EPA Admin Cancels Controversial Pesticide Study
Acting EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson has announced he will cancel a controversial pesticide study that could have held up his nomination as the agency's new administrator. After a confirmation hearing, two senators said they would place a hold on the nomination unless he cancelled the program, which would have paid the families of approximately 60 Florida children to participate in a study examining the impact of spraying pesticide inside homes. Johnson said the study had been misrepresented, and that it was not designed to encourage families with children to use pesticides...Read More »
Virginia City Protests North Carolina Landfill
The Chesapeake (Va.) city council is considering a resolution opposing a landfill in Camden County, N.C., fearing the landfill could contaminate Chesapeake's drinking water. The Black Bear Landfill will be located near South Mills, about half a mile from the North Carolina-Virginia border. Chesapeake officials fear the landfill could cause contamination problems, but landfill officials noted that the facility will be located downstream of Chesapeake...Read More »
Safety-Kleen Completes Refinancing
Safety-Kleen Systems has completed a major refinancing deal to recapitalize its debt structure and save the company approximately $17 million in interest annually. Proceeds of the new $350 million credit facility were used to pay off the company's preexisting $295 million credit facility. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Credit Suisse First Boston served as joint lead arrangers on the refinancing...Read More »
Changing World Technology Thermal Process Needs Tax Credits
After a decade of development, Changing World Technologies is now using its Thermal Conversion Process in a commercial-scale waste-to-oil plant in Carthage, Missouri. The company is now processing up to 270 tons of poultry offal into 300 barrels of oil daily. However, the company has said that it cannot expand its U.S. operations because of limitations on the tax credit definition created by the Jobs Bill of 2004, designed to promote biodiesel fuel from specific feedstocks...Read More »
Arkansas District Court Finds Hercules Inc. Liable For Superfund Cleanup
A U.S. District Court in Arkansas has found Hercules Inc. (www.herc.com), a chemical manufacturer, liable to the U.S. government for about $95 million in a twenty-five-year-old lawsuit over a Superfund site. The EPA (www.epa.gov) brought the suit for recovery of costs related to remediation of a facility in Jacksonville, Ark. owned by Hercules and others at various times. The court largely affirmed its prior judgment against the company, though it did agree that Hercules should not be held liable for costs associated with a particular offsite landfill. The company said it believes the trial court committed reversible error, and plans to appeal the decision...Read More »
Hospitals for Healthy Environment Recognizes Environmental Achievements
The Hospitals for a Healthy Environment program (www.h2e-online.org) has recognized more than 70 hospitals, health systems, and healthcare organizations for outstanding achievements in reducing waste, virtually eliminating mercury, and minimizing the use of toxic products. Eight hospitals won Environmental Leadership Awards, recognizing achievements including a 40 percent recycling rate and saving $44,000 by reducing regulating medical wastes. Winners include: Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Oakland, Calif.; Bronson Methodist Hospital, Kalamazoo, Mich.; Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, N.H.; Foote Health System, Jackson, Mich.; Kaiser Permanente Hawaii Region, Honolulu, Hawaii; Sparrow Health System, Lansing, Mich.; St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor, Mich.; and University of Michigan Hospitals & Health Centers, Ann Arbor, Mich...Read More »
Duratek Inc. Wins Norfolk DOD Contract
Duratek Inc. has won a new $5.2 million, one-year contract with the U.S. Department of Defense for the transportation, processing, and disposal of radioactive materials from the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program facilities in the Norfolk, Va. Naval Shipyard. The contract has four option years that could bring the total contract value to $22.8 million...Read More »
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