The geology of the Gulf Coast and the Great Lakes makes the land around them particularly suitable for an ugly task: hazardous waste disposal. There, hundreds of injection wells, each up to 10,000 feet deep, contain the chemical leftovers from steel mills, wastewater treatment, and more.

This map shows the 9,000 chemical plants across the U.S. where, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, a "catastrophic chemical release" could occur. It helps us answer an unsavory question—whether you live near a potentially dangerous chemical plant.

It looks like a regular tree, but the Manchineel can kill you. Everything about it is extremely toxic. If you touch its leaves, they will cause "a strong allergic dermatitis." It's so bad that, if you stay under its foliage while it's raining, the water will cause instant blistering wherever it touches you. It gets…

You know what I hate about eating? The constant conversation on whether this food is good for you or bad for you. It seems to change everyday! New reports say this will cause cancer. Other reports say the same thing can prevent it. Even awful food that contains arsenic and other toxic chemicals can be somehow reasoned…

In 2010, a lake of caustic, poison mud from an aluminum manufacturing operation spilled out and destroyed a nearby town, along with much of the native life. Humans were killed and burned, property destroyed. And it still looks like Mars.

There is still no official explanation for the ongoing hypoxia-like symptoms experienced by F-22 Raptor pilots. The USAF investigation concluded that they have no clue. Now, someone else claims to know the source of the problem, which has grounded the fleet repeatedly.

Proteins are the building blocks of life, and the reason we're all here on this planet. So it's weird to realize that proteins can be some of the deadliest poisons of all. We've already told you about the most dangerous chemicals — but some proteins that are found in nature can be the deadliest substances of all.

The humpback whale is one of Earth's largest creatures, with an average weight of around 40 tons. But as it turns out, this gigantic creature is vulnerable to the toxins of a much smaller living thing: Aconitum delphinifolium, better known as Larkspur monkshood.

New York City is littered with filthy rats and it's not unreasonable to want to kill 'em all with poison. Too bad it's going to be a lot harder to do that because sellers of the best rat poison—61 times more powerful than normal—have been arrested in a sting operation.

Marijuana, hue notwithstanding, is not exactly new school green. In fact, it's the worst drug for the environment. Marijuana growers use $5 billion worth of electricity to power lightbulbs, fans, dehumidifiers and whatever else it takes to grow weed. That's 1% of the national electricity consumption.

No piece of electronics lasts forever, craftsmanship aside. But it might be the case that some devices we buy are meant for an early grave—so we can upgrade. And who pays the price? Maybe, the entire planet does.

You might not know what alumina is—neither did I. But hundreds of Hungarians do, after torrents of the stuff poured out of a plant and through their villages, prompting the country to declare a state of emergency. UPDATED

A new report from MIT is linking airplanes to deaths...on the ground. The study suggests that airplanes flying at their normal altitude (35,000 ft) are emitting dangerous pollutants that contribute to 8,000 deaths a year.

Greenpeace is dead set on giving Apple and Steve Jobs an inferiority complex. With one hand, the environmental group patted Apple on the head after the unveiling of its redesigned MacBook aluminum notebooks. With the other hand, however, it managed to knock Apple down a peg or two for still not doing enough to save…