The controversy surrounding the potential storage of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, is discussed. Arguments about the stability of the site and the groundwater situation are summarized. The role of the U.S. Department of Energy and other political considerations are described. (CW)

Discusses a report published by the Center for Public Integrity (CPI) entitled Toxic Deception: How the Chemical Industry Manipulates Science, Bends the Law, and Endangers Your Health. Voices concerns that the federal regulatory system receives favors from the chemical industry that create bias. (PVD)

A public entity facing an environmental cleanup can take certain measures to dramatically increase its chance of coverage. Argues that many comprehensive general-liability insurance policies have coverage if the pollution is "sudden and accidental." (MLF)

Describes a prime example of promising new pollution cleanup methods known as phytoremediation, which uses plants that have an appetite for lead, uranium, and other pollutants. (ASK)

As a first step towards the greening of instructional laboratories, we present a new greener version of a laboratory procedure designed to measure colligative properties. The greener procedure substitutes the nontoxic, noncarcinogenic compounds stearic, myristic, lauric, and palmitic acids for the less benign aromatic compounds p-dichlorobenzene,…

In the spring of 1977, members of the National Indian Youth Council (NIYC), along with the Coalition for Navajo Liberation, barraged the Secretary of the Interior and the chairman of the Navajo Nation with petitions calling for a halt to the proposed construction of several coal gasification plants on the Navajo Reservation in northwestern New…

Nanotechnology promises to amend an understanding of elemental properties, alter the basic techniques of manufacturing, and improve disease diagnosis. There is a disconnect among the positive predictions of scientists and researchers, the fears of public interest groups, and the developers of products. A new framework for evaluating the social…

This compendium is a tool for bringing waste management education into classrooms. Curriculum materials gathered from across the country were reviewed by California's top environmental educators, both for correlation with the state's educational frameworks and for accuracy and completeness of waste management information. Materials that cover…

This annotated bibliography of law-related pollution prevention sources was prepared by the National Pollution Prevention Center for Higher Education. Some topics of the items include waste reduction, hazardous wastes, risk reduction, environmental policy, pollution prevention, environmental protection, environmental leadership, environmental…

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other major national and international scientific organizations have concluded that radon is a human carcinogen and a serious environmental health problem. The EPA has conducted extensive research on the presence and measurement of radon in schools. This report provides school administrators and…

Describes chemical labeling standards that utilize explanatory symbols to identify hazardous substances. (MLH)

Discusses types of laboratory waste materials and methods for their safe disposal. (MLH)

Describes the hazards of using living materials in the science laboratory and outlines safety procedures that are particularly applicable to schools. Explains hazards to both mental and physical health and examines the latter in terms of fundamental and contingent factors. (Author/GS)

Today's industrial economies were founded on the use of vast quantities of materials and energy, and the economic health of nations has often been equated with the amount they consumed. The amount of materials that originally enters an economy tells nothing about the material's eventual fate or its contribution to human well-being. It tells a good…

There has been increased public interest in the potential effects of nuclear powerplant accidents since the Soviet reactor accident at Chernobyl. People have begun to look for more information about the amount of radioactivity that might be released into the environment as a result of such an accident. When this issue is discussed by people…