Environmental Health in the News Archives

Stories previously listed on the EH News Homepage:

28 April 2011

American Lung Association ranks U.S. cities with foulest, cleanest air
From: Reuters
The nation's 25 most smoggy cities improved air quality over the last year, but half the nation's residents still live with unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to an American Lung Association report released on Wednesday. Weighing the pluses and minuses in U.S. air quality over the past year, the "State of the Air 2011" report concluded that the U.S. Clean Air Act, the federal law aimed at limiting pollution in the nation's skies, is working.

27 April 2011

Outsourcing Greenhouse Gas Emissions to the Developing World
From: David A Gabel, ENN
In many developed nations, increased energy efficiency has effectively lowered emissions of carbon dioxide. However, the cuts in advanced economies are merely an illusion, as manufacturing and dirty industries have moved offshore to the developing world such as China and India. These countries produce goods cheaply which Western consumers like. But that cheap price is a reflection of not only lower wages for workers, but also lax pollution controls and environmental standards.

26 April 2011

Climate change to hit American West water supply
From: Deborah Zabarenko, Reuters,
Climate change could cut water flow in some of the American West's biggest river basins -- including the Rio Grande and the Colorado -- by up to 20 percent this century, the Interior Department reported on Monday.

Where do Squamous Cell Cancers Come From?
From: David A Gabel, ENN
Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a type of cancer that occurs in multiple organs. It is a malignant tumor composed of squamous epithelium (squamous-cell differentiation). The cancer can affect many parts of the body including the skin, lung, bladder, and sex organs. A new study from researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) has found that the origin of SCC is hair follicle stem cells. This finding may lead to new strategies to treat or prevent this terrible disease.

25 April 2011

Pesticides tied to lower IQ in children
From: Janet Raloff, Science News
Children exposed in the womb to substantial levels of neurotoxic pesticides have somewhat lower IQs by the time they enter school than do kids with virtually no exposure. A trio of studies screened women for compounds in blood or urine that mark exposure to organophosphate pesticides such as chlorpyrifos, diazinon and malathion.

Brown Recluse Spider: Range Could Expand in N. America With Changing Climate
From: Editor, Science Daily
ScienceDaily (Apr. 23, 2011) — One of the most feared spiders in North America is the subject a new study that aims to predict its distribution and how that distribution may be affected by climate changes. When provoked, the spider, commonly known as the brown recluse (Loxosceles reclusa), injects powerful venom that can kill the tissues at the site of the bite. This can lead to a painful deep sore and occasional scarring.

19 April 2011

Breathing Polluted Air Can Disrupt Immune System
From: David A Gabel, ENN
Negative health effects from the chronic inhalation of polluted air are well known to cause cardio-respiratory disease. It can be particularly damaging to seniors, children, and people with asthma. Now according to a study from Ohio State University, breathing polluted air can also cause widespread inflammation by triggering the release of white blood cells from bone marrow into the blood stream. The influx of white blood cells can alter the integrity of the blood vessels. The white blood cells are then absorbed into fat tissues where chemicals are released that cause inflammation.

Lingering impacts from BP spill in Gulf
From: Anna Driver and Matthew Bigg, Reuters
VENICE, LA/WAVELAND, MS: When a BP oil rig exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico last April, killing 11 workers, authorities first reported that no crude was leaking into the ocean. They were wrong. One year on, oil from the largest spill in U.S. history clogs wetlands, pollutes the ocean and endangers wildlife, not to mention the toll it has inflicted on the coastal economies of Florida, Mississippi, Alabama and especially Louisiana. It was the biggest ever accidental release of oil into an ocean. Even so, environmental damage from the ruptured well that spewed more than 4 million barrels of oil (168 million gallons) into the Gulf in three months seems far less dire than the worst predictions, according to some Gulf residents and experts.

18 April 2011

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to be cooled down over the next 6 to 9 MONTHS!
From: Taiga Uranaka, Retuers
TOKYO: Japanese nuclear power plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) hopes it will be able to achieve cold shutdown of its crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant within six to nine months, the company said on Sunday.

14 April 2011

Exotic travel comes with health risks
From: UW Today, by Stephen Emmons, M.D.
With the ease of the internet and our shrinking globe, travel to developing countries is increasingly common. Young and old are seeing the world on their own. But, along with the charms of exotic locations, people are coming into much closer contact with the risks of travel. They face unfamiliar illnesses without the facilities and medical care that they depend on at home.

Child safety experts advise that children ride in rear-facing car seats until age two
From: UW Today, by Leila Gray, UW Health Sciences/UW Medicine
Toddlers should continue riding in rear-facing car seats until they are 2 years old. This advice comes from new safety guidelines for child passengers published in the April Pediatrics. Previously, the American Academy of Pediatrics had recommended that infants ride in rear-facing car seats until their first birthday. However, new research shows that rear-facing car seats are the safest option for children under 2 years of age. Children who ride rear-facing between 1 and 2 years of age have a 5-fold reduction in the risk of death or serious injury.

13 April 2011

Does shale gas pollute more than coal?
From: Daniel Trotta, Reuters
NEW YORK An abundant source of U.S. natural gas widely seen as a cleaner alternative to oil and coal is in reality the fossil fuel that creates the most greenhouse gas emissions, a study concludes. The paper led by Cornell University ecology professor Robert Howarth raised howls of protest from the gas industry, which said the document was political.

12 April 2011

Radiation risks from Fukushima 'no longer negligible' according to CRIIRAD
From: EurActive
The risks associated with iodine-131 contamination in Europe are no longer "negligible," according to CRIIRAD, a French research body on radioactivity. The NGO is advising pregnant women and infants against "risky behaviour," such as consuming fresh milk or vegetables with large leaves. In response to thousands of inquiries from citizens concerned about fallout from the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Europe, CRIIRAD has compiled an information package on the risks of radioactive iodine-131 contamination in Europe.

8 April 2011

Little action apparent on toxic tailings six months after Hungary red mud disaster
From: Editor, World Wildlife Fund
Kolontár, Hungary: Six months after being deluged by a tide of toxic red sludge, towns downstream of the failed alumina tailings dam near Ajka, Hungary remain ruined and largely deserted, with residents and former residents still waiting for authorities to deliver on much of the promised assistance.

WM, Johnson & Johnson, Dupont Tackle Medical Waste Recycling
From: Leon Kaye, Triple PunditPlastic has long made a huge difference in the medical industry with a staring role in the prevention of the spread of infectious diseases. With the benefits, of course, come massive amounts of waste, from single use syringes to inhalers to dialysis tubing. Meanwhile plastic is integral to the entire medical industry’s supply chain, and demand will only surge as the population ages.

700,000-Ton Cleanup Settlement Reached in Jersey City Toxic Chromium Case
From: Editor, NRDC Press Release
NEWARK (April 6, 2011) — PPG Industries has agreed to clean-up of one of the largest remaining sites contaminated with cancer-causing hexavalent chromium in New Jersey. The cleanup is estimated to cost PPG up to $600 million and remove an estimated 700,000 tons of chromium waste from a Jersey City neighborhood. The settlement stems from a 2009 citizen's lawsuit filed in federal court by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Interfaith Community Organization (ICO), and GRACO Community Organization (GRACO) on behalf of Jersey City residents who have been fighting for a comprehensive clean-up since the early 1980s.

7 April , 2011

Senate rejects measure to stop EPA on climate
From: Timothy Gardner, Reuters, WASHINGTON
The Senate rejected a measure on Wednesday to kill the Environmental Protection Agency's regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, handing President Barack Obama a victory in his effort to quicken the move to clean energy.

Apple and Intel Cease Use of Conflict Minerals
From: Leon Kaye, Triple Pundit
With global demand for electronics surging — especially for tablet computers like Apple's iPad — these gadgets' sophistication and long battery life have created a huge market for rare earth minerals, often associated with global conflicts. Elements like copper and even rarer tungsten, neodymium, dysprosium, coltan, and terbium are tagged with the "conflict" label because of their concentration in the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

24 February 2011

Dirty air triggers more heart attacks than cocaine
From: Kate Kelland, Reuters Health and Science Correspondent
LONDON Air pollution triggers more heart attacks than using cocaine and poses as high a risk of sparking a heart attack as alcohol, coffee and physical exertion, scientists said on Thursday. Sex, anger, marijuana use and chest or respiratory infections and can also trigger heart attacks to different extents, the researchers said, but air pollution, particularly in heavy traffic, is the major culprit.

31 January 2011

Antibiotic Resistant Disease
From: Andy Soos, ENN
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have discovered a new way to combat antibiotic resistant bacteria by using the bacteria's own genes. For more than 50 years, antibiotics have been used to treat a variety of deadly infections and saved countless lives. Its broad introduction and application has changed the face of medicine and world populations worldwide. Yet, despite the advances made to antibiotics over the years, the list of antibiotic resistant bacteria, such as MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), E.coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter, is growing and becoming one of the world's most serious health concerns. Infections once routinely treatable have now become more difficult to control as well as lethal in some cases.

Amoebas in drinking water: a double threat
From: Janet Raloff, Science News
Amoebas — blob-shaped microbes linked to several deadly diseases — contaminate drinking-water systems around the world, according to a new analysis. The study finds that amoebas are appearing often enough in water supplies and even in treated tap water to be considered a potential health risk.