Environmental Health

"Gastroschisis, a birth defect in which the intestines grow outside the body, is more common among babies conceived in the spring when the levels of the herbicide atrazine in water are highest, researchers from Indiana reported."

"China has been accused of trying to cover up the extent of lead poisoning among children, and of blocking effective testing and treatment."

"On Monday in Geneva, representatives of the 143 countries belonging to United Nations-sponsored Rotterdam Convention, regulating hazardous chemicals, are to begin a meeting where chrysotile, the type of asbestos fibre mined in Quebec, will be on the top of the list of new products to be regulated."

"After 33 years of consideration, the Food and Drug Administration took steps on Tuesday to sort out the confusing world of sunscreens, with new rules that specify which lotions provide the best protection against the sun and ending claims that they are truly waterproof."

Dengue fever, a painful disease transmitted by mosquitos, is now showing up in Florida for the first time in more than 70 years. Climate change could be a factor.

"The government issued warnings on Friday about two materials used daily by millions of Americans, saying that one [formaldehyde] causes cancer and the other [styrene] might."

"At first glance the results of the fourth edition of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s fourth National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment are sobering—the modeled data suggest that every person in the United States is at increased risk for getting cancer from outdoor air pollutants and that nearly a quarter of the population is at increased risk for certain noncancer health effects."

"Environmental health and autism experts Tuesday called for reform of the outdated U.S. law regulating chemicals, the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976."