A lawsuit accuses a tannery of contaminating farmland with a chemical that caused brain-tumors in residents of a Missouri town.  The tannery is alleged to have used hexavalent chromium to remove hair from hides, and then providing the resulting waste product to area farmers to use as fertilizer. The lawsuit claims thousands of tons of […]

Fifty-nine of 74 private water wells in Oklahoma have tested positive for total coliform bacteria, a group of bacteria that indicate environmental pollution. In addition, 17 of those 59 wells tested positive for E. coli, according to the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).  The town suffered a deadly E. coli outbreak that is suspected to […]

One of thirteen companies named in a 2005 lawsuit claiming the over-application of poultry litter is responsible for contamination in the one-million-acre Illinois River watershed has proposed to pay $120,000 to settle. The settlement has been challenged by the remaining twelve companies, who are demanding clarification on how that figure was determined and how the […]

Two dairies in Ohio and Kansas have been fined nearly $420,000 by OSHA for alleged health and safety violations.  OSHA inspections at the Ohio dairy uncovered 11 critical safety violations and 5 willful violations of federal workplace safety standards that included deficiencies with regard to electrical safety, energy lockout procedures and confined space entry procedures. The […]