Vicki Blazer, the 2011 recipient of our Protector of the Potomac Award, recently published scientific research that suggests multiple factors contribute to fish kills in the Shenandoah Valley.

Tim Wheeler writes in the B'More Green blog about a lawsuit Maryland is filing against Mirant Mid-Atlantic, LLC over coal ash. Coal ash is a disgusting byproduct of coal processing that contains heavy metals and other pollution that is toxic to human health and the environment.

The Washington Post is reporting that the cancer-causing chemical made famous by the movie "Erin Brockovich" has turned up in 31 cities across the country. Unfortunately, we're one of them. The chemical, hexavalent chromium, has a concentration of .19 parts per billion.

Want some arsenic with your turkey? Of course not, but it might be what you'll get. For years, poultry feed has been laced Roxarsone, a form of arsenic, to control stomach bugs and promote growth in animals. Great results, but at what cost? NPR recently posted a story explaining them.

NPR's Eliza Barclay writes that the two turkey's President Obama pardoned last month may not have eaten animal feed that contains arsenic, but the turkey you bought for thanksgiving might have.

The poultry industry has long mixed roxarsone, a form of arsenic, with feed to control stomach bugs and promote growth in animals. Some companies, like Foster Farms and Perdue, have stopped using it, but many have not.