Reflexive secrecy has been a hallmark of government efforts to deal with highly hazardous chemical facilities in recent decades. Another reminder of that secrecy came in an April 11, 2016, piece in Greenwire by Sam Pearson. Photo: The fertilizer plant in West, Texas, that exploded in 2013, killing 15 people, by Shane Torgerson, courtesy of Wikipedia.
"Fifty four large investors managing 1 trillion pounds in assets have launched a campaign to curb the use of antibiotics in the meat and poultry used by ten large U.S. and British restaurant groups."
"A leading brand of home and garden pest-control products says it will stop using a class of pesticides linked to the decline of bees."
As legal actions against the chemical company 3M go forward, lawyers are charging that 3M "knew about the health hazards posed by the perfluorinated chemicals it was manufacturing and using to make carpet coating, Scotchgard, firefighting foam, and other products — and that the company knew the chemicals were spreading beyond its sites."
"U.S. EPA knows which chemical facilities aren't following federal safety protocols, but it can't tell the public where they are."
"Gov. Peter Shumlin has announced that the state will test additional manufacturing sites around Vermont for PFOA, a suspected carcinogen that's been found in North Bennington and Pownal."
"Residents of Flint, Mich., may tell you lead is a serious menace, but for most of the last 5,000 years, people saw lead as a miracle metal at the forefront of technology."
"A chemical used to make plastic IV tubes and catheters has been linked to attention deficit disorder in children who received treatment for a serious illness, according to a new study."
"Waste leaching from frack disposal wells are the likely source of a spike in endocrine-disrupting compounds in downstream waterway—a troubling sign given the roughly 36,000 disposal sites across the U.S."
"This summer, some yellow-fever mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus are expected to arrive along the Gulf Coast and elsewhere in the continental United States. Health officials are urging people to use insect repellents with DEET to avoid being bitten. The mounting evidence that the virus is strongly linked with birth defects makes this a priority for pregnant women. But is it safe to use repellents containing DEET with a baby on the way?"
