Chemicals

"Though a direct cause is unknown, the jump renews concerns over antibiotic resistance and cuts to the federal agencies that work to reduce it."

"A federal appellate court panel did not seem swayed by industry groups’ plea to toss EPA’s hazardous substance designations for two types of PFAS."

"Republicans this week are planning to use a rule-killing law to undo Biden-era restrictions on mining near more than 1 million acres of Minnesota wilderness."

"House Democrats asked the Interior Department’s inspector general on Tuesday to investigate whether Karen Budd-Falen, the agency’s third highest ranking official, played a role in the federal approval of a lithium mine after her husband entered into a $3.5 million financial relationship with the mine’s developer."

"A prominent scientist criticized microplastics research methods. Others are defending the work."

"A scientific review of 43 studies on acetaminophen use during pregnancy concluded that there was no evidence that the painkiller increased the risk of autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders."

"Environmental Protection Agency ethics officials have interpreted impartiality guidelines in a way that has allowed several former industry insiders to oversee dramatic changes to chemical regulations, documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show."

"The Energy Department is planning to prop up old and shuttered coal plants using more than half a billion dollars that Congress originally set aside to advance carbon capture technologies and improve energy resiliency and environmental protection in rural areas."

"High-profile studies reporting the presence of microplastics throughout the human body have been thrown into doubt by scientists who say the discoveries are probably the result of contamination and false positives. One chemist called the concerns 'a bombshell.'"