ALERT requests Letter of Interpretation for OSHA cold/flu exemption

July 7, 2022.  ALERT requested a letter of interpretation from OSHA of 1904.5(b)(2)(viii), an exemption to recording and reportability of an illness, which states an employer is “not required to record illnesses or injuries if… [t]he illness is the common cold or flu.” Specifically, ALERT asked how OSHA determines whether the common cold and flu is the source of an…

Read More

Gulf Coast Community Organizations & Allies for Environmental Justice  Request President to Withdraw Rule on Dispersant Use Before It Goes into Effect

For Immediate Release Contacts:  Riki Ott, Founder/Director, ALERT, a project of Earth Island Institute 206-853-2855, [email protected]   Lesley Pacey, Founder/Director, Eastern Shore Community Health Partners, a Mobile Bay, Alabama, initiative to research chronic disease clusters 251-990-3515, [email protected] Berkeley, CA (January 18, 2022) — This week, a group of environmental-justice advocates and allies are calling on…

Read More

ALERT, Gulf Coast allies request action from EPA Administrator

  September 30, 2021.  Gulf coast community organizations and allies for environmental justice sent a letter to EPA Administrator Regan requesting four immediate actions in relation to ongoing dispersant litigation and the associated EPA rulemaking: Let the August 9, 2021, court decision stand – do not appeal it. Withdraw the final rule on monitoring for…

Read More

Petition to Bill and Melinda Gates — as shareholders of Ecolab — to help stop use and manufacture of toxic dispersants for oil spill response

    Click here to sign the petition on Change.org Appeal to Bill and Melinda Gates — as shareholders of Ecolab — to help stop use and manufacture of toxic dispersants for oil spill response During a recent “cast” interview for the documentary A Concerned Citizen, now screening through the Global Peace Film Festival until…

Read More

EPA stalls case

  EPA filed a motion requesting that Judge Orrick reconsider his reasoned ruling on our Clean Water Act claim. EPA claimed that the Judge did not specifically address various issues it raised in its motion to dismiss our case. However, the Judge’s written opinion and the hearing transcripts both show that these issues were in…

Read More

ALERT v. EPA makes law! Ruling a “game-changer”

June 2, 2020. U.S. Magistrate Judge William Orrick ruled that the Clean Water Act requires the EPA to keep the nation’s oil spill response plans current and effective. New research has linked chemical dispersants, heavily used during the 2010 BP spill response, with long-term illnesses in humans and wildlife. The EPA has failed to consider…

Read More