Category Archives: environmental health

Living near a fracking well may be dangerous to your health

Posted on July 24, 2015 by tbach

Connecting the dots between chronic, small-dose exposure to toxic substances and resulting illness takes time and money.  This has been the case time and again when studying cancer clusters and groundwater pollution (think A Civil Action in Woburn, MA) or asthma … Continue reading →

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Same old DC gridlock on TSCA reform

Posted on April 30, 2014 by tbach

Just moments ago I posted on yet another state’s successful lawmaking on commercial chemicals regulation.  Now, unfortunately, I get to update you on the continued paralysis in Congress on federal TSCA reform. The Hill reports today that Rep. Shimkus’s floating … Continue reading →

Posted in chemical safety regulation, congress, environmental health, public health, synthetic chemicals, TSCA | Comments Off on Same old DC gridlock on TSCA reform

West Virginia Responds to the Elk River Spill With SB373

Posted on March 19, 2014 by caitlin

At least nineteen lawsuits have been filed in Kanawha County Circuit Court in response to the January 9, 2014 chemical spill, where the company’s Charleston facility leaked MCHM into the Elk River. The claims, mainly filed on behalf of the … Continue reading →

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Mapping autism

Posted on March 15, 2014 by tbach

The conclusion of this recent Newsweek article, Geography of Autism, points to the uncertainty of studies seeking to link the disease with environmental exposures.  “It’s a working hypothesis,” says autism researcher Angelica Ronald at Birkbeck, University of London. This recent study sought to … Continue reading →

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Inert but potent

Posted on March 6, 2014 by tbach

Three environmental and public health groups represented by Earthjustice filed suit yesterday, asking the U.S. District Court in San Francisco to require the EPA to promulgate final rules requiring public disclosure of specific pesticide ingredients. The Center for Environmental Health, Beyond Pesticides, and Physicians for … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture and human health, carcinogens, chemical safety regulation, consumer pressure, environmental health, EPA, FIFRA, label laws, pesticides, PSR, public health, risk communication, synthetic chemicals | Comments Off on Inert but potent

Losing “The Good Earth”

Posted on January 1, 2014 by tbach

China’s government acknowledged this week that 8 million acres of its farmland – a land mass about the size of Belgium — is too polluted for growing food.    In 2013, dangerous levels of cadmium were detected in rice grown in Henan, a … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, agriculture and human health, air pollution, cadmium, carcinogens, China, environmental health, environmental health law, food contamination, lead, pesticides, pollution control standards, synthetic chemicals | Comments Off on Losing “The Good Earth”

And the Green Chemistry Challenge Award goes to . . .

Posted on December 13, 2013 by tbach

The envelope has been opened, and although the acceptance speeches were short and the t.v. coverage light, today’s Environmental Health News puts the spotlight on the winners of the 2013 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards: For Greener Synthetic Pathways Life Technologies … Continue reading →

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New FDA guidance on antibiotic (antimicrobial) use in cows, pigs, and chickens

Posted on December 12, 2013 by tbach

Human antibiotic resistance has been on the radar for several years, but did you know that antibiotic-resistant infections kill 23,000 people in the U.S. and make another 2 million sick each year?  Some of this resistance has come from medical … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, agriculture and human health, animal welfare, antibiotics in livestock, antimicrobials, environmental health, FDA, food contamination, Food processing industry, public health, public health law | Tagged | Comments Off on New FDA guidance on antibiotic (antimicrobial) use in cows, pigs, and chickens

The next CHE-AK teleconference on coal and mercury

Posted on November 8, 2013 by tbach

Our guest blogger and VLS alum Maricarmen Cruz-Guilloty Environmental Health and Justice Coordinator, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, invites you to this teleconference on Wednesday, November 13, 2013, 9am Alaska/10am Pacific/1pm Easter: Dirty Coal: From Mining to Mercury Contamination – Alaska … Continue reading →

Posted in carcinogens, coal, environmental health, mercury, toxicology | Comments Off on The next CHE-AK teleconference on coal and mercury

Join this teleconference TODAY on breast cancer and the environment

Posted on October 16, 2013 by tbach

We just received this announcement from Maricarmen Cruz-Guilloty Environmental Health and Justice Coordinator, Alaska Community Action on Toxics: 10/16 Free Call – Breast Cancer and the Environment: Prioritizing Prevention. 9-10 am AK time. Sign up today. Please join this call … Continue reading →

Posted in breast cancer, carcinogens, chemical safety regulation, environmental health | Comments Off on Join this teleconference TODAY on breast cancer and the environment