"The EPA announced [March 27] that it will study the health and environmental risks of 23 chemicals, with an emphasis on chemical flame retardants that are found in many common products."

"Many pesticides used in consumer products and agriculture received federal approval through a loophole that doesn't require thorough testing, according to a study released Wednesday by an environmental group."

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

"The effects of the so-called sequestration budget cuts on the federal government are revealed in a Jan. 25 memo to National Park Service staff written by Park Service Director Jon Jarvis."

"The California Public Utilities Commission held an initial meeting Tuesday in an investigative process that could eventually result in ratepayers getting a refund for a portion of the bills they have paid during the San Onofre nuclear plant's year-long outage."

"Last week, federal lawmakers trumpeted the passage of the Drywall Safety Act of 2012 as a bipartisan victory for thousands of homeowners harmed by contaminated drywall."

"If you use exfoliating soaps, you might not know those little beads may be made of plastic -- or think about what happens to them when they go down the drain."

"The most ubiquitous danger at firing ranges has a lot to do with bullets but nothing to do with getting shot."

"Any food sold in Washington state and made with genetically engineered crops would have to be labeled under a ballot initiative submitted Thursday."

"CleanWell's hand soaps promise to slay germs, and foam and ooze - just as soap should. But unlike many antibacterial soaps, the ones from this young San Francisco company and a growing number of other manufacturers lack a potentially harmful chemical: triclosan."

"Cigarette smoking among American teenagers dropped to a record low in 2012, a decline that may have been partly driven by a sharp hike in the federal tobacco tax, researchers said on Wednesday."

"Representative Edward Markey and some of his congressional colleagues are imploring the US Food and Drug Administration to investigate hair straightening treatments, such as the popular Brazilian Blowout, that contain formaldehyde, a carcinogen. ..."

"Major retailers are violating California law by failing to warn consumers about diaper-changing pads, nap mats and other baby products made with unsafe levels of a flame retardant linked to cancer, according to legal notices expected to be filed Thursday."

"Major tobacco companies that spent decades denying they lied to the U.S. public about the dangers of cigarettes must spend their own money on a public advertising campaign saying they did lie, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday."

"Flame retardants in U.S. furniture are on the rise, with a new study finding them in nearly all couches tested."