Chemicals

"Two years ago some University of South Florida researchers began studying the effects of the most widely used fungicide in the country to see if it might kill more than just fungus. Turns out it's also a pretty effective frog-icide."

"Echoing her housing commissioner, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Monday that Baltimore's public housing authority has decided 'it is not possible' to pay lead-poisoning judgments that could one day exceed $800 million because the money is needed to improve living conditions for thousands of poor families."

"A new report is suggesting the air at many Quebec construction sites contains levels of asbestos at or above provincial norms, raising fresh questions about whether the substance can be handled safely in Canada."

""U.S. water utilities have known about the prevalence of a likely carcinogen in water sources for seven years and have failed to share that information with the public, according to an advocacy group, which released today a 2004 industry study of hexavalent chromium."

"The United Nations has suggested three pesticides and three industrial chemicals be put on a trade "watch list" because they can threaten human health and the environment, the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization said on Friday."

Questions are mounting about the possible role of a new family of pesticides, the neonicotinoides, in the "colony collapse disorder" that is decimating commercial honeybees. Will EPA reconsider its approval of those pesticides?

"Average lead levels at [Chicago's] Perez Elementary School were at or above federal limits during three three-month periods in 2010, the data show."

"Forgoing packaged foods such as canned soups and vegetables could dramatically lower levels of a hormone-disrupting chemical that has been linked to myriad health problems, including birth defects, autism and reproductive issues, according to a study released today."

"An environmental group will tell a Senate panel Tuesday that it has identified 42 suspected clusters of cancer, birth defects and other illnesses in 13 states."

"Hydraulic fracturing, an increasingly common method of extracting natural gas that involves shooting a concoction of water, sand and chemicals deep underground, has sparked controversy around the country — not least because drillers mostly keep their chemical formulas secret. But Texas, the leading gas-producing state, could help change industry practices by requiring public disclosure of the chemicals used."