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The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare
By Nathaniel Rich / The New York Times
Just months before Rob Bilott made partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister, he received a call on his direct line from a cattle farmer. The farmer, Wilbur Tennant of Parkersburg, W.Va., said that his cows were dying left and right. He believed that the DuPont chemical company, which until recently operated a site in Parkersburg that is more than 35 times the size of the Pentagon, was responsible. Tennant had tried to seek help locally, he said, but DuPont just about owned the entire town. He had been spurned not only by Parkersburg’s lawyers but also by its politicians, journalists, doctors and veterinarians. The farmer was angry and spoke in a heavy Appalachian accent. Bilott struggled to make sense of everything he was saying. He might have hung up had Tennant not blurted out the name of Bilott’s grandmother, Alma Holland White. Read More
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NOV 23, 2015
Why the United States Leaves Deadly Chemicals on the Market
by Valerie Brown and Elizabeth Grossman / In These Times
A 6-month investigation finds that the revolving door between government and the chemical industry has led the EPA to rely on easily manipulated research. The result? Toxic substances remain in everyday products. Read more
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AUG 19, 2015
Bill banning Roundup yanked
By NANCY COOK LAUER / West Hawaii Today / Hawaii Tribune Herald
A bill aimed at finding alternatives to Monsanto Co.’s Roundup and other nonorganic weed killers was facing certain death Tuesday at the County Council Environmental Management Committee when it swiftly was uprooted by sponsor Kohala Councilwoman Margaret Wille.
With only three other council members — North Kona Councilwoman Karen Eoff, South Kona/Ka‘u Councilwoman Maile David and Hamakua Councilwoman Valerie Poindexter — willing to let her postpone Bill 71 for more work, Wille withdrew the measure, saving it to return another day.
“I support the idea that we restrict chemical spraying at our county facilities,” David said. “I think that should be our goal.” Read more
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New Report Shows That The Most Popular Weed-Killer In The U.S. Probably Causes Cancer
By Emily Atkin / Think Progress
The most popular weed-killer in the United States — and possibly the world — “probably” causes cancer, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Published Thursday in the journal The Lancet Oncology, the report focuses on a chemical called glyphosate, invented by Monsanto back in 1974 as a broad-spectrum herbicide. Read more