Ex-chemical industry lawyer to lead Superfund task force

WASHINGTON (AP) - A lawyer tapped to lead a task force at the Environmental Protection Agency overseeing cleanups at the nation's most polluted places worked until recently for a top chemical and plastics manufacturer potentially responsible for creating some of those toxic sites.

Steven Cook has been named as the new chair of the Superfund Task Force, which EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt created last year to revamp how the agency oversees cleanups at the more than 1,300 toxic sites.

Before beginning work in February as EPA deputy assistant administrator, Cook served more than 20 years as in-house corporate counsel for LyondellBasell Industries.

EPA records show that LyondellBasell and its subsidiaries are listed as being potentially responsible for at least three dozen Superfund polluted sites.