Neglected and exposed: Toxic air lingers in a Texas Latino community, revealing failures in stateโs air monitoring system
Public data from a network of state air monitors around the Houston Ship Channel is hard to interpret and is often inadequate, leaving Latino-majority neighborhoods like Cloverleaf unaware of whether the air they breathe is safe.
EPAโs inspector general says agency isnโt enforcing benzene pollution rules at refineries in Texas, nationally
A report by the federal environmental agencyโs internal watchdog found that EPA is failing to enforce its own pollution limits for the known carcinogen at many refineries โ including some in Texas.
Texas House moves to crack down on polluters with stricter penalties and heavier oversight
The bill would require the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to focus enforcement and increase penalties on repeat violators and increase public outreach. Still, environmental advocates say the effort was too โmodestโ in its reach.
Senatorโs bill would fine Texans for multiple environmental complaints that donโt lead to enforcement
The bill would impose fines when residents make more than three complaints to the state environmental agency in a year if they donโt result in enforcement action. Critics warn the bill would discourage people from reporting pollution.
Smog levels in Texas surge during heat wave, bringing worst summer air quality in a decade
Emissions are reacting with the summer heat to create high levels of smog, hazardous air pollution that damages the lungs. But state officials are pushing back on ozone pollution controls proposed by the EPA, arguing such rules would compromise the electric grid.
U.S. Supreme Court ruling limits EPAโs authority in regulating greenhouse gases
The high court said a cap on power plantsโ carbon dioxide emissions that forces a transition to other fuels may be a โsensibleโ solution to the climate crisis, but that Congress did not give the Environmental Protection Agency the broad authority to make such requirements. Texas was one of 17 states that joined in the suit.
Toxic formaldehyde levels found in the air in neighborhoods near Houston Ship Channel
Air pollution monitoring in 2019 and 2020 show levels of formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, in neighborhoods along the Houston Ship Channel that pose health threats to the largely Hispanic residents living in that area.
State agency unveils new technology aimed at closing air quality monitoring gap
HOUSTON โ Channel 2 Investigates uncovered a lapse in a safety net that so many of our communities depend on. A gap in air quality monitoring where dangerous chemicals could be released into the air. Nearly two months after our report, the Texas Commission On Environmental Quality is unveiling new technology aimed at improving that effort. Network of 200 Stationary Air MonitorsOne of the criticisms has been, right before a hurricane rolls in, the fixed air monitoring stations would go offline when theyโre needed most as plants and refineries burn off excess chemicals as theyโre being shut down. โGet real time data about the air, not just where our stationary air monitors are but all around the facility is going to be a game changer for us,โ Baker said.
This Texas-based company sells dog masks to protect pets against coronavirus, smoke, dust and other air pollutants
HOUSTON An Austin-based company, the Good Air Team have designed dog masks that protect pets from toxins in the air. The K9 Mask provides N95 air filter protection against smoke, dust, bacteria, smog and other air pollutants, the company says. In 2019, Evan Daugherty and Kirby Holmes, the co-owners of the Good Air Team, launched a fully-funded Kickstarter campaign. The Good Air Team started in 2015 as an educational website about the damages of global air pollution and the solution of wearing a pollution air mask. The duo launched Pollution Air Mask, which protects people from air pollution using stylish designs with innovative face mask technology.