Source: ENR By Pam Hunter The Environmental Protection Agency on Nov. 9 issued a subpoena to oil-field services contractor Halliburton for failing to provide information the agency needs to complete its congressionally mandated study on hydraulic fracturing, or “hydrofracking.” Eight other hydrofracking firms that received voluntary information requests in September agreed to submit “timely and […]

Publication Date 11/22/2010 Source: BestWire Services Energy and environmental insurers are eagerly eyeing an emerging energy boom: the development of the Marcellus shale natural gas area. “It’s a major, major find that I think will impact the energy market not only locally, but globally,” said Chris Moscardelli, director of Societe Generale’s energy project finance group. […]

Publication Date 11/12/2010 Source: Daily Gazette (Sterling, IL) Nov. 12–DIXON — The substance found in the Lancaster gym at Dixon High School is asbestos, officials confirmed Thursday. The 51-year-old gym, closed since the discovery Monday, will remain off-limits until the problem is solved — however that may be. Air-monitoring devices will be installed. Other than […]

Publication Date:  09/02/2010 Source:  Marketwatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — When dogs bite people, insurers often pay. But what happens when bed bugs bite? Bed bug infestations in the U.S. have multiplied at an alarming rate in recent years. A recent survey of almost 1,000 pest exterminators found that 95% of the firms had dealt with […]

Acknowledgement to Great American While installing new electrical lines in a historic building the contractor used a hole saw to cut through a ceiling. Unknown to the contractor, the saw had inadvertently disturbed and released asbestos-containing insulation material. The contractor had to pay for clean‐up costs for the asbestos fibers released throughout the building.

Acknowledgement to Great American During the demolition of a portion of a museum a contractor inadvertently disturbed unknown asbestos that had been contained in the floor tiles. The asbestos contaminated other areas of the museum, forcing closure during the remediation. The demolition contractor was held responsible for the clean-up costs and business interruption.

A lawsuit was filed on behalf of the EPA against the current and former owners of a 25-acre site in Greenwich, Connecticut. The EPA is trying to recover $500,000 in cleanup costs and has proposed selling the site as a way to reimburse the government. The property has had several different owners since the 1980s. […]