air pollution

Joppa residents want Dallas officials to shut down an asphalt plant polluting their air. The city has spent millions buying asphalt from the company that owns it.

The Austin Asphalt batch plant in Joppa will not be granted an automatic permit renewal from the city. Dallas city officials say the facility is out of compliance.

A coalition of activists, academics and governments is building a network of low-cost air quality sensors. It says it is missing a key collaborator — the City of Dallas.

As the state’s environmental agency weighs new pollution limits on the plants, several lawmakers have filed bills that would put new restrictions on the facilities, which spew pollutants into mostly low-income neighborhoods.

Occidental’s tax break applications include new details about its carbon removal plans, which some experts see as important to countering climate change. Some environmentalists say the technology is unproven, expensive and only marginally useful at best.

One of them is in Laredo, which has elevated rates of cancer, according to a recent state analysis. The findings come after reporting by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.

West Dallas residents won a victory in their battle against industrial pollution this week. The GAF asphalt shingle factory has told residents it is leaving their neighborhood after more than 75 years of operation.

Janie Cisneros hits a bright blue and lime green paper maché piñata with — a white letters that read GAF. That's the name of the company that operates a 75-year-old factory operating next to her house on Singleton Boulevard in West Dallas. The piñata swings from side to side while mariachi music plays.

Burning oil, coal and other fossil fuels releases plumes of tiny, dangerous particles. A new study estimates that eliminating that pollution would save about 50,000 lives in the U.S. each year.

Benzene is a known human carcinogen, according to the EPA. The Texas refineries were among a dozen industrial plants in the U.S. that emitted the highest levels of the chemical in 2021.

The EPA will host a virtual public hearing on the proposed changes May 9. Those who wish to speak must register online by the end of May 5.

The air quality around major cities in North Texas is among the worst in the state. Part of the problem is pollution from gas-powered cars and trucks. Dallas County officials want to electrify their fleet to help improve the air. But it’s not a quick or easy process.