"In April, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised to 535,000 its estimate of the number of American children with potentially dangerous levels of lead in their blood."

"The train that derailed in Lawtell [La.] is leaking chemicals and at least one of two cars carrying a hazardous chemical, vinyl chrloride, is damaged."

"WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama on Thursday ordered federal agencies to review safety rules at chemical facilities in response to the deadly April explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant."

"Key assumptions about bisphenol A (BPA) exposure and bioavailability may be off base, according to a new report in EHP that questions the traditional interpretation of biomonitoring data underlying current risk assessments of the chemical. Laboratory research suggests that BPA, a widely used chemical for polycarbonate plastics and other products, is an endocrine disruptor with potential adverse health effects involving reproduction, metabolism, and cancer."

"WASHINGTON -- A proposed overhaul of how the country regulates toxic chemicals came under sharp attack [Wednesday] from officials of California and several other states."

Some chemicals can cause cancer. But the chemical industry, unable to get the results it wants from toxicologists at the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, is now trying to get them by using lawyers, lobbyists, and legislators.

"How far a person lives from a manufacturing plant that releases the chemical benzene into the environment may determine their risk of developing immune system cancer, a new study suggests."

"WASHINGTON -- Sen. Barbara Boxer will seize control of efforts to regulate industrial chemicals during what lobbyists are calling a 'mega-hearing' Wednesday that will test her ability to navigate a major environmental law through a divided Congress."

"The Carson City (Calif.) Council declared a local emergency Monday night over contamination in the city’s Carousel tract, upping the pressure on Shell Oil to expedite cleanup of benzene, methane gas, and other hazardous chemicals on the site."

"MUMBAI/NEW DELHI -- Nearly a decade ago, the Indian government ruled out a ban on the production and use of monocrotophos, the highly toxic pesticide that killed 23 children this month in a village school providing free lunches under a government-sponsored program."

"Honey bees are being fitted with tiny radar antennae to find how disease and pesticides are effecting the insects as they hunt for food."

"Baby mice exposed in the womb to low doses – but not high doses – of bisphenol A were fatter and had metabolic changes linked to obesity and diabetes, according to a new study published today."

"Pesticides sprayed on crops could be making honey bees susceptible to a fatal parasite and contributing to recent declines in bee populations, according to a study."

"Advocates for farmworkers, especially those who grow America's leafy greens and fresh vegetables, are pushing the government to do more to protect those workers from exposure to pesticides."

"ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Indian authorities on Wednesday were trying to determine how food served as part of a free school lunch program got tainted with insecticide, leading to the deaths of at least 22 children and the hospitalization of more than two dozen others."