Air Pollution
Researchers look into community health impact of wood pellet production in rural Mississippi
Brown University and Tougaloo College students are testing for potential air and noise pollution near the Drax wood pellet plant in Gloster, Mississippi.
Place, Erased: The fight for the remains of a Louisiana town
Toxic pollution forced a small, Black community in Louisiana to relocate. Now, chemical companies say they own its final remnant — the town’s cemetery.
In fight to remove divisive New Orleans highway, activists turn to new strategy — an EPA study
The Claiborne Avenue Alliance hopes a study on the health impacts caused by the expressway will support efforts to remediate and potentially remove the highway.
New mapping tool gives county-by-county breakdown of air pollution
Earlier this month, a researcher debuted a new tool that maps pollution in Mississippi and Louisiana. Some environmental groups are already using it.
Pascagoula residents sue EPA to halt production of Chevron’s plastic fuel
Cherokee Concerned Citizens and Earthjustice are seeking to halt Chevron from producing new chemicals from plastic waste at a nearby refinery.
Residents worry about unknown health impacts of toxic landfill fumes
Officials have advised people to stay inside, seek medical care if they feel sick and relocate if necessary, a response that frustrates many residents.
A Mississippi community is ‘grateful’ for more air testing, but skeptical of what comes next
A $500,000 EPA grant will make more air testing in Pascagoula’s Cherokee Forest community possible. Residents worry their voices will — again — not be heard.
Landfill fire near Birmingham burns for more than a month
Smoke from the underground blaze has caused the air quality in the area to reach hazardous levels.
North Birmingham Neighborhoods ‘Have Taken a Beating,’ Work to Unite Over Pollution Concerns
The EPA Superfund cleanup and ABC Coke’s proposed air emissions permit have dominated health concerns of residents in northern Birmingham neighborhoods for months. Now officials and residents of several neighborhoods there are attempting to form a coalition to broaden the concerns to other sources of possible pollution.
County’s Major Air Polluters Concentrated in Low-Income, Minority Neighborhoods
By Hank Black The Oliver Robinson bribery trial, in which guilty verdicts were issued for officials of Drummond Coal Co. and its law firm, Balch & Bingham, revealed a gritty episode about avoiding environmental cleanup in North Birmingham. But there’s a bigger dirty picture. The vast majority of Jefferson County’s 31 major sources of pollution […]
Birmingham Awarded 3-Star Sustainability Certification
Birmingham was awarded a three star rating by the STAR Communities on Friday. STAR stands for "Sustainability tools for assessing and rating communities." In a ceremony at UAB, Mayor William Bell addressed the crowd about his vision for a sustainable Birmingham. But, as the weekly newspaper WELD reports, the city still has a ways to go. Nick Patterson, the editor of WELD joins WBHM to explain where the city needs to show some improvement.
