Category: Emissions

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of the Columbia Circuit, in a 2-1 vote on Sept. 2, ruled a lower court lacked jurisdiction to hear a case brought by non-profit groups awarded $20 billion in grants under the prior administration’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Program (GGRFP).

The GGRFP was established as part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It The was geared specifically toward low-income communities to fund projects that would lower energy costs and pollution for those …

On August 18, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued its long-awaited decision in Sommerville v. Union Carbide Corp., reversing the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia’s summary judgment ruling in favor of the plant owner defendants. In the case, the lead plaintiff, on her own behalf, and others similarly situated, alleged exposure to ethylene oxide (“EtO”). It is claimed that EtO is a cancer-causing gas. The lawsuit involves manufacturing operations in South Charleston, …

A Colorado jury issued a defense verdict following a six-week trial during which four women alleged their respective cancers were caused by exposure to EtO emitted by the nearby Terumo Blood & Cell Technologies Lakewood plant over the course of several decades. They asked for a $444 million judgment.

Notably, during a years-long nationwide assessment of EtO facility emissions (covered by ELM here), the EPA previously concluded that the fence-line community living next to the Lakewood facility in Jefferson County had an elevated cancer …