Latest news with #U.S.EnvironmentalProtectionAgency
Chicago Tribune
4 hours ago
- General
- Chicago Tribune
EPA weighing how to address Lake County asbestos contamination; ‘It's a pretty isolated location'
Whether the southwest portion of the Illinois Beach Nature Preserve at the Illinois Beach State Park is ever open to the public remains a question, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is getting closer to remediating the asbestos contamination there. Currently inaccessible to the public both by physical means — there is a fence — and an EPA ruling, Dave Nadel, the EPA's community involvement coordinator for Region 5, which includes the Chicago area, said he is in the process of finalizing the decision-making. Adjacent to the Johns Manville EPA Superfund site, Nadel said the contamination occurred years ago — likely in the 1940s or 1950s — before it became part of the nature preserve in 1964. Not part of Manville's property, dumping occurred in the past. The discovery of asbestos was more recent. 'It came to the surface through freeze cycle,' Neal said, referring to the ground freezing and thawing as the seasons change. 'We will decide on remediation and disposal.' Twice in June the EPA came to Waukegan — June 4 and 26 — to learn the public's ideas about how to handle the site. The EPA is in the process of preparing the Record of Decision Document on Operable Area 6 of the Superfund site, which is the southwest portion of the nature preserve, with a goal of finishing it by fall. Presenting three options for public comment during both the June 4 and 26 meetings, one would be no action at all, another is periodic disposal of the asbestos with all public restrictions remaining in place, according to EPA documents. The projected cost is $554,000. A third option, which Nadel said is the preferred method, is much more detailed. There will be regular removal of asbestos by properly licensed personnel both before and after controlled burns, or after any wildfire that may occur. There will be an air monitoring program. Existing institutional controls will remain, like restricted access and land-use controls to limit disturbance activities, according to the EPA documents. Any access requires physical protective equipment and 'asbestos awareness training.' The forecast cost is $967,000. Additional hazard warning signage will be placed around the area's perimeter, according to the documents. Enhanced work project practices during burns, like 'wet method mop-up' and masks, will be part of the program. All removal will be done by hand and taken to approved landfills. Mayra Mendez, the executive director of Clean Power Lake County, an environmental activist organization, said at the June 27 meeting that her group prefers the enhanced method. Though she wants to see the entire Superfund site gone — not just Operable Area 6 — it provides the most protection. 'We have a lot of endangered spaces that affect our health,' Mendez said. 'The enhanced plan is the best, and the community deserves mitigation in this environmental-justice community.' Not the only public official at the meeting, Nadel was joined by representatives of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Lake County Health Department and the Illinois Nature Preserve Commission. A.J. Burlingham, an environmental health specialist with the state Health Department, said he was at the public information session to answer questions people may have about the impact of inhaling asbestos. 'The likelihood is very low at this site,' Burlingham said. 'It's a pretty isolated location that's been unavailable to the public for a long time. It's not like they had an opportunity to breathe much there.'
9 hours ago
- Business
German court suspends diesel scandal trial of former Volkswagen CEO Winterkorn
FRANKFURT, Germany -- A German court has suspended proceedings in the trial of former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn, who has been charged with fraud and market manipulation in connection with Volkswagen's use of rigged software that let millions of diesel-engine cars cheat on emissions tests. The regional court in Braunschweig on Tuesday cited an unspecified health issue that meant Winterkorn, 78, was not in a condition to face trial. The court said in a statement that it had "provisionally terminated' the proceedings. It said the health issue represented a 'temporary impediment' and would continue to be reviewed with the help of an expert so that proceedings could resume if Winterkorn recovers. Winterkorn went on trial in September, 2024 but the proceedings were suspended a few days later after Winterkorn had an accident. Germany's code of criminal procedure allows for a court to provisionally terminate proceedings 'if the absence of the indicted accused or some other personal impediment prevents the main hearing being held for a considerable time.' Prosecutors say Winterkorn knew about the illegal software well before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced its discovery of the violation in September 2015. He resigned days later. He has said he learned about the practice only shortly before the announcement and earlier testified during civil proceedings that the allegations against him 'are not correct.' In May, four former Volkswagen managers were convicted of fraud and two of them given prison sentences for their part in the manipulation of emissions controls. The former head of diesel development was sentenced to four and a half years in prison, and the head of drive train electronics to two years and seven months by the court in Braunschweig. Two others received suspended sentences of 15 months and 10 months. The company has paid more than $33 billion in fines and compensation to vehicle owners. Two VW managers received prison sentences in the U.S. The former head of the company's Audi division, Rupert Stadler, was given a suspended sentence of 21 months and a fine of 1.1 million euros ($1.25 million). The sentence is still subject to appeal. .
Winnipeg Free Press
9 hours ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
German court suspends diesel scandal trial of former Volkswagen CEO Winterkorn
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — A German court has suspended proceedings in the trial of former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn, who has been charged with fraud and market manipulation in connection with Volkswagen's use of rigged software that let millions of diesel-engine cars cheat on emissions tests. The regional court in Braunschweig on Tuesday cited an unspecified health issue that meant Winterkorn, 78, was not in a condition to face trial. The court said in a statement that it had 'provisionally terminated' the proceedings. It said the health issue represented a 'temporary impediment' and would continue to be reviewed with the help of an expert so that proceedings could resume if Winterkorn recovers. Winterkorn went on trial in September, 2024 but the proceedings were suspended a few days later after Winterkorn had an accident. Germany's code of criminal procedure allows for a court to provisionally terminate proceedings 'if the absence of the indicted accused or some other personal impediment prevents the main hearing being held for a considerable time.' Prosecutors say Winterkorn knew about the illegal software well before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced its discovery of the violation in September 2015. He resigned days later. He has said he learned about the practice only shortly before the announcement and earlier testified during civil proceedings that the allegations against him 'are not correct.' In May, four former Volkswagen managers were convicted of fraud and two of them given prison sentences for their part in the manipulation of emissions controls. The former head of diesel development was sentenced to four and a half years in prison, and the head of drive train electronics to two years and seven months by the court in Braunschweig. Two others received suspended sentences of 15 months and 10 months. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. The company has paid more than $33 billion in fines and compensation to vehicle owners. Two VW managers received prison sentences in the U.S. The former head of the company's Audi division, Rupert Stadler, was given a suspended sentence of 21 months and a fine of 1.1 million euros ($1.25 million). The sentence is still subject to appeal. .
San Francisco Chronicle
9 hours ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
German court suspends diesel scandal trial of former Volkswagen CEO Winterkorn
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — A German court has suspended proceedings in the trial of former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn, who has been charged with fraud and market manipulation in connection with the automaker's use of rigged software that let millions of diesel-engine cars cheat on emissions tests. The regional court in Braunschweig on Tuesday cited an unspecified health issue that meant Winterkorn, 78, was not in a condition to face trial. The court said in a statement that it had "provisionally terminated' the proceedings. It said the health issue represented a 'temporary impediment' and would continue to be reviewed with the help of an expert so that proceedings could resume if Winterkorn recovers. Winterkorn went on trial in September, 2024 but the proceedings were suspended a few days later after Winterkorn had an accident. Germany's code of criminal procedure allows for a court to provisionally terminate proceedings 'if the absence of the indicted accused or some other personal impediment prevents the main hearing being held for a considerable time.' Prosecutors say Winterkorn knew about the illegal software well before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced its discovery of the violation in September 2015. He resigned days later. He has said he learned about the practice only shortly before the announcement and earlier testified during civil proceedings that the allegations against him 'are not correct.' In May, four former Volkswagen managers were convicted of fraud and two of them given prison sentences for their part in the manipulation of emissions controls. The former head of diesel development was sentenced to four and a half years in prison, and the head of drive train electronics to two years and seven months by the court in Braunschweig. Two others received suspended sentences of 15 months and 10 months. The company has paid more than $33 billion in fines and compensation to vehicle owners. Two VW managers received prison sentences in the U.S. The former head of the company's Audi division, Rupert Stadler, was given a suspended sentence of 21 months and a fine of 1.1 million euros ($1.25 million). The sentence is still subject to appeal. .
Fox News
11 hours ago
- Health
- Fox News
Microbes in human gut can absorb 'forever chemicals,' research says
A new study suggests gut microbes can help protect humans from toxic, long-lasting "forever chemicals." Scientists at the University of Cambridge have identified a natural "gut microbiome could play a helpful role in removing toxic PFAS chemicals from our body" following a study on mice, according to a media release. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, better known as PFAS, "are widely used, long lasting chemicals, components of which break down very slowly over time," the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says. "We found that certain species of human gut bacteria have a remarkably high capacity to soak up PFAS from their environment at a range of concentrations, and store these in clumps inside their cells," Dr. Kiran Patil, from the University of Cambridge's MRC Toxicology Unit and senior author of the report, said in a statement. "Due to aggregation of PFAS in these clumps, the bacteria themselves seem protected from the toxic effects," he said. Researchers say that more than 4,700 PFAS chemicals are widely used today. Some quickly exit the body through urine, others could linger for years. "We're all being exposed to PFAS through our water and food – these chemicals are so widespread that they're in all of us," Dr. Anna Lindell, a researcher at the University of Cambridge's MRC Toxicology Unit and first author of the study, said in a statement. "PFAS were once considered safe, but it's now clear that they're not. It's taken a long time for PFAS to become noticed because at low levels they're not acutely toxic. But they're like a slow poison," she said. Patil and Lindell are now working to create probiotic supplements to increase the amount of the beneficial microbes in people's guts to help protect against harms from PFAS. Until then, researchers say people can help protect themselves from PFAS exposure by avoiding PFAS-coated cooking pans and by using a "good water filter." "Given the scale of the problem of PFAS 'forever chemicals', particularly their effects on human health, it's concerning that so little is being done about removing these from our bodies," Patil said.
