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Multilateral Development Banks Increase Climate Finance to $163 Billion in 2025, Supporting Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Growth
WASHINGTON, July 15 (TNSrpt) -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following news release:
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Multilateral Development Banks Increase Climate Finance to $163 billion in 2025, Supporting Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Growth
* Multilateral development banks' climate finance in low-and middle-income countries jumps 21% to $103 billion last year, according to their new annual report.
* MDB adaptation finance in low- and middle-income economies rose 31% to $35 billion, and mitigation finance rose 16% to $68 billion.
* MDBs on track to meet their 2030 climate-finance projections
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WASHINGTON, July 15 (TNSrpt) -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following news release:
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Multilateral Development Banks Increase Climate Finance to $163 billion in 2025, Supporting Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Growth
* Multilateral development banks' climate finance in low-and middle-income countries jumps 21% to $103 billion last year, according to their new annual report.
* MDB adaptation finance in low- and middle-income economies rose 31% to $35 billion, and mitigation finance rose 16% to $68 billion.
* MDBs on track to meet their 2030 climate-finance projectionsacross all their countries of operation.
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Multilateral development banks (MDBs) including the Inter-American Development Bank Group increased climate finance to record levels in 2025, reinforcing their role in supporting climate-resilient and sustainable economies. Climate finance by MDBs in low- and middle-income countries jumped 21% from the previous year to an all-time high of $103 billion while MDB climate finance across all countries of operation rose 19% to a record $163 billion.
The results, published today in the 2025 Joint Report on Multilateral Development Banks' Climate Finance, confirm that MDBs are on track to meet their 2030 projections announced at the United Nations climate conference COP29 in Baku in 2024.
In low- and middle-income economies, MDB climate finance has doubled over the past five years. Of the $103 billion amount in 2025, mitigation accounted for the largest share at $68 billion while adaptation finance continued to grow rapidly to $35 billion. Private-sector mobilisation in these countries reached $35 billion.
In high-income economies, MDB climate finance in 2025 also remained substantial, meeting or exceeding 2030 targets five years in advance and supporting primarily mitigation efforts with $53 billion, alongside targeted adaptation investments of $7 billion. Private finance mobilisation in these countries reached $80 billion.
MDB climate finance
At COP29 in Baku, MDBs set out financial efforts to help countries achieve ambitious climate results. By 2030, they projected to provide $120 billion annually in collective climate finance for low- and middle-income countries, including $42 billion for adaptation, while mobilising an additional $65 billion a year from the private sector. For high-income countries, MDBs project $50 billion a year in climate finance by 2030, including $7 billion for adaptation, alongside a further $65 billion in mobilised private finance.
At COP30 in Belem, MDBs reaffirmed their commitment to continue to work together as a system to assist clients, helping them benefit from the opportunities of climate smart development.
Advancing transparency
MDBs are advancing their joint digitalisation efforts to improve the transparency, accessibility and usability of climate finance data.
Launched in April 2026, the pilot version of the MDB Climate Finance Dashboard complements the joint summary report by providing more granular data, detailed breakdowns and the full set of harmonised methodologies used by MDBs. Through interactive tables and visualisations, stakeholders can explore climate finance data in a more flexible and intuitive way, enhancing both understanding and usability.
MDB joint reporting on climate finance
The 2025 MDB climate finance reporting is coordinated and prepared for publication by the EIB, with assistance from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The reporting combines data from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), the EBRD, the EIB, the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDBG), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the New Development Bank (NDB) and the World Bank Group (WBG).
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About the IDB Group
The Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group) is the leading source of financing and knowledge for improving lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. It comprises the IDB, which works with the region's public sector and enables the private sector; IDB Invest, which directly supports private companies and projects; and IDB Lab, which spurs entrepreneurial innovation.
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REPORT: https://www.eib.org/files/publications/20260117-130726-2025-joint-summary-report-on-mdbs-climate-finance-en.pdf
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Original text here: https://www.iadb.org/en/news/multilateral-development-banks-increase-climate-finance-163-billion-2025-supporting-climate
SBA Expands Use of Palantir Software to Accelerate Pandemic Fraud Crackdown
WASHINGTON, July 15 -- The Small Business Administration issued the following news release on July 14, 2026:
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SBA Expands Use of Palantir Software to Accelerate Pandemic Fraud Crackdown
Advanced Technology Will Strengthen SBA's Fraud Analysis and Enforcement Efforts on Behalf of Small Businesses and Taxpayers
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Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced a new phase in its anti-fraud initiative in which it is deploying Palantir Technologies (Palantir) software to advance the agency's ongoing efforts to identify, investigate, and help prosecute fraud in pandemic-era small
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WASHINGTON, July 15 -- The Small Business Administration issued the following news release on July 14, 2026:
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SBA Expands Use of Palantir Software to Accelerate Pandemic Fraud Crackdown
Advanced Technology Will Strengthen SBA's Fraud Analysis and Enforcement Efforts on Behalf of Small Businesses and Taxpayers
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Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced a new phase in its anti-fraud initiative in which it is deploying Palantir Technologies (Palantir) software to advance the agency's ongoing efforts to identify, investigate, and help prosecute fraud in pandemic-era smallbusiness relief programs, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (COVID EIDL) program. This collaboration formalizes the Fraud Prevention Pilot Program that the agency launched earlier this year with Palantir software, using advanced technology and artificial intelligence to surface data and leads, support criminal enforcement, and assist in the recovery of funds for American taxpayers.
"Under the Biden Administration, the SBA's pandemic relief programs saw staggering levels of abuse that robbed taxpayers and small businesses alike, accounting for as much as 20% of the more than $1.2 trillion in aid meant for Main Street," said SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler. "The Trump SBA's initiative, powered by Palantir software, will strengthen our ability to expose fraudulent actors, support criminal enforcement actions, and recover stolen funds with advanced technology and artificial intelligence. No amount of fraud is acceptable -- whether it is $10,000 or $10 million -- which is why the SBA is deploying these tools to accelerate our work to surface wrongdoing and ensure those who cheated taxpayer-funded programs face consequences. The American people deserve accountability and a federal government that has the controls to prevent fraud in the first place, and that is exactly what the SBA will continue to deliver."
Palantir software will enhance the SBA's data analysis capabilities to support its fraud detection efforts as the agency continues to address fraud across COVID-era relief programs in coordination with the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, the U.S. Department of Justice, the SBA Office of Inspector General, and other law enforcement partners. These tools will help the agency analyze large datasets, flag anomalies, identify potential indicators of coordinated schemes, accelerate investigative leads, and identify funds obtained through false or fraudulent applications for further action.
The initiative advances the SBA's ongoing state-by-state efforts to root out pandemic relief fraud, recover taxpayer dollars, and hold bad actors accountable. To date, the agency has announced suspensions of over 150,000 pandemic borrowers in five states tied to over $10 billion in suspected fraud. Suspended borrowers are prohibited from receiving future small business and disaster loans and are not eligible for other SBA programs such as federal contracting in the 8(a) Business Development Program. Suspensions to date include:
* 112,000 California borrowers tied to $8.6 billion in suspected fraud
* 27,000 Ohio borrowers tied to $1.1 billion in suspected fraud
* 6,900 Minnesota borrowers tied to $400 million in suspected fraud
* 1,500 Maine borrowers tied to $93 million in suspected fraud
* 7,800 Wisconsin borrowers tied to $375 million in suspected fraud
In partnership with the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, the SBA also launched its largest fraud enforcement action to date -- and the largest referral package in agency history -- by referring more than 560,000 suspected fraudulent borrowers tied to $22 billion in pandemic-era loans to the U.S. Department of the Treasury for collection.
As these efforts continue, the SBA remains committed to aggressive oversight, strong interagency coordination, and accountability for those who defrauded programs intended to help legitimate small businesses, as well as implementing preventive measures in its ongoing programs.
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About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of entrepreneurship. As the leading voice for small businesses within the federal government, the SBA empowers job creators with the resources and support they need to start, grow, and expand their businesses or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.
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Original text here: https://www.sba.gov/article/2026/07/14/sba-expands-use-palantir-software-accelerate-pandemic-fraud-crackdown
FHLBanks Will Not Issue a Global on July 14
WASHINGTON, July 15 -- The Federal Home Loan Banks Office of Finance issued the following news release:
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FHLBanks Will Not Issue a Global on July 14
Today, the FHLBank System is announcing that no Global will be issued or reopened on the July 14 calendar date.
The next Global opportunity for the FHLBanks is July 23, 2026, per the Global calendar that is published and available on the Office of Finance website.
On these predetermined dates, the FHLBanks have the option of issuing a new Global, reopening an existing Global, or deferring until the next scheduled opportunity.
This announcement
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, July 15 -- The Federal Home Loan Banks Office of Finance issued the following news release:
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FHLBanks Will Not Issue a Global on July 14
Today, the FHLBank System is announcing that no Global will be issued or reopened on the July 14 calendar date.
The next Global opportunity for the FHLBanks is July 23, 2026, per the Global calendar that is published and available on the Office of Finance website.
On these predetermined dates, the FHLBanks have the option of issuing a new Global, reopening an existing Global, or deferring until the next scheduled opportunity.
This announcementis neither an offer to sell, nor a solicitation of offers to buy, these securities.
The FHLBanks have delivered innovation and service to the U.S. housing market since 1932, and currently have approximately 6,300 members serving all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. Please contact Tom Heinle at (703) 467-3646 or theinle@fhlb-of.com for additional information.
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Original text here: https://fhlb-of.com/ofweb_userWeb/resources/PR2026-0714-NoGlobal0.pdf
EPA Proposes Updated Residential Soil Cleanup at Vega Baja Superfund Site in Puerto Rico
WASHINGTON, July 15 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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EPA Proposes Updated Residential Soil Cleanup at Vega Baja Superfund Site in Puerto Rico
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Vega Baja, P.R. \- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to update the cleanup plan for the Vega Baja Solid Waste Disposal Superfund site in Puerto Rico to better protect residents from lead in soil. EPA is taking this step after reviewing recent sampling results under current science that calls for a more protective look at lead in residential areas. Under the proposed update, EPA would
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WASHINGTON, July 15 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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EPA Proposes Updated Residential Soil Cleanup at Vega Baja Superfund Site in Puerto Rico
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Vega Baja, P.R. \- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to update the cleanup plan for the Vega Baja Solid Waste Disposal Superfund site in Puerto Rico to better protect residents from lead in soil. EPA is taking this step after reviewing recent sampling results under current science that calls for a more protective look at lead in residential areas. Under the proposed update, EPA wouldclean up eight additional residential properties and sample four nearby properties to determine whether more cleanup is needed on those properties.
"Families should not have to worry about lead in the soil around their homes," said EPA Regional Administrator Michael Martucci. "EPA is using current science and recent sampling to guide additional cleanup where it is needed to better protect the Brisas del Rosario community."
The Vega Baja site includes a residential area and a nearby area that was formerly used as a municipal solid waste disposal facility from 1948 to 1979. Homes were later built on portions of the former disposal area, potentially exposing residents to lead and other heavy metal contamination.
EPA selected the original soil cleanup plan in 2010. Under that plan, EPA removed contaminated soil from residential properties, placed clean soil in excavated areas and restored the properties. EPA also consolidated some contaminated soil in an area and covered it and required land-use restrictions where contamination remained in place.
The proposed update would use a similar cleanup approach as in the original plan, but uses more stringent clean up levels to dictate where soils must be addressed. EPA would remove lead-contaminated soil from the additional residential properties, dispose of the soil off-site, place clean soil in excavated areas, and restore disturbed areas with vegetation.
EPA would also install protective barriers where digging is not possible and use property restrictions where contamination remains accessible to prevent contact with contaminated soil.
EPA will hold an information session on July 17 th, 2026, from 5-7 p.m., at the Pentecostal Church Monte de Sion to provide an overview of the cleanup proposal and answer community questions. In addition, the Puerto Rico Department of Health will separately conduct free finger-prick tests for lead in blood for anyone who is interested.
The proposed update (formally called an Explanation of Significant Differences) and supporting documents will be available on the Vega Baja superfund site profile page Exit EPA's website
Background
Since the 1970s, EPA has worked alongside partners at the federal, state, Tribal, and local levels to protect children's health and make progress in reducing lead exposures and lead-related health risks. Despite improvements over the last 50 years, ongoing exposures to lead where our families live, work, and play present a health risk, especially to children.
To combat this issue, in 2025 the Trump EPA reestablished a committee of senior leaders across the agency's program offices and ten regions to drive success in reducing children's exposure to lead. This renewed agency-wide focus is centered around strengthening cooperative federalism, streamlining actionable risk communications, and unleashing private sector innovation to protect human health and the environment.
Please see epa.gov/lead Exit EPA's website for additional information.
Follow EPA Region 2 on X Exit EPA's website, Instagram Exit EPA's website, and visit our Facebook Exit EPA's website page. For more information about EPA Region 2, visit our website Exit EPA's website.
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Original text here: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-proposes-updated-residential-soil-cleanup-vega-baja-superfund-site-puerto-rico
Comments of the National Academy of Medicine on OMB's Proposal to Alter the Federal Grantmaking Process
WASHINGTON, July 15 -- The National Academy of Medicine issued the following news:
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Comments of the National Academy of Medicine on OMB's Proposal to Alter the Federal Grantmaking Process
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The approach the United States has taken to funding biomedical and health research for more than seven decades rests on a straightforward premise: awards are chosen through rigorous, independent, competitive peer review, within priorities that elected leaders set through statute and appropriations. That approach has delivered enormous returns, including steep declines in deaths from cancer, heart disease,
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WASHINGTON, July 15 -- The National Academy of Medicine issued the following news:
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Comments of the National Academy of Medicine on OMB's Proposal to Alter the Federal Grantmaking Process
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The approach the United States has taken to funding biomedical and health research for more than seven decades rests on a straightforward premise: awards are chosen through rigorous, independent, competitive peer review, within priorities that elected leaders set through statute and appropriations. That approach has delivered enormous returns, including steep declines in deaths from cancer, heart disease,and infection; life-saving advances in transplantation, maternal and fetal care, and treatment of genetic and neurological disorders; and the promise of new cures through gene- and immune-based therapies. It has also sustained decades of U.S. leadership in science and innovation and driven nationwide economic growth.
The Office of Management and Budget's (OMB's) proposed rule, Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance, threatens to fundamentally alter this proven system and compromise the ability of the American scientific enterprise to deliver ongoing benefits to taxpayers. Alongside the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and hundreds of other aligned organizations, the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) submitted a formal public comments to OMB detailing concerns with key provisions and urging action to preserve the primacy of independent, merit-based review and sustain the scientific workforce that is vital to national competitiveness and security. A high-level summary of the comments appears below.
Access the NAM's complete comments here: Comments of the National Academy of Medicine on the Proposed Rule, Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance
Summary
The NAM supports appropriate measures to ensure accountability and legal compliance in the use of federal research funds. However, several elements of the proposed rule would introduce uncertainty and potential bias into a system that depends on predictability and independence.
The rule would insert discretionary, non-technical review by political appointees ahead of funding decisions, potentially overriding objective processes designed to select the most meritorious projects to advance national priorities. It would expand agencies' authority to terminate active, multi-year awards for non-scientific reasons, disrupting years-long clinical trials, research cohorts, and laboratory work that cannot simply be paused without harming the ability to achieve valid results and honor obligations to people who contribute to biomedical research by participating in clinical trials.
The rule could curtail the ability of scientific and medical organizations to convene independent experts and disseminate research findings free of political influence and could impede essential international scientific collaboration. It could also restrict legitimate scientific research that measures how health outcomes differ across communities, including research that is essential to serving rural, low-income, and chronically ill populations. Finally, the rule risks destabilizing support for fellowships, traineeships, and other mechanisms that sustain the pipeline of early-career scientists.
Such significant disruption could have economic and national security ramifications. U.S. investment in basic and applied research remains larger than that of any other nation, and it has helped drive many of the major scientific advances of the modern era, advances whose benefits have extended far beyond our borders. It allows the United States to help lead global conversations about public health, regulation, and scientific norms. The biomedical enterprise is also a pillar of our national security, supporting America's biodefense and pandemic response.
The biomedical enterprise employs millions of Americans and anchors regional economies. It produces medicines that change people's lives and allow them to be more productive. Sustaining this enterprise requires a scientific and engineering workforce commensurate with the size of our economy and the scale of our scientific aspirations. The enterprise took decades to build, and once it erodes, rebuilding it could take a generation.
The OMB's proposed changes would add significantly to an already sizable burden on the workforce; for example, funding constraints and immigration policies introduced in 2025 and 2026 have already reduced, by the thousands, the number of next-generation scientists available to serve the nation. In this context, the NAM comment calls on OMB to demonstrate how its proposed changes will protect and enhance, rather than erode, the size and quality of the nation's current and future scientific workforce.
The NAM welcomes the opportunity to work with OMB toward a final rule that advances transparency and accountability without compromising scientific integrity and innovation.
Media inquiries: Molly Galvin (mgalvin@nas.edu)
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Original text here: https://nam.edu/news-and-insights/comments-omb-proposal/
CfA Astronomers Win Share of Roman Space Telescope's Inaugural General Investigator Program
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, July 15 -- The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics issued the following news release:
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CfA Astronomers Win Share of Roman Space Telescope's Inaugural General Investigator Program
Four major projects and seven CfA researchers will lead and co-lead investigations spanning the Milky Way, exoplanets, black holes, and the earliest galaxies
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The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian was strongly represented in the newly announced Cycle 1 General Investigator Program from the Roman Science Support Center with four scientists leading and three co-leading
... Show Full Article
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, July 15 -- The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics issued the following news release:
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CfA Astronomers Win Share of Roman Space Telescope's Inaugural General Investigator Program
Four major projects and seven CfA researchers will lead and co-lead investigations spanning the Milky Way, exoplanets, black holes, and the earliest galaxies
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The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian was strongly represented in the newly announced Cycle 1 General Investigator Program from the Roman Science Support Center with four scientists leading and three co-leadinginvestigations.
"I would like to congratulate every CfA astronomer whose programs were accepted as a Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator," said CfA Director Lisa Kewley. "They will be leading groundbreaking astronomical discoveries in a large range of topics, including the structure of our Milky Way, galaxy evolution at cosmic dawn, black hole growth, explosive transients, and the formation and evolution of exoplanets."
The full list of selected CfA programs are:
CfA PI-led programs
#19012: Foundational Value-Added Data Products for the Roman Galactic Plane Survey
* Principal Investigator: Catherine Zucker (SAO)
* Co-Is: Cameren Swiggum (SAO), Christina Lindberg (SAO)
* Science Focus: This program focuses on mapping the structural topography of the Milky Way. Using infrared data from Roman's Galactic Plane Survey, Dr. Zucker's team will analyze how starlight is absorbed and scattered to construct highly precise 3D dust maps of the interstellar medium, allowing scientists to model star formation environments across the galaxy's disk.
#19019: An Archival Deep Drilling Kuiper Belt Search in the Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey
* Principal Investigator: Kevin Napier (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian)
* Co-Investigator: Matthew (Matt) Holman (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian)
* Science Focus: This solar system investigation uses archival data of Roman's high-cadence wide-field survey of the Galactic Bulge to conduct deep drilling searches for faint trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). Dr. Napier and the team are utilizing these data to test models of planetesimal formation, and to search for yet-undetected populations of objects in the distant Solar System.
#19065: Illuminating Dark Energy and Black Holes with Strong Gravitational Lensing in the Nancy Grace Roman Space Observatory Era
* Principal Investigators: Rodrigo Cordova Rosado (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian)
* Co-Principal Investigator: Kim-Vy Tran (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian)
* Co-Is: Rong Xu (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian), Sam Ecclestone-Browne (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian)
* Science Focus: This program leverages the ASTRO 3D Galaxy Evolution with Lenses (AGEL) survey framework to identify and catalog massive samples of strong gravitational galaxy-galaxy lenses. By analyzing how Roman's high-resolution, wide-field imaging stretches light from background galaxies into beautiful cosmic arcs, the team can map out the distribution of dark matter halos and place new constraints on dark energy and early black hole growth.
#19076: A Comprehensive Census of Roman and Rubin Transient Host Environments from Low to High Redshift
* Principal Investigator: Anya Nugent (Harvard)
* Co-Principal Investigator: V. Ashley Villar (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian)
* Science Focus: This program utilizes a dual-survey approach leveraging both the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and the Roman Space Telescope. Drs. Nugent and Villar will execute a large-scale demographic study of the environments where cosmic transients (such as supernovae and exotic stellar explosions) occur, spanning a massive evolutionary timeline from the local universe out to deep cosmic dawn.
CfA Co-Is:
1. 2001: Fengwu Sun, Zihao Wu - Roman eXtreme Deep Field (RDF); Galaxies
2. 2002: Christina Lindberg - Legacy Survey of Andromeda & Triangulum; Stellar Pops
3. 2004: Andrew Vanderburg - The Roman-Kepler Legacy Survey; Exoplanets
4. 19008: Catherine Zucker - Gas and dust in/front of the Galactic Center; ISM
5. 19017: Fabio Pacucci - Beating Cosmic Variance: UVLFs at Cosmic Dawn; Galaxies
6. 19021: Anya Nugent - High-Redshift SN Program with WFS RISE; Stellar Physics
7. 19033: Fengwu Sun - Little Red Dots at z~0.5-2 with HLWAS; AGN
8. 19058: Andrew Vanderburg, Jennifer Yee - Explainable Al Early Microlensing; Discovery; Exoplanets
9. 19059: Andrew Vanderburg, Jennifer Yee - Disentangling FFPs from Stellar Flares; Exoplanets
10. 19063: Mike Smith - R-HIVE: SFH-Morphology-Environment; Galaxies
11. 19075: Hyerin Cho, Ramesh Narayan, Angelo Ricarte - BH-Galaxy Coevolution of Extreme; Galaxies; AGN
12. 19080: Jiwon Han - RAGHAB: Galactic Hunt for Astrometric; Binaries; Stellar Physics
13. 19081: Peter Blanchard - High-Redshift & Exotic Transients in HLTDS; Stellar Physics
14. 19100: Daniel Eisenstein, Zihao Wu - A Shining Cosmic Dawn (z>8 LFs/clustering); Galaxies
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Original text here: https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/cfa-astronomers-win-share-roman-space-telescopes-inaugural-general-investigator-program
CSB Issues Woodland Pulp Investigation Update
WASHINGTON, July 15 -- The U.S. Chemical Safety Board issued the following news release on July 14, 2026:
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CSB Issues Woodland Pulp Investigation Update
U.S. Chemical Safety Board Issues Investigation Update on Fatal January 2026 Toxic Hydrogen Sulfide Release at the Woodland Pulp Mill in Baileyville, Maine
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Today, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released an update on the agency's ongoing investigation into the January 27, 2026, fatal release of highly toxic hydrogen sulfide gas at the Woodland Pulp mill in Baileyville, Maine. The incident resulted in the
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, July 15 -- The U.S. Chemical Safety Board issued the following news release on July 14, 2026:
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CSB Issues Woodland Pulp Investigation Update
U.S. Chemical Safety Board Issues Investigation Update on Fatal January 2026 Toxic Hydrogen Sulfide Release at the Woodland Pulp Mill in Baileyville, Maine
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Today, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released an update on the agency's ongoing investigation into the January 27, 2026, fatal release of highly toxic hydrogen sulfide gas at the Woodland Pulp mill in Baileyville, Maine. The incident resulted in thedeaths of two young employees, a 20-year-old co-op chemical engineering student and a 26-year-old chemical engineer who had only recently joined the company. Ten additional employees were also exposed to the toxic hydrogen sulfide gas.
CSB Chairperson Steve Owens said, "Although our investigation is still ongoing, it already is clear that this terrible tragedy should never have happened. The two young employees who died were not provided with personal hydrogen sulfide monitors that would have alerted them to the presence of the toxic gas, and there were no hydrogen sulfide detectors installed in the building where the release occurred. The company also did not keep track of who was in the building and where they were during this horrible event. As a result, the two young employees were not found until hours after the release ended, leaving them exposed to the highly toxic gas without assistance."
At the Woodland Pulp mill, wood chips are chemically processed into pulp for papermaking in an area of the facility called the "Bleach Plant," which is located in a building at the facility called the "Kraft Mill." From the Bleach Plant, an acid sewer pipe over 1,000-feet-long collects liquid waste from multiple areas of the mill before flowing by gravity to the facility's Wastewater Treatment Plant. A portion of the pipe, called an "upward transition," flows upward, causing liquid to accumulate in the acid sewer at that point.
The discharges collected in the acid sewer pipe often contain alkaline, (also called "basic" or "high-PH") process fluids that can contain sulfur compounds. Woodland Pulp sometimes adds sulfuric acid to the acid sewer pipe to control the pH of the discharge. However, when sulfuric acid is combined with high-pH process fluids that also contain sulfur, the substances react to produce highly toxic hydrogen sulfide gas. Typically, if a small amount of hydrogen sulfide gas is produced within the acid sewer pipe, the toxic gas is removed by a scrubber in the Bleach Plant before it can be released to the atmosphere.
The day prior to the incident, on January 26, 2026, managers at Woodland Pulp decided to shut down most of the mill due to a large increase in the price of natural gas, which caused significantly higher operating expenses. Between about 12:30 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. on January 27, operators began shutting down and draining equipment in the Bleach Plant. As a result, process fluids with a high pH and containing sulfur compounds flowed into the acid sewer pipe. A pH probe at the Wastewater Treatment Plant detected a high pH and triggered an automatic increase in sulfuric acid to the acid sewer pipe beginning around 4:00 a.m.
During the shutdown, some process fluid was fed to the acid sewer, increasing the time it took for the liquid to flow past the upward transition and reach the pH meter, which was located a significant distance downstream. As a result, as liquid accumulated in the pipe transition, the pH probe near the Wastewater Treatment Plant continued to detect a high pH and called for additional sulfuric acid, which reacted with the sulfur compounds in the acid sewer piping and generated toxic hydrogen sulfide gas.
At approximately 11:40 a.m., the scrubber fan in the Bleach Plant was turned off as part of the shutdown operations. As a result, the toxic hydrogen sulfide gas that was formed inside the acid sewer was not removed from the piping in the Bleach Plant. Instead, the hydrogen sulfide gas flowed through piping connected to the scrubber into two process vessels located elsewhere in the building. From those process vessels, the toxic gas was able to flow and escape through various holes and process openings in equipment within the Kraft Mill.
The two fatally injured employees were located on the second floor of the Kraft Mill, likely working on an equipment drawing project unrelated to the shutdown. The equipment involved in their project was located near multiple release points for the escaped hydrogen sulfide gas. Both employees collapsed to the floor. Ten other employees in the Kraft Mill also were exposed to the gas, some experienced symptoms such as burning eyes, burning throat, and headache.
When Woodland Pulp employees discovered the high hydrogen sulfide gas levels in the building, they began an emergency response - closing the manual emergency shut-off valve at the sulfuric acid supply tank and opening a manual water flush valve to the acid sewer pipe, which flushed the accumulated chemicals past the upward transition. The remaining toxic hydrogen sulfide gas in the building dissipated by 3:00 p.m., roughly three hours after the Bleach Plant's scrubber fan had been turned off and the release began.
At approximately 6:15 p.m., more than three hours after the remaining toxic hydrogen sulfide gas had dissipated from the building, the two collapsed employees were found on the second floor. The co-op chemical engineering student died the next day, on January 28, 2026. The chemical engineer passed away on February 16, 2026, after he was taken off life support.
The CSB's investigation update notes that at Woodland Pulp:
* There was no system for controlling or accounting for personnel present in the Kraft Mill building, or their locations, during the unit shutdown.
* There was no system providing Kraft Mill building ventilation during either normal operations or shutdowns.
* And there were no stationary hydrogen sulfide detectors or alarms in the Bleach Plant area of the Kraft Mill, and the company neither provided nor required employees to wear personal hydrogen sulfide monitors.
CSB Board Member Sylvia Johnson said, "Our investigation update notes that Woodland Pulp was aware of the hazards associated with hydrogen sulfide gas forming in the acid sewer piping, but despite this knowledge, the company did not have adequate systems in place to monitor or mitigate the hazards. This safety gap likely led to the severity of this tragic incident."
The CSB's investigation is ongoing as investigators continue to gather facts and analyze several key areas related to the incident, including:
* Hydrogen sulfide detection, alarms, and response
* Kraft Mill personnel access control
* And the site's process safety practices, including operating procedures, identification and control of hazards, management of change, maintenance practices, and investigation of process incidents.
Complete findings, analyses, and recommendations, if appropriate, will be detailed in CSB's final investigation report.
The CSB is an independent, nonregulatory federal agency charged with investigating incidents and hazards that result, or may result, in the catastrophic release of extremely hazardous substances. The agency's core mission activities include conducting incident investigations to identify root cause of releases; formulating preventive or mitigative recommendations based on investigation findings and advocating for their implementation; issuing reports containing the findings, conclusions, and recommendations arising from incident investigations; and conducting studies on chemical hazards.
The agency's board members are appointed by the President subject to Senate confirmation. The Board does not issue citations or fines but makes safety recommendations to companies, industry organizations, labor groups, and regulatory agencies such as OSHA and EPA.
Please visit our website, www.csb.gov. For more information, contact Director of External Affairs Hillary Cohen at Hillary.Cohen@csb.gov.
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Original text here: https://www.csb.gov/csb-issues-woodland-pulp-investigation-update/
