The third-party audit system, in which private companies take over responsibility for inspecting worksites and production facilities, has been shown to expose Americans to significant health and safety risks while eating, working, and breathing.

The use of genetically engineered (GE) crops has increased enormously over the last decade, without a corresponding increase in government oversight. Industry has fought hard against strict oversight and testing and has even blocked efforts to label GE food products as such, leaving U.S. consumers in the dark about how their food is produced and what it contains. As consumers have become increasingly concerned about food safety and health, demands for federal and state food labeling legislation have intensified.

Though the Clean Air Act and rules from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have reduced national air pollution levels, hundreds of communities around the country still struggle with dangerously poor air quality. Released on Nov. 7, Poisoned Places: Toxic Air, Neglected Communities is an investigative journalism project that raises awareness about these communities. The project includes a series of in-depth stories and an interactive mapping tool that raise important questions at a time when Congress is seeking to weaken the act and its enforcement.

After more than 20 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finally determined that trichloroethylene (TCE), a chlorinated solvent used primarily for removing grease from metal, causes cancer. The assessment was finalized by the EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), an important but troubled program that is tasked with providing the public with critical information about dangerous chemical exposures.