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News Articles: pollution

Unlined coal ash landfills at Georgia Power's Plant Arkwright being consolidated into a single lined landfill on the bank of the Ocmulgee River in September of 2023. In addition to the liner, the new impoundment will collect any coal ash leachate for 30 years.

Tagged as: 

  • Environment

The EPA rolled back a coal ash rule minutes after hearing from people living with coal ash

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a rollback of some rules around the management of so-called coal ash, the toxic material left after burning coal to generate electricity.

July 23, 2025
|
By:
  • Grant Blankenship
A view along the Kennet and Avon Canal near Newbury Lock, Newbury, Berkshire, England.

Tagged as: 

  • Europe

In Britain, hopes are mounting to finally clean up sewage-polluted waterways

After years of polluting by the water industry, a report planned for release in the coming days could lead to tightened regulation while also prompting an expensive modernization drive.

July 15, 2025
|
By:
  • Willem Marx
Henry “Hal” Hart, Brunswick, was a participant in the Emory University exposure study. April 23, 2025 in Brunswick, GA. (Justin Taylor/The Current GA)

Tagged as: 

  • Environment

Brunswick human exposure study leaves more questions than answers for participants

The 97-participant study included residents who lived or worked near the toxic sites.

May 22, 2025
|
By:
  • Jabari Gibbs and
  • The Current
The BioLab plant in Conyers, Ga. is seen on Dec. 18, 2024, nearly three months after a Sept. 29 fire that left a weekslong chemical plume in the area.

Tagged as: 

  • News

Georgia chemical plant halts production following leak investigation

After a September fire, chemical maker BioLab is closing its plant in metro Atlanta's Rockdale County.

May 16, 2025
|
By:
  • Pamela Kirkland and
  • Orlando Montoya
FILE - In this June 3, 2017, file photo, the coal-fired Plant Scherer, one of the nation's top carbon dioxide emitters, stands in the distance in Juliette, Ga. Global carbon dioxide emissions related to energy use are being forecast to rise significantly this year, driven by a resurgence in the use of coal to generate electricity, the International Energy Agency says. The IEA

Tagged as: 

  • Health

The latest red flag for these Georgia doctors? Poor air quality

A coalition of health care providers is urging the state and federal government to get serious about pollution.

May 08, 2025
|
By:
  • Sofi Gratas
 The Broad River in NE Georgia

Tagged as: 

  • Business

NE Georgia community ruffled over planned poultry processing plant’s potential for river pollution

Agriculture is Georgia’s top industry, and broilers are the state’s top farm product. But the mess that large-scale poultry farming causes can create tensions between residents and corporate owners. 

May 05, 2025
|
By:
  • Stanley Dunlap and
  • Georgia Recorder
The LCP Chemicals Superfund Site, Feb. 7, 2024, Brunswick, GA.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Still more to learn about human exposure to toxic contaminants in Brunswick

A report from Emory University scientists shows some people in the Coastal Georgia city have been exposed to toxic chemicals left over from Superfund sites.

April 30, 2025
|
By:
  • Sofi Gratas
Front end loaders are dwarfed by the coal field at Georgia Power's Plant Scherer.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Atlanta area fails in air quality report as U.S. sees pollution rise over time

The report, in its 26th edition, uses data collected by air quality monitors run by the Environmental Protection Agency.

April 23, 2025
|
By:
  • Sofi Gratas
A house along State Route 36 in Upson County, across the street from the industrial park, with a sign opposing Brigthmark’s plastics plant. It’s one of 300 signs distributed throughout Thomaston-Upson County by the Upson Environmental Government Transparency Group. Kala Hunter

Tagged as: 

  • News

Why this small, Middle Georgia town remains divided about a $1B plastics plant

A year after its proposal, a California-based plastic-waste solution company still is pushing to build what it calls the Thomaston Circularity Center.

April 23, 2025
|
By:
  • Kala Hunter and
  • The Ledger Enquirer
 Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Jason Ulseth leads a team in monitoring water quality and groundwater levels along the river that provides drinking water to millions of Georgians. Photo submitted by Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. Photo submitted by Chattahoochee Riverkeeper

Tagged as: 

  • Environment

Planned closure of federal center in Georgia triggers worries about ability to monitor water quality

The Chattahoochee Riverkeeper considers Fulton County pollution drama as a reason to sound the alarm over the now-uncertain future of the U.S. Geological Survey’s South Atlantic Water Science Center in Norcross.

April 21, 2025
|
By:
  • Stanley Dunlap and
  • Georgia Recorder
A watershed management sign outside of the Shirley C Franklin Pumping Station and Reservoir

Tagged as: 

  • News

Atlanta mayor announces 20-year plan to repair and replace city's water infrastructure

The latest plans for upgrades to the city’s century-old water infrastructure include new technology. Last year's water main breaks made system repairs a priority.

 

 

March 20, 2025
|
By:
  • Amanda Andrews
Georgia Power's Plant Scherer, right, and its Ash Pond 1, upper left, in September of 2023.

Tagged as: 

  • Environment

EPA rollbacks could change rules at GA coal plants. Could they affect your health?

The Environmental Protection Agency is rolling back dozens of rules, programs and grants — a handful of which will alter regulations for Georgia’s coal-fired power plants.

March 19, 2025
|
By:
  • Margaret Walker
Some residents east of Atlanta were evacuated and others told to shelter in place after a fire at a chemical plant.

Tagged as: 

  • News

'Completely unacceptable': Investigation reveals new details about BioLab fire and the response

Nearly two months after a massive chemical fire at BioLab’s Conyers plant forced evacuations and raised environmental and health concerns, new details are emerging. 

November 25, 2024
|
By:
  • Pamela Kirkland
View from a Home Depot parking lot as smoke billows from a fire at the BioLab facility in Conyers, Ga., Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Some Georgians asked to stay inside during daylight hours until chlorine plume passes

The Georgia Emergency Management Agency is warning that winds could shift and people in much of Atlanta could still see haze and smell chlorine by Thursday morning. The poor air quality effects come from a chemical reaction Sunday at BioLab, a pool supply manufacturing plant in Conyers.

October 02, 2024
|
By:
  • Ellen Eldridge
Attorney Chris Stewart speaks at a press conference on October 1, 2024 about the lawsuit against BioLabs following a chlorine gas explosion in Conyers.

Tagged as: 

  • Environment

Class action lawsuit seeks damages for Rockdale County residents affected by lab explosion

A group of attorneys in Atlanta are filing a class action lawsuit against the company responsible for a fire and subsequent chlorine chemical plume in Conyers.

October 02, 2024
|
By:
  • Amanda Andrews
  • Load More

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