EJToday: Top Headlines
EJToday is SEJ's selection of new and outstanding stories on environmental topics in print and on the air, updated every weekday. SEJ also offers a free e-mailed digest of the day's EJToday postings, called SEJ-beat. SEJ members are subscribed automatically, but may opt out here. Non-members may subscribe here. EJToday is also available via RSS feed. Please see Editorial Guidelines for EJToday content.
"Just in time for the Oscars, the environmental group Californians for a Healthy and Green Economy is holding its own red-carpet event. An eco version of the Razzies, the Toxies will take place Wednesday at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood and hand out awards for 'bad actor' chemicals.""And the Winner for Most Toxic Chemical Is...."
Greenspace, 03/04/2010
"A new study has found that male frogs exposed to the herbicide atrazine -- one of the most common man-made chemicals found in U.S. waters -- can make a startling developmental U-turn, becoming so completely female that they can mate and lay viable eggs.""Study: Weedkiller in Waterways Can Change Frogs' Sex Traits"
Wash Post, 03/02/2010
"Federal law forces companies to provide detailed information to U.S. EPA about the toxicity of the chemicals they use. But there is a catch. The same law -- the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, or TSCA -- prohibits the agency from sharing that information with the public or even with state and local authorities. States are demanding that the law be changed."States Push to Curb Business Confidentiality Claims for Chemicals
Greenwire, 03/02/2010
A Univ. of Florida researcher has found that endocrine-disrupting agricultural pesticides have harmed the health of Yaqui people in Mexico. Among the effects: girls developing breasts that lack mammary tissue needed to produce milk."Pesticide Exposure Deprives Yaqui Girls of Breastfeeding -- Ever"
Indian Country Today, 03/01/2010
"Chemicals derived from flowers may sound harmless, but new research raises concerns about compounds synthesized from chrysanthemums that are used in virtually every household pesticide. For at least a decade, pyrethroids have been the insecticide of choice for consumers, replacing organophosphate pesticides, which are far more toxic to people and wildlife. But evidence is mounting that the switch to pyrethroids has brought its own set of new ecological and human health concerns.""Pyrethroids Raise New Concerns"
EHN, 02/26/2010
"As scientific evidence mounts against bisphenol-A, a chemical used in plastic baby bottles, soup cans and other containers, many states -- including Maryland -- are starting to take action to limit the chemical ahead of any federal regulation.""Md. Among States Seeking To Limit BPA"
Baltimore Sun, 02/24/2010
"Major U.S. foodmakers are quietly investigating how to rid their containers of Bisphenol A, a chemical under scrutiny by federal regulators concerned about links to a range of health problems, including reproductive disorders and cancer."BPA Hard To Replace in Food Containers
Wash Post, 02/23/2010
Two authors of the book "Slow Death by Rubber Duck" used themselves as subjects in a science experiment about the dangers of chemicals in everyday consumer products."Authors Attempt 'Death By Rubber Duck'"
, 02/22/2010
"A leak of more than 3,500 pounds of toxic ammonia gas from the Dow Chemical Co. facility in Institute [WV] went undetected for nearly two weeks, company officials disclosed Wednesday.""Dow Leak Went Undetected for Nearly 2 Weeks"
Charleston Gazette, 02/19/2010
"An environmental contractor dramatically underreported the level of a cancer-causing chemical found in tap water at Camp Lejeune, then omitted it altogether as the Marine base prepared for a federal health review, an Associated Press review has found.""Report on Marines' Water Omitted Cancer Chemical"
AP, 02/18/2010
"Oregon's Senate shot down a bill this morning that would have banned a potential endocrine-disrupting chemical from baby bottles and sippy cups, splitting 15-15 on a ban that Washington's Legislature has endorsed with lopsided votes.""Oregon Senate Shoots Down Ban on BPA in Baby Bottles, Sippy Cups"
Portland Oregonian, 02/17/2010
"Living near farms that use the weed killer atrazine may up the risk of a rare birth defect, according to a study presented this past Friday at the annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine in Chicago.""Weed Killer Atrazine May Be Linked To Birth Defect"
Reuters, 02/09/2010
"Exactly what's in floor cleaner? What's stain remover made of? And what effects, if any, might they have on human health or the environment Environmental advocates want to know, and they asked a court Thursday to use a 1971 New York state law to force ... manufacturers ... to reveal just what makes up such household staples as Ajax, Ivory soap and Tide. The cleanser industry says that the legal case is unwarranted and that fears about health risks are misinformed."Reveal Household Cleaners' Ingredients, Enviros Urge
AP, 02/05/2010
EPA is reopening its review of the possible health effects of the widespread herbicide atrazine. A new focus is on several studies linking the hormone-mimicking weedkiller to birth defects and other risks in newborns."EPA Reviews Hints of Weed Killer's Fetal Risks"
Science News, 02/05/2010
"The nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity has put the U.S. EPA on notice that it intends to sue the agency for failing to adequately evaluate and regulate nearly 400 pesticides harmful to hundreds of endangered species across the country as well as human beings.""EPA Faces Lawsuits Over Pesticide Harms, Soot"
ENS, 02/03/2010
