Asbestos violations - 2 years. A Phoenixville man was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Thursday to 24 months in prison and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, a special assessment of $300 and restitution of $41,541.17 for asbestos violations. [News Source]

EPA to monitor airborne benzene in Manchester. Several special air monitoring stations will be set up here this fall to monitor the presence of the carcinogen benzene as part of an 18-month study under a $500,000 Environmental Protection Agency grant. [News Source]

Feds consider lifting warnings on San Joaquin dust pollution. The dust and soot in San Joaquin Valley's air would no longer be considered a federal health risk under a proposal being considered by the federal government. [News Source]

Greener school buses roll. The Jurupa Unified School District is a little greener after adding three new clean-fueled buses to its fleet. [News Source]

Fireworks worsened air quality. The snap, crackle and pop of Fourth of July fireworks did more than stir patriotism and scare dogs and cats -- it caused a spike in pollution. [News Source]

Is one of our last pristine coastlines in danger? There is rising chorus opposing a planned coal-fired power plant near Perry. [News Source]

How to deal with the smoke in the air. Residents of Thompson and Cariboo regions in British Columbia and other areas affected by fires should be aware that smoke conditions and local air pollution levels can change due to the unpredictable nature of the fires. [News Source]

Footing the bill to battle air pollution. A fiercely debated San Joaquin Valley developer fee intended to help clean the region's notoriously polluted air could be imposed on Bay Area builders if it survives political and legal challenges. [News Source]

Air better in one East End area; others worsen. The air in one of Houston's most polluted neighborhoods is getting cleaner, but levels of hazardous air pollutants in other Ship Channel communities are rising, a preliminary analysis of the latest state air quality data shows. [News Source]

30 years after chemical disaster, Italy still at polluters’ mercy. The wounds inflicted on the small Italian towns of Meda and Seveso by a chemical explosion at a perfume factory have now healed. But 30 years after it was hit by one of Europe's worst ever industrial and environmental disasters, Italy is still struggling to tackle polluters. [News Source]

Carbon black. In Oklahoma, near the border of Ponca Indian land, community members say one industrial plant has dumped so much carbon soot into the air their farm animals are changing color. [News Source]