skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Sunday, April 13, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

China raises tariffs on U.S. to 125% as 'tit-for-tat' trade war escalates; Victory in federal court for northern ID grizzlies; MD's local libraries brace for federal funding cuts; MS residents' outcry prompts Social Security Admin. to reverse course on phone service cuts.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Speaker Johnson says safety net programs will be "protected" in House budget. Secretary of State Rubio defends the administration's revoking of hundreds of student visas, and rural libraries could close as federal funding is cut.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump's tariffs sow doubt and stress for America's farmers, rural Democrats want working class voters back in the fold, and a cancelled local food program for kids worries folks in Maine.

Experts: EPA chemical plant emissions rule a win for WV communities

play audio
Play

Monday, April 15, 2024   

Chemical plants in West Virginia and other states will be required to curb emissions of toxic, cancer causing pollutants - such as ethylene oxide, chloroprene and other chemicals - under a new Environmental Protection Agency rule.

Hundreds of facilities, most located near low-income or communities of color, will also have to collect air pollution data and submit it to the EPA.

The data will also be made available to communities, which Jeremy Symons - a senior advisor with the Environmental Protection Network - said is an important tool for transparency and environmental justice.

"Not only will this action by EPA reduce these dangerous toxic air pollutants by 96%," said Symons, "but they're also going to require chemical plants to install fenceline air-pollution monitors."

Research has shown that long-term exposure to ethylene oxide and chloroprene can increase the risk of certain types of cancer, such as lymphoma, leukemia, breast cancer and liver cancer.

Children are particularly at risk.

The Biden administration says the rule will slash more than 6,200 tons of toxic air pollution each year in affected regions.

Symons, a former EPA advisor, said the rules come after years of work by local community members and environmental organizations that have sounded the alarm on the impact of deadly air pollution.

"There's been especially high cancer rates in these communities," said Symons. "So it's really significant that EPA has taken action and gone into the communities that have not been protected as much as they should be in the past."

A handful of companies in West Virginia - including Chemours, Koppers and Altivia - will have to comply with the new rules.

Investigative reporting published in 2021 by Mountain State Spotlight and ProPublica have revealed how toxic chemical pollution has harmed the state's majority Black communities.




get more stories like this via email
more stories
The Atlantic hurricane season officially begins on June 1 and will last through the end of November. (Pixabay)

Environment

play sound

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has abruptly ended a key disaster-preparedness program, sparking concerns as another active hurricane season …


Environment

play sound

Wildlife conservationists are working with landowners and concerned Texans to recover at-risk species. Currently, more than 1,100 animals from …

Social Issues

play sound

The Social Security Administration has reversed its controversial plan to eliminate phone services for benefit claims, a move that would have forced …


Minnesota public health worker Amy Saupe, who is being laid off because of federal cuts, holds a sign at a demonstration in St. Paul on Thursday. (Mike Moen)

Social Issues

play sound

Minnesota officials have launched a new online tool detailing how the state is being affected by federal cuts. Public health workers keeping an eye …

play sound

Minnesota's unemployment rate is low, but the state still faces a skilled labor shortage. A regional college hopes to be a solution as it looks to …

Supporters of an expanded Direct File system say it could save Pennsylvanians more than $600 million in combined annual tax-filing fees and additional tax credits claimed directly from the IRS. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Pennsylvania is among a growing number of states offering residents access to the Internal Revenue Service's free tax filing system, Direct File…

Social Issues

play sound

A surge in federal funding has fueled a clean-energy boom in Pennsylvania and across Appalachia, according to a new report. Investments doubled in …

Social Issues

play sound

April is both National Poetry Month and National Library Month, and younger generations are embracing both. The American Library Association says …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021