"Representatives from 127 governments have agreed to add endosulfan to the United Nations' list of persistent organic pollutants to be eliminated worldwide. The action puts the widely-used pesticide on track for elimination from the global market by 2012."
A 14-year-old federal loan program, the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, has helped managers of community water systems like Steven Meade in Atlanta, Idaho, provide safe and clean water for their customers via loans. No more. Republican-led budget cuts mean Meade's community can't make its water fit to drink.
EPA's work on possible limits to hexavalent chromium (the 'Erin Brockovich' contaminant) in drinking water may spark a battle like the one over arsenic.
"Four authors of a new report concluding that bisphenol A is safe have ties to companies and groups that benefit from the controversial chemical."
New tools provide limited information on substances used in specific wells during the oil and natural gas extraction process called hydraulic fracturing. From 2005-2009, 780 million gallons of 750 substances were injected underground — a starting point for your coverage of this angle.
A House Homeland Security subcommittee April 14 approved a bill (HR 901) that effectively extends chemical plant security rules put in place by the Bush administration. Chemical industry groups applauded, while Greenpeace said it puts public safety at risk. Various trade publications reported the action, although most mainstream media did not.
"Alarmed by studies showing children are vulnerable to toxic chemicals found in scores of consumer products, the nation's largest pediatrician group is joining a growing campaign to overhaul how the U.S. regulates hazardous substances."
"High levels of pesticide exposure in pregnant women have been linked to lower IQs in their children, according to three separate US studies."
"Mexican American school children in California are contaminated with seven times more flame retardants than children in Mexico and three times more than their own mothers, according to a new study. The 7-year-olds in the Salinas Valley had more of the chemicals in their bodies than almost all other people tested worldwide."
Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control are trying to develop a new product that both repels and kills insects. Called nootkatone, it is found in Alaska yellow cedar trees and citrus fruit. Consumers may prefer it to DEET, and that may mean a chance to lower the chances of insect-borne disease.
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