EPA to host Dec. 1 virtual meeting for Allentown (Pa) residents on health risks from ethylene oxide

From the EPA Press Office

PHILADELPHIA (Nov. 18, 2022) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will host a virtual community meeting for residents of Allentown, Pennsylvania, to share information about health risks from the chemical, ethylene oxide, or EtO. The community meeting will take place virtually on December 1 at 6 p.m. During the meeting, EPA staff will discuss revised risk information related to the B. Braun commercial sterilizer facility, located at 901 Marcon Blvd. in Allentown. 

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Later this year, EPA expects to propose an air pollution regulation to protect public health by addressing EtO emissions at commercial sterilizers. EPA is sharing EtO emissions data and information with the public to solicit feedback.  The agency aims to improve public understanding of the risk; help states, Tribes, communities and the industry reduce risk from EtO in the near term; and hear input as the agency continues to develop regulations to reduce air pollution from commercial sterilizers.

EPA will be joined by federal and state environmental and health officials to address questions, comments, and concerns from the public, including Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection staff who will discuss work they are doing in partnership with B. Braun to reduce emissions and risk.

A Spanish-speaking interpreter will be available.  To register for this virtual meeting, visit:

For more information about the EPA’s efforts to address ethylene oxide.

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Congress took millions from FTX. Now lawmakers face a crypto reckoning.

The stunning collapse of the world’s third-largest exchange has forced politicians to grapple with the costs of legislative inaction


By Tony Romm, the Washington Post

The sudden collapse of one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges rattled the nation’s capital this week, as lawmakers grappled with the wide-ranging fallout — and began to confront the consequences of neglecting the surging financial sector.

Only a few weeks ago, top Democrats and Republicans alike had been cashing campaign checks and working side-by-side with the vanguards of the industry, including FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, as they labored to craft new regulation in the frenetic, cutting-edge digital space.

Instead, Bankman-Fried unexpectedly became a potential case study of the costs of congressional inaction. While Washington dithered, he appeared to place risky bets that incinerated his fortune, jeopardized billions of dollars in Silicon Valley capital, and upended an entire ecosystem of cryptocurrency start-ups. The lawyer tapped to lead FTX in restructuring, who previously oversaw the bankruptcy of Enron, described the situation Thursday as a “complete failure of corporate controls.”

Investigators in the United States and abroad have opened probes into Bankman-Fried and his holdings. The Treasury Department has quietly placed calls to other large crypto exchanges to assess the risks of a broader contagion. And a slew of congressional committees has readied their own reviews, including a House inquiry announced Wednesday that could see Bankman-Fried testify under oath next month.

In the process, federal policymakers have been left to ask themselves a familiar, if uncomfortable question: Could they have prevented a crisis if they had paid close attention sooner?

Read the full story here

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First Solar to build $1.1 Billion Alabama Solar Panel Plant

By Ryan Secard, Industry Week

An Ohio solar panel manufacturer is expanding with a new production facility in Northern Alabama. First Solar Inc. announced Wednesday, November 16 that it would spend $1.1 billion building a new solar panel manufacturing plant in Lawrence County of the state. The latest announcement follows previous announcements by First Solar that it would expand its R&D and manufacturing operations in Ohio.

The Alabama factory, First Solar’s fourth plant and its first outside of Ohio, is expected to employ about 700 people, produce 3.5 gigawatts DC of capacity per year, and come online by the middle of the decade.

In a statement, First Solar CEO gave credit to the infrastructure bill signed in August by President Biden, which included $369 billion in funding for energy security and climate change, and said the new plant would be part of a wider U.S. transition to renewable energy.

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Fiscal headwinds challenge NJ offshore wind projects

Developers question financial viability as New Jersey Gov. Murphy boosts goals for offshore energy

By TOM JOHNSON, NJ SPOTLIGHT ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT WRITER 

The offshore wind industry is facing new scrutiny as some initial proposals to build big wind farms off coastal waters are running into unforeseen fiscal challenges driven by high inflation, rising interest rates, and continued constraints in the supply chain.

Those factors have led one company to ask to renegotiate its contract to build a 1,200-megawatt offshore wind farm in Massachusetts, a bid so far rejected by regulators there. They have also spurred Public Service Enterprise Group to reconsider its 25% investment in Ørsted’s 1,100-MW project to be built 15 miles off the Atlantic City coast.

Whether those issues are significant enough to slow New Jersey’s aggressive push to be a leader in the emerging industry remains to be seen, but there are critics who hope it does.

“The dirty secret of offshore wind is the economics don’t make sense,’’ said Mike Makarski, a spokesman for Affordable Energy of New Jersey, an organization that has been a persistent critic of the Murphy administration’s plan to shift to 100% clean energy by mid-century.

“The returns on our U.S. projects, including Ocean Wind I (the first approved New Jersey offshore wind farm), are not where we want them to be,’’ said CEO Mads Nipper, but he added the company remains committed to those projects.

Ørsted, PSEG, and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities have discussed the status of the Ocean Wind project, according to Joseph Fiordaliso, president of the BPU, the state agency overseeing the offshore wind initiative.

“Nothing is in jeopardy,’’ he said, making a statement about the potential setbacks at an unrelated BPU meeting earlier this month. “We all want to work it out. We will work it out.’’

Read the full story here

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GOP district mates applaud return of NJ bear hunt

From Senate Republican News

     Senator Steven Oroho and Assemblymen Parker Space and Hal Wirths (all R-24) commended the decision to reinstate New Jersey’s bear hunt and expressed appreciation to Governor Murphy for his willingness to follow the wildlife experts.

     “Hunting is an important part of the comprehensive set of practices that the state employs to manage the black bear population and minimize danger to people and property,” said Senator Oroho. “By his executive action to allow the bear hunt to recommence, I believe the Governor is recognizing this fact and I applaud his actions. Going forward, I hope the Administration will continue to follow the data and allow the wildlife conservation experts—who best understand the issue—to guide New Jersey’s bear management policies.”

     According to the most recent report by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection, there were 433 bear sightings in New Jersey from January 1 through October 21, up nearly 130% from the same period in 2021. There have also been 1,538 nuisance and damage reports over the same period compared to 457 last year. Altogether it’s a 237% increase.

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     Although there have been sightings in all 21 counties, Sussex incurred the most incidents, 701, followed by Morris with 411, and Warren with 272. Living in Sussex County, the three legislators pointed out that bear sightings have become so common that most aren’t officially reported.

     “This is something we have been calling on the Governor to do since he signed that executive order in 2018 banning the bear hunt on state property,” added Assemblyman Space. “Bears have no natural predators, and without hunting, the number of bears could continue to multiply unchecked. This was the right call by the Administration—they looked at the data and common sense prevailed.”

     New Jersey is the nation’s most densely populated state, and with an estimated 5,000 bears, the state also boasts the densest black bear population. Black bears will wander in search of food, and increasing numbers are forcing them to search closer to homes, leading to more contact with people.

     “When hunting was banned, we saw a significant rise in bear sightings, property damage, crop damage, animal / human interactions and even cases of pets being hurt or killed,” said Assemblyman Wirths. “By heeding the advice of wildlife experts, the Administration is putting the public’s safety first where it should be. The wildlife scientists know best in these matters, and I trust they will be instrumental in designing a sustainable bear management policy for the future.”

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