which was conducted by the nonprofit Friends of the Earth and has not been peer-reviewed. These pesticides are widely used in agriculture and considered toxic to insects such as honeybees. Evidence is accumulating that they may also have various negative effects on human health.

The neonicotinoids detected include imidacloprid, present in half of the pear products, and thiacloprid, present in 75% of the apple purée samples. Both are considered “highly hazardous pesticides” by the Pesticide Action Network, and each are banned for outdoor use in the European Union due to their toxicity, including to pollinators like bees.

The European Food Safety authority has stated that thiacloprid “is likely to damage fertility and the unborn child.”

Target did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Nathan Donley, a scientist who studies pesticides with the Center for Biological Diversity but wasn’t involved in the report, said the results show the regulators are failing to keep food safe, especially for infants.

“To see neurotoxins in children’s food, at any level, is unacceptable in my opinion,” he said. “Every child has different susceptibilities and sensitivities – the idea that a certain level of a poison is safe for every individual is outdated thinking.”

September 18, 2024

Controversial landfill in wine country expected to close

By Shannon Kelleher

A landfill in California’s wine country that has drawn scrutiny for its management of toxic chemicals may be poised to close, Napa County officials confirmed this week.

Waste Connections, the large national waste management company that owns the Napa Valley-area Clover Flat Landfill, is expected to submit a closure plan to the county’s Local Enforcement Agency (LEA) “near the end of this year,” Holly Dawson, the county’s deputy CEO for communications, said in an email.

Based on recent discussions with Waste Connections, the closure process is expected to take about three to four years, and there are no plans for future operations at the site beyond long-term monitoring, said Dawson.

The development comes as a growing coalition of local activists and nonprofit groups call for Clover Flat’s closure, citing concerns about the landfill’s numerous regulatory violations, environmental impact and social justice issues. The landfill has been the site of fires and is suspected of polluting waterways in the famous winemaking region with harmful chemicals, which drain into the river that irrigates local vineyards.

Confirmation from the LEA about the company’s intent to shutter Clover Flat follows a May email exchange between a Waste Connections employee and Napa County staff about the landfill’s future, which was uncovered in a recent public records request.

“There have been some internal developments on our end for the Clover Flat site, including early closure of the landfill – the details are still being worked out,” wrote the company’s California Regional Engineer.

Ronald Mittelstaedt, the president and CEO of Waste Connections, did not respond to a request for comment about plans to close the landfill.

If plans to shut down Clover Flat move forward, the landfill will be “capped,” said Dawson, a process that involves placing a cover over a waste site to keep harmful chemicals contained.

“The waste currently onsite will remain, covered with a final closure system designed to protect the environment and meet regulatory requirements,” said Dawson, noting that Waste Connections will “continue to maintain and monitor the landfill following closure” and that the LEA will conduct routine inspections.

September 17, 2024

Debate grows over whether some PFAS chemicals have a place in clean energy

By Shannon Kelleher

As the planet warms at an alarming rate, culminating in the hottest summer on record, nations worldwide are rapidly scaling up so-called clean energy technologies that can replace the world’s dependence on climate change-inducing fossil fuels.

More than 100 countries last year committed to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 to try to slow climate change and reduce the related devastating human and environmental toll from increasingly frequent and extreme weather events.

In the United States, manufacturers of electric vehicles (EVs) and EV batteries have announced more than $188 billion in investments over the last nine years, with most of the money committed during the last two. And this May, the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced a $71 million investment in projects to expand access to solar power – dubbed the “cheapest form of energy” by the DOE.

But behind the enthusiasm lies a little-discussed but looming concern. Many of these technologies being heralded as tools to turn back climate change rely on fluoropolymers, a family of plastics that are part of a class of chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Many types of PFAS are considered so hazardous that the US and many other countries have targeted them for elimination.

PFAS have been identified as ubiquitous environmental pollutants that don’t break down naturally, with several linked to a range of human health problems. Fluoropolymer safety for humans and the environment is still a matter of debate.

But the paradox of boosting the use of potentially harmful types of PFAS chemicals in order to create technologies that can address harmful climate change is stirring debate among some experts and prompting a deeper look at the pursuit of “clean energy”.

“Obviously, the green energy transition is very important,” said Ian Cousins, a professor at the University of Stockholm in Sweden who studies the environmental impact of PFAS. “I don’t want to hinder that. But at the same time… the green industry should be not just green energy but green in every regard.”

September 16, 2024

Microbes to the rescue? Companies probe PFAS cleanup solutions

By Lydia Larsen

Tim Repas was tired of hauling dirt to landfills. As an environmental consultant in Canada’s oil fields, where the soil is often laden with health-harming petroleum hydrocarbon chemicals, Repas felt he spent too much time moving contaminated soil around and not enough time trying to eliminate the dangers posed by the compounds.

In 2019, he left the fields and put his degree in biochemistry to work, founding Fixed Earth Innovations, a company aimed at employing biological systems to address environmental challenges. One of the company’s first targets: The persistent and pervasive class of chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

PFAS are widely used, including in firefighting foam, stain and water-resistant coatings and food packaging, and are ubiquitous in the environment, making exposure almost impossible to avoid. Some types of PFAS have been linked to health defects including cancer, reproductive problems and birth defects.

Making PFAS even more problematic is the fact that they are considered virtually impossible to break down, earning the moniker “forever chemicals.”

“We could spend 20 years trying to solve [the problem], but I don’t think we have 20 years to solve PFAS,” said Repas said.

The need to find tools to address PFAS contamination in the United States was made more urgent last spring when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new limits on two types of common PFAS in drinking water. Utilities required to meet these new standards are left to mostly rely on technologies that can remove PFAS from drinking water, but don’t actually destroy the compounds.

But researchers say hope is on the horizon. Emerging evidence suggests that microbes, small organisms invisible to the naked eye found in soil, air, water and even the human body, may be able to assist in breaking down PFAS.