Hiroko Tabuchi

The Biden-era rules require thousands of hazardous-chemical sites to adopt new safeguards against storms, spills and other risks.

A new French ban on “forever chemicals” allows their use in nonstick pans after industry opposition, including a rally by employees of Tefal, a cookware maker.

Lynn Dekleva, who recently took a senior role at the agency, once led an aggressive effort by industry to block regulations on formaldehyde.

Johnson County is seeking federal assistance, saying its farmland has become dangerously contaminated with “forever chemicals” from the use of fertilizer made from sewage sludge.

Products must state if they contain chemicals tied to cancer or other risks. As a result, manufacturers have pulled back from using the chemicals, researchers found.

The move would run counter to a Biden administration push to cut back on single-use plastic, which was considered a milestone.

Top political appointees are already at the E.P.A. preparing to erase the agency’s climate rules and pollution controls. Many of them have tried it before.

Nancy Beck and Lynn Ann Dekleva worked in the first Trump administration, where they fought chemical restrictions.

The findings give new insight into the dangers of urban wildfires that burn plastics and other chemicals in homes and property.

Health hazards from soot and smoke blown indoors onto furniture and walls can linger for months, researchers say: “Wind will get through every crack.”

How to understand the E.P.A.’s new warning about PFAS levels in sewage sludge.

Levels of PFAS in sewage sludge used as fertilizer can pose risks that sometimes exceed safety thresholds “by several orders of magnitude,” the agency said.

Researchers see a growing health danger from the vast plumes of pollution spawned by wildfires like the ones devastating Los Angeles.

It’s widely used because it can slow flames in ways that water can’t. But it also contains heavy metals and other harmful compounds.

Wastewater, even after treatment to make it drinkable, contains high levels of PFAS, according to researchers.

The agency obtained research from 3M in 2003 revealing that sewage sludge, the raw material for the fertilizer, carried toxic “forever chemicals.”

The two solvents, known as Perc and TCE, cause kidney cancer and other ailments, and have been the subject of years of controversy.

A company controlled by Goldman Sachs is helping to lead a lobbying effort by makers of fertilizer linked to “forever chemicals.”

As countries negotiate a landmark agreement to reduce plastic pollution, the industry is fighting a battle over regulations and over its image.

Talks on the world’s first treaty to tackle plastic pollution will continue in coming months, delegates said.