The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan ordered DTE Energy Company and three of its subsidiaries to comply with the Clean Air Act and pay a penalty of $100 million in a decision issued today concerning a coke battery in River Rouge, Michigan.The EES Coke facility (Facility) is located on Zug Island, between River Rouge and Detroit, in an area that fails to meet federal standards for sulfur dioxide in the air. The Facility uses coal and other raw materials to produce metallurgical coke, an input for making steel. The court found that the Facility increased its sulfur dioxide pollution as a result of changes the company sought to its state air permit in 2014. For example, the Facility emitted over 3,200 tons of sulfur dioxide pollution in 2018, compared to permitted baseline sulfur dioxide levels of under 2,100 tons per year.
In an August 2025 order, the court found that the Facility violated the Clean Air Act. The court then held a two-week trial in September to determine which DTE Energy Company entities were liable and the appropriate relief for the violations.
“This decision demonstrates that the Department of Justice will seek relief against companies that fail to comply with the nation’s environmental laws,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “This ensures a level playing field for all businesses and advances the Administration’s initiative to Make America Healthy Again.”
“Our goal in this litigation has been to secure compliance with the clear mandates of the law and stop unlimited emission of a criteria air pollutant. The court’s judgement achieves that,” said Assistant Administrator Jeffrey A. Hall of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Even as this Administration grows American industry, we will ensure that uncontrolled pollution does not follow and that Americans have clean air. We will be ready to pursue judicial action from the outset of a case.”
In today’s decision, the court found that emissions from the Facility caused asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes, increased blood pressure, and increased risk of cancer, asthma, Alzheimer’s disease, and early deaths.
The court found that DTE Energy Company, DTE Energy Resources LLC, and DTE Energy Services Inc. were all liable as operators of the EES Coke facility. The court found each entity “exhibit[ed] a high degree of control over the Facility, including over environmental decision-making and operations.” In addition, the court had previously found that EES Coke Battery LLC was liable as an owner and operator of the Facility.
Turning to civil penalty, the court found that a penalty of $100 million was appropriate for the primary claim. The court found that the evidence showed that defendants saved about $70 million by failing to comply with the Clean Air Act as required, and were thus able to use that money in other ways. The court also found that the DTE Defendants each had a “substantial” ability to pay for relief ordered by the court.
Next the court ordered defendants to seek New Source Review permits from the Michigan Department of the Environment and Great Lakes (EGLE) within 250 days. The required permit applications will include proposals for stringent pollution controls consistent with the lowest achievable emissions rate and best available control technology, as determined by EGLE. The Court noted that the desulfurization technology described at trial for potential use at the Facility was “mature and well-established in the coking industry.”
The substances n-hexane and 4,4'-[2,2,2-trifluoro-1-(trifluoromethyl)ethylidene]diphenol and its salts have been added to the European Chemicals Agency’s candidate list of substances of very high concern (SVHCs), ECHA announced last week. The list, which now includes 253 entries, comprises chemicals that can harm humans or the environment. Inclusion of substances on the candidate list triggers requirements for suppliers, importers, and producers under the European Union’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation. For example, EU and European Economic Area suppliers of substances on the list must update the safety data sheets they provide to customers.According to ECHA, n-hexane is used in formulation, polymer processing, coatings, and cleaning agents, and the substance can cause specific target organ toxicity after repeated exposure. The agency says that the substance 4,4'-[2,2,2-trifluoro-1-(trifluoromethyl)ethylidene]diphenol and its salts are used as process regulators and cross-linking agents. ECHA’s reasoning for including this substance on the candidate list is that it is toxic for reproduction.
Chemicals on the SVHC candidate list may later be placed on the authorization list, which prohibits companies from using certain substances in the EU unless they apply for authorization and the European Commission approves the continued use. ECHA’s news article provides further information about the newly added substances and the SVHC candidate list.
The new East Palestine Train Derailment Health Research Program Office, opened last week by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is intended to assess the long-term health outcomes of the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train near East Palestine, Ohio, in February 2023. The derailment involved 38 mixed-freight railcars, including five tank cars carrying vinyl chloride monomer, a compressed liquified flammable gas. The other railcars were carrying chemicals including butyl acrylate, ethylene glycol, and benzene. Some railcars burned for more than two days, and concerns about the risk of explosion led responders to initiate a controlled venting and burning of railcars containing vinyl chloride. Following the derailment, residents reported health symptoms such as headaches and respiratory, skin, and eye irritation, which NIH says led to concerns regarding potential long-term effects on maternal, child, psychological, immunological, respiratory, and cardiovascular health.The research program is funded by NIH’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and comprises a team of researchers from the University of Kentucky, University of Pittsburgh, and Yale University. According to a news article from the University of Kentucky, the team includes experts in environmental health, exposure science, and epidemiology. The program website states that the health research study is open to those who lived in East Palestine or the surrounding area when the derailment occurred, workers or volunteers who responded to the derailment or were involved in clean-up efforts, and people who lived in Cambridge, Ohio, or the surrounding area since 2023. Individuals participating in the study must be eight years old or older. The new office is located in downtown East Palestine and will house activities related to enrollment, research coordination, and community meetings.
“The East Palestine Health Research Program is designed to track potential health effects associated with chemical exposure from the derailment, including respiratory, cardiovascular, neurological and cancer-related outcomes,” the University of Kentucky’s news article explains. “The studies will follow residents over time, creating one of the most comprehensive community-based environmental health investigations ever conducted following a rail disaster.”
For more information, see the NIH news release or the website for the research program.
A U.S. Department of Labor investigation found numerous safety hazards at a Mobile worksite where Construction Labor Services Inc. workers were exposed to sewage gases, resulting in two fatalities.Investigators with the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration that on Aug. 11, 2025, three Construction Labor Services workers were installing and repairing sewer lines inside of a manhole when they were overcome by sewer gas and became unresponsive. One worker regained consciousness and managed to self-rescue, and the two other workers succumbed to their injuries.
Federal safety investigators determined the employer lacked confined space entry programs, procedures, training, and emergency response plans, including plans to determine acceptable entry conditions for confined spaces.
OSHA cited Construction Labor Services Inc. with 16 serious violations and proposed penalties of $257,707.
Construction Labor Services Inc. has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Penalties and citations may be adjusted throughout the course of the case process. Please check the OSHA establishment search page periodically for changes in the inspection or penalty status.
OSHA's confined workspaces webpage includes information on standard requirements, hazard recognition, and controlling safety hazards. Employers can contact the agency for information about OSHA's compliance assistance resources and for free help on complying with OSHA standards.
The U.S. Department of Labor has cited two Pennsylvania employers after a federal investigation into an August 2025 explosion at a United States Steel Corp. worksite that injured 12 and claimed the lives of two employees.The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration concluded United States Steel Corp. and MPW Industrial Services Inc. exposed workers at the Clairton Coke Works plant to unsafe working conditions including explosion, struck-by, and high-pressure injection hazards.
Federal safety inspectors determined that United States Steel Corp. failed to use required safety management and energy control practices for hazardous work involving flammable gas. OSHA also concluded that cleaning services contractor MPW Industrial Services failed to provide a relief valve for a high-pressure water system and did not coordinate energy control practices for hazardous work involving flammable gas.
OSHA cited United States Steel Corp. with seven serious and one other-than-serious violations and proposed $118,214 in penalties. The agency cited MPW Industrial Services Inc. with four serious and two other-than-serious violations and proposed $61,473 in penalties.
Both employers have 15 business days from receipt of their citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Penalties and citations may be adjusted throughout the course of the case. Please check the OSHA establishment search page periodically for any changes in the inspection or penalty status.
The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered two Houston-based construction companies and their owners to reinstate and compensate two workers who were fired for raising asbestos concerns during repair of a hotel after Hurricane Beryl.The department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated a whistleblower complaint by the terminated employees of Rise Construction LLC, owned by Jivar Foty, and Niko Group LLC, owned by Jessica Foty.
The two employees alleged they were fired after raising concerns to the owners about lack of training, asbestos certification, personal protective equipment, and illegal dumping of asbestos. OSHA found that the terminations were in retaliation for making protected complaints under the Clean Air Act, the Solid Waste Disposal Act, and Toxic Substances Control Act, and ordered reinstatement of the two employees and payment of more than $200,000 in back wages and interest, as well as compensatory and punitive damages.
OSHA enforces 25 whistleblower statutes that protect employees from retaliation for reporting potential violations involving safety, health, environmental protection, and other public interest concerns.
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