"Community advocates are outraged that a contaminated playground at a Newark public housing complex remained open, allowing children to be exposed to dangerous levels of lead."

Two retired outdoorsmen -- with help from water researchers -- are testing streamwater in western Pennsylvania. They are struggling to get EPA attention to chemicals they fear could be related to the fracking boom.

"An international team of experts reported [Tuesday] that evidence linking hormone-mimicking chemicals to human health problems has grown stronger over the past decade, becoming a 'global threat' that should be addressed."

"Fewer bees are available to pollinate California's growing almond crop. Beekeepers in the US have fewer bees this year because of drought and ongoing colony collapse disorder."

"Are people exposed to doses of bisphenol A in their canned foods and other consumer products that can harm them? Or are the amounts too low to cause any harm? This is the crux of a vehement debate that is being waged as federal officials are trying to decide whether the chemical, known as BPA, should be regulated."

Are people exposed to doses of bisphenol A in their canned foods and other consumer products that can harm them? Or are the amounts too low to cause any harm? This is the crux of a vehement debate that is being waged as federal officials are trying to decide whether the chemical, known as BPA, should be regulated."

"What happens to fish that swim in waters tainted by traces of drugs that people take? When it's an anti-anxiety drug, they become hyper, anti-social and aggressive, a study found. They even get the munchies."

"A new federal advisory panel report makes a forceful case for more research into environmental causes of breast cancer, which was diagnosed in 227,000 women, killed 40,000 and cost more than $17 billion to treat in the United States last year."

"Critics call on FDA and EPA to review popular anti-microbial's safety in light of new science."

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned 12 rodent poisons made by the United Kingdom-based Reckitt Benckiser Inc. because the products failed to abide by safety regulations, the agency announced Wednesday."

"We’ve come a long way since the days when kids played in clouds of DDT, gas stations sold leaded gasoline, and smoking near youngsters was commonplace."

"Pesticides blamed for killing bees have been removed from the shelves of Britain's biggest gardening chains, prompting calls for similar chemicals widely-used on farms to be banned completely."

"The mining of rare earth metals, used in everything from smart phones to wind turbines, has long been dominated by China. But as mining of these key elements spreads to countries like Malaysia and Brazil, scientists warn of the dangers of the toxic and radioactive waste generated by the mines and processing plants."

"Levels of PFOS, a chemical manufactured by 3M Co. for a variety of commercial uses until about 10 years ago, have improved significantly in the Mississippi River between Hastings and St. Paul -- except for the area around the company's Cottage Grove plant, where they have worsened."

"PepsiCo Inc. will remove a controversial chemical that is added to orange Gatorade in response to customer complaints. Outcry over the chemical, known as brominated vegetable oil, or BVO, had been building over the past year."