In a recent decision described by EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy as “a resounding victory for public health and a key component of EPA’s efforts to make sure all Americans have clean air to breathe,” the Supreme Court backed federally imposed limits on smokestack emissions that cross state lines. The ruling,…
Late last week the Minnesota Department of Health notified several hundred residents of the Como neighborhood that they may be threatened by vapors containing cancer-causing chemicals released from the former General Mills facility on East Hennepin Avenue. A review of the records shows that General Mills and the State have…
Late this summer Illinois finally implemented regulations designed to consider the vapor intrusion pathway when looking cleanup of polluted sites within the State. Like our State’s approach to many issues of critical public concern, the action is a day late and a dollar short. Vapor intrusion refers to the migration…
On Tuesday September 10th local media reported that investigation of the former Burgess-Norton plant on Nims Street in Muskegon continues to drag on. Click here to read the article. A closer look reveals a troubling, and far too common scenario…….the precise scenario Shawn Collins discussed in his most recent blog…
Our work for contamination victims typically starts out like this: A group of families get “bad news”. They’re told — often at a community meeting in the basement of a local town hall or church — that their water supply has just been tested, and that dangerous industrial chemicals are in…
Effective January 1, 2014, 735 ILCS 5/2-2301 “Settlement” takes effect. In essence, this portion of the code of civil procedure is aimed at making sure that once a settlement is reached in a personal injury case (say, a car accident, slip and fall, medical malpractice case, wrongful death, or similar)…
Everyone knows not to text while driving, but sadly, many people do it all the time, which leads to car accidents and personal injury lawsuits. On this blog it has previously been discussed that a case is pending in New Jersey related to if someone not in a car can…
How long should it take to clean up toxic chemicals after they are spilled? A week, a month, a year, 5 years? The answer is: “decades, usually.” Worse, oftentimes, the answer: is “the chemicals will never be all cleaned up”. It’s scary and sad. But it’s true. Here’s a recent…
Researchers around the world continue to look into what drives a dangerous issue in medicine: the “August Effect.” It has been found that the month of August is the most dangerous time for hospital patients, as morbidity and mortality rates seemingly increase in August. The concern is whether or not…
It’s time for the kids to go back to school. That means kids going to and from school houses, getting on and off school buses, and many more buses sharing the roads with traditional motorists. That also means more chance of car accidents, bus accidents, and personal injuries to children…