Comments Sought On Formaldehyde In Wood Products

January 7, 2009–Concerns over emissions from formaldehyde in pressed-wood products have been building for many years. California's new rules addressing the problem went into effect Jan. 1, 2009. Now EPA is looking at following suit.

Industry Keeps Secret the Gas-Drilling Toxins Seeping into Drinking Wells

December 17, 2008–A series of drinking-water contamination incidents have raised doubts about EPA's safety claims regarding hydraulic fracturing in domestic gas wells. And it's hard for people to get to the bottom of those claims when the identity of the chemicals injected during the process is protected as a "trade secret."

Gulf War Illness: It's Real, Afflicts About 200K Vets, Says Panel

November 26, 2008–As the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan drag on, new light has been shed on the environmental health impacts of the 1991 Gulf War. On Nov. 17, 2008, the Congressionally-mandated Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses released a major report which concluded that from 175,000 to 210,000 of the nearly 700,000 U.S. veterans of the first Gulf War suffer from Gulf War illness.

Report: 303 Industrial Facilities Pose High Terrorism Risk

November 26, 2008–The strategy of changing chemical processes at industrial facilities so they use less hazardous materials, and pose less of a threat from terrorism and accidents, gained little traction in the Bush administration after 9/11. But a number of organizations continue to push the idea.

Many Contaminants Infiltrate Caves

October 1, 2008–Along with the usual spooky and spine-tingling sights we have come to expect in caves, another scary inhabitant is turning up — contaminants such as PCBs, pesticides, dioxins, gasoline, fertilizers, sewage, and caffeine. These pollutants, which are leaching into caves from the surface and groundwater, can pose a threat to the delicate underground environments that are prized by many, and that provide benefits to people, plants, and animals on the surface. The presence of these contaminants underground also serves as a blunt reminder of how pervasive pollutants are.

EPA Hides Data on Pesticide Link to Bee Die-Off

September 10, 2008–The Environmental Protection Agency looks determined to keep the public from knowing whether a pesticide on which it has waived safety rules may be a factor in the worldwide bee die-off known as "colony collapse disorder."

EPA Doesn't Bother to Collect Chemical Safety Data From Companies

August 27, 2008–Neither EPA nor the American public know very much about the possible health effects of tens of thousands of chemicals used in commerce and consumer products every day.

USDA Stops Pesticide, Fertilizer Data

August 27, 2008–The Bush administration is killing a longstanding program that publishes free the information it gathers on the application of pesticides and fertilizer by U.S. farmers.

New Government Effort To Produce More Data On Toxic Chemicals

August 15, 2008–

Report: Lead From Hunting And Fishing Still Pollutes

August 6, 2008–Hunters' lead shot and anglers' lead sinkers are still a pollution source, despite rules restricting them.