Environmental Health

"House lawmakers are expressing optimism about a landmark Senate compromise to reform the country’s chemical safety law."

"One afternoon last winter, Julie Ellis unfurled a long, white tarp under a stand of trees near Coes Pond where hundreds of crows roost. Her mission: to collect as much bird poop as possible. Back in the laboratory, Ellis’ colleagues combed through the feces. Testing its bacteria, they discovered something unusual -- genes that make the crows resistant to antibiotics."

"This past summer, Aedes aegypti—the invasive African mosquito best known for carrying the potentially deadly diseases dengue and yellow fever—made its unexpected debut in California, squirming up from Madera to Clovis to Fresno and the Bay Area."

"Toxic heavy metals found on the construction site of a planned $55 million replacement for the former Booker T. Washington High School in New Orleans will require the removal of 3 feet of soil in areas that won't be covered by the new building's concrete foundation or parking lots, according to a report submitted on behalf of the Recovery School District to the state Department of Environmental Quality."

"MODESTO, Calif. – The students filing into Bret Harte Elementary School every morning barely notice the flags fluttering by the school's main entrance. There is the American flag, the California state flag and the color-coded asthma flag – green when the air is clear, red when it is a respiratory nightmare, as it so often is here."

"BECKLEY, W.Va. -- The stately, wood-paneled chamber in the federal building here unsettled Gary Fox and his wife, Mary. Fox was used to the dusty caverns of the mines in the southern part of the state, where he'd spent more than 25 years working underground in the heart of Appalachian coal country. They had never been in a courtroom before."

"WASHINGTON -- A federal judge has called on the Environmental Protection Agency to come up with a plan for finalizing federal regulations on coal ash that have been stalled for four years."

"Pesticides, flame retardants and other chemicals used in homes and businesses have been found in San Francisco Bay at levels that could pose hazards to aquatic life if they go unchecked, according to a new report."

"Bisphenol A has gotten a much higher profile in recent years, as the 'BPA-free' label adorns an increasing number of water bottles and baby products. News headlines regularly hint at possible connections between BPA and a lengthening list of health problems. But the ingredient is still common in plastics, food can liners -- and in our bodies."

Attacking the science behind environmental health and safety rules has long been an industry tactic. The American Council on Science and Health, a leader of the charge, has for years claimed that it is not an industry shill but an independent science organization. But it doesn't disclose its funders. Now documents reveal most of its funding comes from industries who stand to profit from its claims.