Taconite plant to receive clean retrofit. Taconite producer Cleveland Cliffs has announced plans to increase production while decreasing air emissions at its United Taconite plant near Eveleth, Minnesotta. [News Source]

DHEC to study Neck Area air. The air in the Charleston Neck Area already is heavy with industrial pollution. And the problem will grow worse when ships begin using a container terminal that will open on the former Charleston Naval Base in 2013. [News Source]

Switch to wood heat could be damaging air quality. Maine's air quality could worsen if thousands of homeowners switch from oil heat to wood pellet stoves, according to a study done for the state's oil dealers. [News Source]

Former environmental officer: TVA violated law. A former U.S. government air quality official says the Tennessee Valley Authority violated federal law by renovating and expanding power plants without installing new air pollution scrubbers. [News Source]

Breathing freely. Six months after neighbours stopped burning plastics in a roadside barrel, Julie Inwood is beginning to get her health and her life back. [News Source]

Govt sets up inquiry into national guidelines on water quality. Two years after calling for reports on proposed national policy statement for freshwater management, the New Zealand Government has announced that it is setting up a committee. [News Source]

Air pollution can trigger heart attack. The polluted air of Beijing is not just a concern for Olympic athletes -- the air may trigger cardiovascular events in some spectators, a U.S. researcher says. [News Source]

City greener as Games approaches. Beijing’s skies are looking bluer in the last few days since it imposed a slew of severe restrictions, including a partial car ban and the stoppage of major pollution sources, on July 20. [News Source]

Despite the ‘luck of the eights,’ pollution worries mar excitement generated around Games’ debut. The Chinese will need more than luck to dissolve the thick smog and cloud of worries that hang over the Olympic host city. [News Source]

Factories shut in bid for blue sky Olympics. With less than a month to go to the Olympics, Beijing and neighbouring provinces have asked polluting industries to shut or reduce production to clean the air for athletes, and to help offset a looming power shortage. [News Source]

Call to cut games site emissions. More must be done to tackle the harmful emissions from construction equipment used to build facilities for the 2012 London Olympic Games, MPs have said. [News Source]