EPA scientists in 2010 were ready to declare that even small amounts of hexavalent chromium -- found in the drinking water of some 70 million Americans -- may cause cancer. But the American Chemistry Council, the main industry lobby group, urged delay. EPA did delay, on the recommendation of a science panel that was supposed to be independent -- but was secretly stacked with panelists tied to the industry. In fact, they had helped industry oppose hexavalent chromium lawsuits instigated by Erin Brocovich.

"The agricultural giant Monsanto has sued hundreds of small farmers in the United States in recent years in attempts to protect its patent rights on genetically engineered seeds that it produces and sells, a new report said on Tuesday."

"New York State's decision to lift a four-year ban on natural gas drilling faced further delay on Tuesday after officials conducting a key health impact study asked for more time to form their conclusions on the divisive issue."

"Women who took folic acid supplements before and during pregnancy were about 40% less likely to have a baby later diagnosed with autism, according to a provocative new study generating high interest in the scientific community."

"There's a global campaign to force meat producers to rein in their use of antibiotics on pigs, chickens and cattle. European countries, especially Denmark and the Netherlands, have taken the lead. The U.S. is moving, haltingly, toward similar restrictions. Now the concerns about rampant antibiotic use appear to have reached China, where meat production and antibiotic use have been growing fast."

"Multinational food, drink and alcohol companies are using strategies similar to those employed by the tobacco industry to undermine public health policies, health experts said on Tuesday."

"The mystery of how horsemeat got into Findus beef lasagne has led to an international hunt already taking in four countries.

"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."

"OAKLAND -- The pediatric inpatient unit was quiet, except for the deep, relentless coughing. It was the sound of asthma -- asthma out of control."

"One of the oldest known workplace dangers is breathing in tiny bits of silica, which is basically sand. Even the ancient Greeks knew that stone cutters got sick from breathing in dust. And today, nearly 2 million American workers are exposed to silica dust in jobs ranging from construction to manufacturing."

"The use of antibiotics in food animal production slightly increased and antibiotic resistant bacteria in meat products remained an issue 2011, according to two sets of data released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday."

"Cancer death rates among African American men declined faster than those of white men in the last decade, even though overall survival rates for black men and women remained the lowest of all racial groups for most types of cancer, according to a recent report."

An asthma inhaler rigged to a GPS device? Just as this new medical tech device may help researchers determine the precise triggers of asthma attacks, the emerging field of geomedicine promises to help correlate environmental conditions with health risks.

"COTTRELLVILLE, Mich. -- The fight has been under way for several years, but the momentum may have peaked on a night in June 2011. That was the night of a community meeting in Marine City to discuss a startling spate of rare kidney cancers identified in area children -- one as young as 5 months."