In a controversial move, the Environmental Protection Agency said it would waive certain reporting requirements for companies hit hard by COVID-19.<\/p>\n
Normally, companies must report chemical emissions into the air, water, and soil to the EPA.<\/p>\n
Agency guidelines now allow these companies to self-regulate<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n Many companies claimed that compliance with emissions declarations was impractical, largely because of increased demand and decreased staff due to coronavirus.<\/p>\n Rather than \u201cseek[ing] penalties for violations of routine compliance monitoring, integrity testing, sampling, laboratory analysis, training, and reporting,\u201d the agency said it would focus exclusively \u201con situations that may create an acute risk or imminent threat to public health or the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n Former EPA chief Gina McCarthy, who led the agency during the Obama years, said \u201cthis brazen directive is nothing short of an abject abdication of the E.P.A. mission to protect our well being.\u201d<\/p>\n On the other hand, former George W. Bush EPA compliance director Granta Nakayama said the new rules were \u201cstraightforward and sensible.\u201d<\/p>\n The revised EPA rules affect victims and potential victims during the coronavirus pandemic in basically two ways.<\/p>\n First, because of the reduced reporting requirements, many individuals might not know that their environments are poisonous.<\/p>\n Additionally, the reduced requirements might mean that fewer records are immediately available. So, a New York personal injury attorney<\/a><\/u> must be more diligent than ever.<\/p>\n Environmental poisoning claims vary significantly in terms of size and scope.<\/p>\n Some affect thousands of people at once and others affect individual families. Regardless of the nature of the claim, substantial compensation might be available.<\/p>\n Perfluorooctanoic acid and associated chemicals form a barrier between two substances.<\/p>\n So, PFOA is widely used in consumer products, like teflon, and industrial products, like firefighting foam.<\/p>\n This chemical is also very stable. Once introduced to a substance, PFOA often remains there for many decades, regardless of how the product is used.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, the same thing occurs when PFOA leaks into groundwater.<\/p>\n Additionally, PFOA is incredibly toxic. Even minute amounts have been linked to liver disease, testicular cancer, and a number of other serious, chronic illnesses.<\/p>\n There is evidence that DuPont Chemical knew about these ill effects as early as 1961<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n Yet the company failed to do anything about the problem, or even notify the EPA about it, for several decades.<\/p>\n The combination of PFOA\u2019s dangers and corporate callousness means that substantial compensation is usually available for PFOA exposure victims.<\/p>\n Many people think that lead poisoning is a thing of the past.<\/p>\n But try telling that to residents of Flint, Michigan or many of New York City\u2019s public housing projects.<\/p>\n In the late 2000s, Flint officials unveiled a plan to channel water from Lake Huron to city residents. In the meantime, the Flint River would provide citizens with drinking water.<\/p>\n This liquid passed through corroding pipes which allowed lead to leach into drinking water.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, in the New York public housing system, years of neglect have resulted in elevated lead levels in many projects.<\/p>\n Lead poisoning has been conclusively linked to developmental delays.<\/p>\n Once these children fall behind in school, they are unable to catch up, mostly because of impaired brain activity.<\/p>\n \u201cThese children have been pushed so far down now they cannot ever achieve what was expected of them,\u201d remarked Napoli Law partner Hunter Shkolnik.<\/p>\n When miners and engineers first stumbled upon this fibrous mineral, it was hailed as a miracle mineral.<\/p>\n It was cheap, plentiful, and efficient.<\/p>\n Soon, however, asbestos manufacturers discovered this mineral had a dark side. It was one of the most toxic substances on earth.<\/p>\n One microscopic fiber can cause serious diseases like mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive form of heart\/lung cancer.<\/p>\nCommon Environmental Poisoning Claims<\/h2>\n
PFOA<\/h2>\n
Lead Poisoning<\/h2>\n
Asbestos<\/h2>\n