Environmental Health

"Panel To Study at Agent Orange Residue Exposure"

"The Veterans Affairs Department has long resisted disability claims from service members who said chemical residue left in Vietnam War-era planes that were used to spray defoliants over Southeast Asia caused them severe illnesses, including cancer. This summer, a panel of independent scientists will try to determine whether those veterans could have been exposed to the toxins in defoliants, including Agent Orange, at a level that would be dangerous to their health."

Source: AP, 05/15/2014

Baker Hughes Vows To Disclose Frack Chemicals. Will Others?

It may be good PR. Baker Hughes has not only been a leader in oilfield technology, but has also been a leader in the inexact science of producing benign media coverage. The company says it will disclose the identities of all the chemicals it uses, but not the exact amounts or proportions. This move might also be a shrewd way of getting a jump on the inevitable, ahead of possible EPA mandatory disclosure requirements.

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"Oil Giant Citgo Gets Off Easy in Criminal Case"

"A foreign oil company convicted of polluting a Texas community's air with dangerous chemicals has gotten off easy in a criminal case that could undercut the prosecution of environmental crimes in the United States. The case revolves around Venezuelan-owned Citgo Petroleum’s decade-long violation of the federal Clean Air Act at its refinery in Corpus Christi."

Source: Center for Public Integrity, 05/14/2014

"Are Pesticides Linked To Health Problems in Argentina?"

"Could pesticides - their use and abuse - increase levels of cancer and birth defects? It is a question asked across the vast belt of Argentina where GM crops are grown. In Chaco, the Minister of Public Health wants an independent commission to investigate a growing health crisis."

Source: BBC News, 05/14/2014

"Fracking Waste Could Increase Carcinogens in NC Drinking Water"

"Chemicals in water from deep underground in hydraulic fracturing wells have caused problems as they get to water treatment plants in other states. It’s a potential problem to consider as North Carolina moves closer to allowing fracking."

Source: NC Health News, 05/13/2014

"Draft Letter From EPA Advisors Urges Tougher Ozone Standard"

"A draft letter from a U.S. EPA science advisory committee recommends a tight standard for how much ozone pollution can be in the air, recommending that the lower bound of the standard should be 60 parts per billion, much lower than the current standard. But the letter notes that committee members haven't made a decision on the upper bound of the ozone standard."

Source: Greenwire, 05/13/2014

Philly Schools Block a Federal Study After Health Risks Are Exposed

"The crisis-wracked School District of Philadelphia has quietly abandoned a federal agency’s plans for further study of environmental-health risks in its aging school buildings. An initial review found pervasive dampness, mold or water damage — conditions that may aggravate asthma and other respiratory ailments — but the District has refused to make the complete findings public."

Source: Philadelphia City Paper, 05/09/2014

Stillbirths Higher in Areas Hit By Hurricanes Katrina And Rita: Study

"A new statistical review of stillbirths that occurred in Louisiana after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita show they occurred more frequently in areas suffering the worst damage to individual homes, including Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Tammany and Vermilion parishes, according to a peer-reviewed study published Thursday (May 8)."

Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, 05/09/2014

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