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| Headline |
Author |
Published |
Section |
'Popcorn lung' and the collapse of government oversight
While the FDA and EPA look away, noxious fumes from fake butter wreck lungs |
Tom Philpott |
04 Sep 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Back in May, I drew attention to the remarkable fact that food-industry workers are literally dying from exposure to a key ingredient in microwave popcorn. The food additive diacetyl (responsible for that "buttery note" in nuked popcorn and also in margarine) emits a noxious fume when heated up -- one that can literally destroy people's lungs in high concentrations. Exposure to diacetyl has been decisively linked to a condition known with chilling accuracy ... |
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| Topics: food, health, toxics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Arsenic and a New Case
Drinking water across the globe contaminated by arsenic, says research |
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30 Aug 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 4:15 PM on 30 Aug 2007 Some 137 million people across the globe unknowingly consume water with unsafe levels of arsenic, according to new research. The odorless, tasteless chemical occurs naturally in soil, but also reaches drinking water from agricultural and industrial sources and the vials of paperback-mystery villains. Arsenic can lead to lung, bladder, and skin cancer and is "the mo ... |
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| Topics: health, news, toxics, water pollution (all these topics) |
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This Gives Us Paws
Flame retardants linked to thyroid disease in house cats |
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17 Aug 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| This Gives Us Paws Flame retardants linked to thyroid disease in house cats Thyroid disease in house cats may be linked to common flame retardants called PBDEs, according to U.S. EPA researchers. In a small study of 23 cats, all the felines had blood concentrations of the chemical 20 to 100 times higher than average U.S. adults -- who, it oughta be noted, carry the highest human PBDE load in the world. PBDEs first beg ... |
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| Topics: animal welfare, health, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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The ED you should really be worried about: Endocrine disruption
Environmental scientist Theo Colborn warns about the chemicals all around us |
Grist |
16 Aug 2007 |
Gristmill |
| This guest essay comes from Theo Colborn, an environmental health analyst, professor of zoology at the University of Florida, Gainesville, and president of The Endocrine Disruption Exchange (TEDX). She's one of the experts featured in Leonardo DiCaprio's new eco-documentary The 11th Hour, which opens in L.A. and New York on Aug. 17 and in other spots around North America on Aug. 24. What a crazy world we live in when almost everyone knows what the acronym ED stands for. ... |
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| Topics: health, toxics (all these topics) |
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That's it. Now I am angry
Cats are the canaries of PBDEs |
Eric de Place |
16 Aug 2007 |
Gristmill |
| This is my cat, George. He is fat and grouchy, but I love him. He likes to sun himself on the patio. This is a link to Sightline's research on PBDEs, toxic flame retardants. A couple of years ago, we conducted a study of PBDEs and found high concentrations in the breast milk of nursing mothers throughout the Pacific Northwest. It was bad news. And what's the connection to George? Well, new scientific research shows that PBDEs are making house cats sick. ( ... |
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| Topics: animal welfare, green living, health, toxics (all these topics) |
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Peekaboo, ICU
Hospitals opt for less-toxic medical equipment |
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16 Aug 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| Peekaboo, ICU Hospitals opt for less-toxic medical equipment As the wee tots who end up in neonatal intensive care tend to be a bit on the vulnerable side, leading medical organizations are urging hospitals to swap medical equipment containing icky chemical DEHP -- which can include IV tubing and blood bags -- for safer alternatives. The good news: some DEHP-free products are cheaper and lighter than their toxic counterparts. The bad ... |
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| Topics: health, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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BPA: Here to Stay?
Controversial panel will decide whether bisphenol A poses a health risk |
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08 Aug 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| BPA: Here to Stay? Controversial panel will decide whether bisphenol A poses a health risk Last week, several dozen scientists issued a consensus statement that ubiquitous chemical compound bisphenol A likely poses health and reproductive risks to humans. This week, an expert panel will finalize a report for the U.S. National Toxicology Program on whether humans should indeed try to stay away from BPA; ... |
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| Topics: health, news, politics, scientific research, toxics (all these topics) |
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Are Those Bisphenol Genes You're Wearing?
New study confirms that bisphenol A can mess with animal genetics |
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02 Aug 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| Are Those Bisphenol Genes You're Wearing? New study confirms that bisphenol A can mess with animal genetics Know what time it is? It's time to check in on bisphenol A, the chemical in many plastics that gets creepier by the day. Despite continuing claims by the chemical industry that products containing the compound -- which can include baby bottles, water bottles, toys, dental sealants, and fo ... |
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| Topics: food, health, news, parenting, scientific research, toxics (all these topics) |
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Prints: Not Charming
Laser printers can emit high levels of unhealthy small particles, study says |
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02 Aug 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| Prints: Not Charming Laser printers can emit high levels of unhealthy small particles, study says Remember how computers were going to usher in the Paperless Office? We so should have done that. An Australian study has found that many laser printers emit high levels of small particles that can be harmful to human health, with the highest-emitting machines rivaling the small-particle pollution of ci ... |
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| Topics: green living, health, news, scientific research, toxics (all these topics) |
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Organo Failure
California study suggests link between autism and pesticide exposure |
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31 Jul 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| Organo Failure California study suggests link between autism and pesticide exposure A "very preliminary" study from the California Department of Public Health suggests that higher rates of autism can be seen in children whose mothers were exposed to two organochlorine pesticides still in use in the United States, endosulfan and dicofol. Organochlorine pesticides, which take a long time to break down in the environment ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, health, toxics (all these topics) |
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Just When You Thought It Was Safe-ish
Rush-hour steam-pipe explosion rattles Manhattan |
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19 Jul 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| Just When You Thought It Was Safe-ish Rush-hour steam-pipe explosion rattles Manhattan An 83-year-old underground steam pipe exploded near New York City's Grand Central Terminal during rush hour yesterday, causing one death, more than 40 injuries, and a lot of rattled nerves. After the initial explosion -- a plume as high as the Chrysler Building that onlookers compared to a volcano, the Yel ... |
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| Topics: electricity grid, energy, health, New York City, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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Airing on the Side of Caution
Chemical dangers to air-breathing animals overlooked, researchers say |
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13 Jul 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| Airing on the Side of Caution Chemical dangers to air-breathing animals overlooked, researchers say A new study in Science says regulators have overlooked the effects that thousands of chemicals could have on air-breathing organisms. Such as, for instance, people. In general, regulators study how chemicals accumulate in aquatic-based food chains; they look at how toxics dissolve in water and ... |
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| Topics: food, green living, health, news, scientific research, toxics (all these topics) |
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Spit on Polish
Community advocates focus on dangers of nail salons |
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27 Jun 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| Spit on Polish Community advocates focus on dangers of nail salons They say a rising tide lifts all boats, and the rising tide of eco-awareness is now lifting ... nail salons. The fume-filled shops are getting attention from groups eager to expose their health risks, which can include cancer and birth defects. The U.S. EPA has given two Seattle-area nonprofits a $100,000 grant for a three-year "Toxic Beau ... |
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| Topics: green living, health, news, Seattle, toxics (all these topics) |
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Don't Drink the Water and Don't Breathe the Air
Feds misled Manhattan residents about post-9/11 health effects, says report |
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22 Jun 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| Don't Drink the Water and Don't Breathe the Air Feds misled Manhattan residents about post-9/11 health effects, says report The U.S. government misled New Yorkers about residential asbestos levels after 9/11, says, um, the U.S. government. In a report released this week, the Government Accountability Office takes issue with the U.S. EPA's claims that only a "very small" number of indoor air sampl ... |
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| Topics: health, Hillary Clinton, New York, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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Drugs busted
Communities taking action for clean water |
Erik Hoffner |
22 Jun 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Communities around the country are getting wise to the threat posed by the common practice of flushing old drugs, which inevitably end up in rivers after passing straight through sewage treatment facilities, feminizing fish, mutating frogs, and worse, probably. One recent effort in coastal Maine collected hundreds of pounds of drugs for proper disposal, but this impressive total was crushed by another grassroots 'clean sweep' that collected over a ton of pharmaceutic ... |
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| Topics: green living, health, toxics, waste, water pollution (all these topics) |
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Pun in the sun
EWG takes a look at how sunscreens stack up |
Kate Sheppard |
20 Jun 2007 |
Gristmill |
| As the summer sun starts to heat up in Seattle, I've been wondering what sort of environmentally sound sunscreen options are out there to protect my pale, pale flesh from certain scorching. I considered writing to Umbra under a pseudonym to get an answer, but the Environmental Working Group jumped on the subject before I could with their new guide to both the efficacy and the environmental health cred of more than 780 different sunscreens. Sweet.In their databas ... |
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| Topics: green living, green products, health, toxics (all these topics) |
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Tim Lambert ...
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David Roberts |
06 Jun 2007 |
Gristmill |
| ... dismantles NYT columnist John Tierney's latest attack on Rachel Carson. |
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| Topics: books, environmental movement, health, toxics (all these topics) |
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Got to Get Ourselves Back to the Pesticide-Free Garden
Pesticide exposure increases risk of Parkinson's disease, study says |
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01 Jun 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| Got to Get Ourselves Back to the Pesticide-Free Garden Pesticide exposure increases risk of Parkinson's disease, study says A new study from researchers at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland concludes that pesticide exposure increases the risk of getting Parkinson's disease, a degenerative condition affecting the nervous system. Patients from five European countries participated in the study, published in the Journal ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, health, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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Trouble With a Capital B
Chemicals play a big role in breast-cancer cases, says report |
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15 May 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| Trouble With a Capital B Chemicals play a big role in breast-cancer cases, says report You know how Tammy Wynette said sometimes it's hard to be a woman? Well, it just got harder: a new report finds a potential link between breast cancer and 216 chemicals, including 35 common air pollutants and 73 food or consumer-product ingredients. Racking up evidence from hundreds of existing lab tests, researchers concluded that en ... |
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| Topics: green living, health, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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Fat rats may be evidence that we're all doomed
Are our standards for exposure to toxics all wrong? |
Kate Sheppard |
12 May 2007 |
Gristmill |
| An intriguing new study published recently on Environmental Health News challenges the long-held assumption on which all regulatory toxicology testing is based, and poses new questions about what -- and how much -- of certain toxic substances merit 'OK' exposure. Toxicology tests are usually performed by giving subjects (usually rodents) high doses of a substance and monitoring the biological response. The assumption has long been that what these high doses do to ... |
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| Topics: green living, health, toxics (all these topics) |
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How Much Wood Could a Wood Check Chuck?
California restricts formaldehyde in wood products |
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27 Apr 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| How Much Wood Could a Wood Check Chuck? California restricts formaldehyde in wood products It may be a land of earthquakes, smog, and drought, but California's doing something right. In the latest in a string of forward-thinking green policies, state air regulators passed restrictions on formaldehyde in wood products that are the restrictiest in the world. "There is no safe threshold for this carcinoge ... |
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| Topics: California, green living, health, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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At Least the Couch Is Clean
DuPont, 3M criticized for production of 'probable' carcinogen |
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26 Apr 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| At Least the Couch Is Clean DuPont, 3M criticized for production of "probable" carcinogen Public furor is simmering over a chemical used in Teflon, Scotchgard, and other miracles of non-stick, stain-resistant living. Protesters picketed DuPont's annual shareholder meeting in Delaware yesterday, upset over the company's environmental and labor policies -- including its production of PFOA (perf ... |
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| Topics: business, grassroots activism, health, news, toxics (all these topics) |
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Message on a Bottle
On aluminum bottles |
Umbra Fisk |
04 Apr 2007 |
Ask Umbra |
| Umbra, Are aluminum bottles safer than Nalgene bottles? I'm looking at getting Sigg bottles for my self, wife, and son. Vendor agnostic, are the materials used by aluminum-only vendors safer than those that incorporate Lexan? Chris Webber Seattle, Wash. Dearest Chris, I swear, I pick questions and only then do I notice that yet again I have chosen one from Seattle. It is not a conspiracy. I just wanted a question to go with our r ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, green products, health, toxics (all these topics) |
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Deca Dent
Washington state first in the nation to ban PBDEs |
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04 Apr 2007 |
Daily Grist |
| Deca Dent Washington state first in the nation to ban PBDEs Washington state will be the first in the nation to phase out nasty fireproofing chemicals called PBDEs, which show up in the bodies of people and wildlife and may cause neurological damage. Yesterday, the state Senate passed a measure that will eventually ban home items containing deca, the most commonly used PBDE; the House had already approved the bill, and no ... |
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| Topics: health, news, toxics, Washington (all these topics) |
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Healthy cars
Also known as bikes |
Sarah van Schagen |
20 Mar 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Is your car safe?I'm not talking seat belts and air bags. Nope, I'm asking about that new-car smell. Take a big whiff, and ask yourself again: Is your car safe? What you smell may be part of a toxic soup of chemicals off-gassing from parts like the steering wheel, dashboard, armrests, and seat. These chemicals can include bromine, chlorine, lead, and other toxins that contribute to a litany of health problems ranging from decreased fertility to liver, kidney, th ... |
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| Topics: cars, green living, health, toxics (all these topics) |
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