The barge responsible for the Mississippi River oil spill has finally been drained of most of its remaining oil, and salvage crews have now been cleared to remove the wreckage.  In all, 165,000 gallons of oil have been recovered from the barge’s storage tanks.

The sunken barge was involved in an oil spill that occurred the morning of July 23.  The barge, loaded down with more than 400,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil, was being towed by the tugboat the Mel Oliver when it collided with a tanker.  The barge split in half, spilling its cargo into the Mississippi River. The river was closed to shipping for several days. (more…)

Did you know that some of your favorite potato chips and French fry snacks contain cancer-causing chemicals?  In a settlement announced late last week by the California state attorney general’s office, four food firms have agreed to lower levels of the toxic substance and pay a combined $3 million in fines.  The state of California sued H.J. Heinz Co., Frito-Lay, Kettle Foods Inc., and Lance Inc. in 2005, alleging all four violated a state requirement that companies post warning labels on carcinogen-containing products.

According to officials, the four companies avoided trial by agreeing to pay the fines and reduce acrylamide levels in their products; the acrylamide reduction will occur over three years. 
”Other companies should follow this lead,” Attorney General Jerry Brown said, calling the settlements “a victory for public health.”  In compliance with settlement terms, Frito-Lay, which is owned by PepsiCo Inc. and produces most of the chips sold in California, will pay $1.5 million; Kettle Foods will pay $350,000; Heinz, maker of frozen fries and tater tots, agreed to pay $600,000; and Lance will pay $95,000.  In 2005, California sued McDonald’s Corporation; Wendy’s International Inc.; Burger King Corporation; KFC, a subsidiary of Yum Brands Inc.; and Procter & Gamble Company over acrylamide levels. Those lawsuits were settled after the companies agreed to either properly label their products or lower acrylamide levels. (more…)

Crews have emptied the barge responsible for last month’s Mississippi River oil spill of its remaining oil, and could remove a large chunk of the vessel from the river at some point today.

The sunken barge was involved in an oil spill that occurred the morning of July 23.  The barge, loaded down with more than 400,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil, was being towed by the tugboat the Mel Oliver when it collided with a tanker.  The barge split in half, spilling its cargo into the Mississippi River. The river was closed to shipping for several days. (more…)

The pilot of the barge involved in last month’s Mississippi River oil spill had received repeated warnings to get out of the way moments before it collided with another vessel.  According to radio transmissions released by the Coast Guard, no one on the tugboat the Mel Oliver bothered responding to the warnings.

The Mel Oliver, pushing a barge loaded with more than 400,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil, collided with the tanker Tintamara on July 23, causing the worst oil spill New Orleans has seen in a decade.  The Mississippi River, from New Orleans to the Gulf of Mexico, was closed for several days, and while shipping has resumed, it is going at a much slower pace than usual.   (more…)

Crews will begin the process to remove the sunken barge from the Mississippi River that was responsible for the worst New Orleans oil spill in a decade.  It will likely take days to remove remaining oil from the barge before it can be lifted to the surface.

The sunken barge was involved in an oil spill that occurred early last Wednesday morning.  The barge, loaded down with more than 400,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil, was being towed by the tugboat the Mel Oliver when it collided with an oil tanker.  The barge split in half, spilling its cargo into the Mississippi River. (more…)

Following a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendation last month that some artificial turf athletic fields be tested for lead, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is saying children are “not at risk” from lead in turf products. U.S. congresswoman Representative Rosa DeLauro—Democrat-Connecticut—disagrees and expressed skepticism about the report, saying she plans to continue reviewing the CPSC’s examination.

DeLauro questioned the effectiveness of the CPSC’s investigation, which—by the way—led it to call for voluntary standards that would exclude lead use in future products. DeLauro said she will continue pushing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to examine the crumb rubber used in turf. “Given this is the same (CPSC) that oversaw record recalls in 2007, I have concerns about the conclusions drawn in their evaluation,” DeLauro said in a statement to USA TODAY. “It is particularly disconcerting that at the same time they are saying the synthetic fields are safe, they are urging that voluntary guidelines be developed. I intend to further examine this evaluation to determine the best course of action.” (more…)

The toxic chemical Perfluorooctanoic Acid—more commonly known as PFOA—has been found to be present in 98 percent of Americans’ blood and 100 percent of newborns’ blood.  Meanwhile, the chemical industry says there’s no reason to worry about PFOA in our bloodstreams.

Packaging for many common products, such as microwave popcorn or frozen pizza, contains PFOA, a chemical that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has long considered to be potentially carcinogenic.  PFOA is also used to make Teflon pans, Gore-Tex clothes, and to prevent food from sticking to paper packaging.  PFOA is part of a larger group of chemicals known as perfluorinated chemicals, or PFCs.  When heated, PFCs break down into compounds that can be absorbed into food and enter the bloodstream.  In 2005, Federal investigators found that PFOA is a “likely carcinogen” and called for expanded testing to study its potential to cause liver, breast, testicular, and pancreatic cancers.  The following year, the EPA invited all companies involved with PFOA to join a voluntary “stewardship program” to reduce use and emissions of the chemical by 2010 and eliminate it by 2015. (more…)

Traffic on the Mississippi River near New Orleans came to a halt again yesterday, as more oil leaked from the sunken barge responsible for last week’s oil spill.  For about six hours, the Mississippi was closed to traffic, and communities downriver from the leaking barge were forced to shut off water intake valves once again.  Both the river and intakes were reopened by later afternoon, but the US Coast Guard said it could not guarantee that similar closures would not occur as the oil spill cleanup continues.

The leaking barge was involved in an oil spill that occurred early last Wednesday morning.  The barge, loaded down with more than 400,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil, was being towed by the tugboat the Mel Oliver when it collided with an oil tanker.  The barge split in half, spilling its cargo into the Mississippi River.  One week later, the barge - still holding some of the oil it was carrying - remains in the river, (more…)

House and Senate lawmakers agreed to permanently ban three phthalates from children’s toys and outlaw three others pending an extensive study of their health effects in children and pregnant women.  Phthalates, a ubiquitous group of chemicals that make plastics softer and more durable, are often found in children’s products, perfumes, lotions, and shampoos, to name a few.  A 1999 Food and Drug Administration  (FDA) study found traces of phthalates in all of its 1,000 subjects.

The ban—seen as a major boon to parents, advocates, and health experts who have been fighting for government removal of these toxins from toys—is scheduled to become effective in six months.  The ban is also expected to create a huge challenge for the chemical industry and its ability to stem federal regulation and is likely to point to a shift in favor of safety-minded consumers.  The move was stepped up following last year’s phthalate ban in children’s products by California; Washington state and Vermont soon followed. (more…)

American Commercial Lines, owner of the barge that spilled thousands of gallons of oil into the Mississippi River last Wednesday, is denying responsibility for the accident that caused the oil spill. While it plans to seek protection from oil spill lawsuits that name it as a defendant, the company said it would pay for cleanup of the oil spill.

The Mississippi River oil spill occurred when a 600-foot tanker and a barge loaded with fuel collided. The spill occurred about 1:30 a.m. central time last Wednesday near the Crescent City Connection, a pair of New Orleans bridges. The barge split in half, spilling more than 419,000 gallons of tar-like oil into the river. At the time, the American Commercial Lines barge was being towed by the tugboat Mel Oliver, owned and operated by DRD Towing of Harvey, Louisiana. (more…)