EHN Originals

Flames, belching smoke, and black carbon in the sky—on nights when I (Rosemary) saw 20 or more flares, I knew sick people would be coming. As a community health aide in Nuiqsut, Alaska, when nearby oil and gas operations were flaring, I would see a stream of people with respiratory issues. Before I was done…

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HOUSTON – Terri Blackwood, a Baytown resident living along the Houston Ship Channel, knows the smells of pollution well. Blackwood’s backyard is along the water shore where several oil and gas facilities and chemical plants cluster. She keeps a journal of more than 100 instances in which she smelled something “off,” felt ill, saw flares…

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HOUSTON – Terri Blackwood, una residente de Baytown que vive al lado del Canal de Navegación de Houston, conoce bien a qué huele la contaminación. El patio trasero de Blackwood bordea la costa, donde se agrupan varias instalaciones de petróleo y gas y plantas químicas. Lleva un diario en el que ha registrado más de…

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GROTON, Mass. — Steam billows inside Black Earth Compost’s processing facility as Syed Dong, regional operations manager, opens the building’s delivery door and lets in the chilly March air. Inside, billions of bacteria are breaking down a big pile of food scraps, yard waste and compostable bioplastic packaging into water, carbon dioxide and compost, a…

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Like almost all things chemical in the United States, the recent announcement by the Biden administration that it is banning a major form of asbestos is both a triumph and a disgrace. The triumph is that after decades of Sisyphean advocacy by public health groups and scientists, chrysotile asbestos, a known carcinogen, is finally facing…

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A plastic additive known to interfere with testosterone production is facing restrictions in at least two states. The bills address plastic IV bags, tubing and other medical devices and would prohibit medical manufacturers from using plastics with Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP). The additive, commonly used to make polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, interferes with breast cancer treatment.…

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In anticipation of the next round of global plastic treaty talks, experts are calling on the U.S. to take a leadership role in pushing for an ambitious treaty. In a letter sent today, environmental groups ask the administration to support a version of the treaty that includes reductions in plastic production, which has been a…

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Dr. Jalonne White-Newsome joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss the how the Biden administration is incorporating environmental justice across federal agencies. White-Newsome is the Senior Director for Environmental Justice at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. She also talks about how growing up in Detroit shaped her, her winding…

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced strict new rules to limit cancer-causing compounds and other pollution from more than 200 U.S. chemical facilities. The EPA says the rule — created under the Clean Air Act and focused on six pollutants including ethylene oxide, chloroprene, benzene, 1,3-butadiene, ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride — will…

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PITTSBURGH — EHN reporter Kristina Marusic recently spoke with The Allegheny Front about three communities in the Ohio River Valley that are fighting proposed chemical recycling plants. Chemical recycling is an umbrella term for processes that use heat, chemicals or both to break down plastic waste into component parts for reuse as plastic feedstocks or…

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