Environmental Health

"A national UK survey out Monday found no traces of an 'autism epidemic,' despite earlier reports that the developmental disorder has been rising quickly in recent decades."

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.

"Illnesses in Canada's aboriginal communities have apparently become an obstacle to promoting the oilsands industry image and growth south of the border, the Canadian government has told its foreign diplomats."

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture wants to hear from the public about what's being called the National Leafy Green Marketing Agreement." Consumer advocates say it puts people at risk of food-borne disease by allowing the spinach and lettuce industries to police themselves when it comes to food safety.

"Conservative leader Stephen Harper has declared that Canada will not ban the export of asbestos -- despite calls from health groups -- because to do so would hurt Canadian industry."

"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."

"Federal and state officials are cracking down on a smelter in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood after tracing high levels of toxic lead in the air outside an elementary school less than two blocks away."

"Scientists working on malaria have found a way of genetically manipulating large populations of mosquitoes that could eventually dramatically reduce the spread of the deadly disease."

"High levels of pesticide exposure in pregnant women have been linked to lower IQs in their children, according to three separate US studies."