"Forty years after grassy narrows First Nation’s mercury-drenched river system was proclaimed off limits, a recently released report on the health fallout in the community north of Kenora has arrived at a more ominous conclusion. It’s possible that even small amounts of mercury below Health Canada’s guidelines are continuing to poison people and causing health problems."
"EPA administrator is blazing trails, from regulating greenhouse gas emissions to reforming chemical management policies."
""A largely ignored contaminant doesn’t just resemble bisphenol A, the chemical found to leach out of hard plastic water bottles. It’s BPA’s fluorinated twin — on steroids."
"Federal regulators are expanding their investigation into children's jewelry that contains the toxic metal cadmium, promising that a recall announced Monday of 'Best Friends' charm bracelets will not be the last."
"A cancer report that concludes Americans are under constant assault from carcinogenic agents has heartened activists, who hope that finally government and policymakers will pay attention to their concerns. But the report from the President's Cancer Panel on Thursday has underwhelmed most mainstream cancer experts and drawn only a puzzled response from the White House."
"Parents, scientists and officials blasted the federal Environmental Protection Agency Tuesday at a hearing on whether to relax safety standards for toxins in public schools."
"The Consumer Product Safety Commission ... voted to begin writing a rule to allow manufacturers, big and small, to essentially break the required testing process for lead, lead paint and other potential dangers into parts."
"Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has agreed to pay $27.6 million to settle allegations that it improperly handled and dumped hazardous waste at stores across California in a case that led to changes in the retailer's practices nationwide, prosecutors said Monday."
"For 100 years, Mexico City has flushed its wastewater north to irrigate the farmland of Hidalgo State. This foul cascade, which the farmers call 'the black waters,' flows through a latticework of canals and then trickles over the fields. So when word got out that the government was finally going to build a giant wastewater treatment plant, one might have expected the farmers around here to be excited. Instead, they were suspicious."
Dispersants used on the Gulf oil spill may have toxic effects and harm ecosystems -- raising questions about whether the cure is worse than the disease. Companies refuse to disclose some of the ingredients, saying they are trade secrets.
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