Environmental Health

Several hundred thousand residents of the Toledo, Ohio, area remained Monday morning under an advisory not to drink their tapwater. Labs found microcystin, a toxin produced by blue-green algae, in the water. The algae are blooming in western Lake Erie, from which the city draws its water, because of phosphorus frpm farm runoff, lawn fertilizer, and sewage overflow. At a 3 am news conference, Mayor D. Michael Collins said the advisory would ramain in effect for some hours although tests showed microcystin in the water returning to safe levels. The crisis disrupted people's lives on a massive scale as bottled water was distributed.

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture unveiled on Thursday the first major overhaul of the nation's poultry-inspection system in more than 50 years. It said the new system was part of an effort to better fight pathogens while placing more responsibility and trust on companies to protect the quality of their chicken and turkey."

"A northwestern Ontario First Nation has released a five-year-old report confirming the community suffers ongoing effects from mercury poisoning, but it says the government has never acted on the findings."

"The last thing Rodney Donald was expecting during his family’s vacation on the Chesapeake Bay was to almost lose a leg to an aggressive bacteria growing in the brackish waters."

"Two years ago, Bill Orem and his team of researchers were setting up air monitors in the yards and on the porches of residents in Artie, a small Raleigh County community surrounded by mountaintop removal mines."

"A White House advisory committee is expected to acknowledge the link between antimicrobial resistance in humans and livestock being fed antibiotics when it issues its report in the next few weeks, according to the transcript of a committee meeting held earlier this month."

"Primates in Fukushima region found to have low white and red blood cell levels and radioactive caesium"

"A recent accident highlights how state fracking laws protect corporate trade secrets over public safety."

"Federal scientists will conduct new studies to examine the potential health effects of exposure to the chemicals released during the January leak at the Freedom Industries tank farm along the Elk River in Charleston, under an agreement announced Wednesday."

"Deputy premier Rich Coleman challenged Thursday the conclusions of a scientific panel into the environmental effect of shale gas development using fracking."