Public

"The amount of lead allowed in toys and other children's products sold in the U.S. will soon be reduced to one of the lowest limits in the world. The move was praised by consumer advocates but denounced by critics worried about job losses and shuttered businesses."
 

"Last month's health warning from the Department of Health and Human Services' National Toxicology Program has set off a bruising battle with the makers of styrene, a chemical compound derived from crude oil."

"China on Thursday issued a second batch of quotas for exports of rare earths this year -- virtually making up for previous cuts -- after its commerce minister met with his EU counterpart to discuss this and other thorny issues between the two trading partners."

"The Bush White House played a role in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's controversial 2008 decision not to regulate the drinking water contaminant perchlorate, according to a congressional watchdog agency."

"The Office of Management and Budget this week provided the House Energy and Commerce Committee access to some 1,400 pages of emails concerning the Department of Energy's controversial loan guarantee program and promised to provide additional updates by the end of the week."

"High blood levels of a man-made chemical used in non-stick coatings were associated with a raised risk of arthritis in a large new study of adults exposed to tainted drinking water."

"A major American utility is shelving the nation’s most prominent effort to capture carbon dioxide from an existing coal-burning power plant, dealing a severe blow to efforts to rein in emissions responsible for global warming."

"The Republican-controlled House passed a bill Wednesday that would sharply curtail the federal government's role in protecting waters from pollution by barring the Environmental Protection Agency from overruling state decisions on water quality."