Environmental Health

"Scientists say the U.S. biological defense system relied on kits that were far less able to help detect lethal germs than officials thought."

"When it comes to feeding your children organic food, pediatricians have new advice for parents. Organic produce and meat might be worth the hefty price tag, but you can probably skip the organic milk."

"CALGARY -- The ugly scars left on the northern Alberta landscape by the oil sands have prompted calls from around the world for an independent body to gather data on the ecological damage wrought by the energy industry."

"Hundreds of Peruvian farm workers, the majority of them women, became sick after inhaling a pesticide sprayed on a nearby field, the state-run Andina news agency reported."

"Carbon dioxide has been vilified for decades as a driver of global warming. A new study finds signs that CO2, exhaled in every breath, can exert an equally worrisome threat -- impaired cognition -- in nearly every energy-efficient classroom, meeting hall or office space."

Residents of a neighborhood just east of Hialeah have been experiencing cancer and asthma in what they see as unusual amounts. They live in an area with many industries that pollute with toxic dust and chemicals. Those companies often flout enforcement efforts by the county.

"The Environmental Protection Agency is re-examining more than 460 former lead factory sites across the USA for health hazards left by toxic fallout onto soil in nearby neighborhoods."

"LOS ANGELES — Federal regulators failed to pursue recalls after they found cadmium-tainted jewelry on store shelves, despite their vow to keep the toxic trinkets out of children's hands, an Associated Press investigation shows."

"Cedar McGourty-Batchelor won't be playing soccer this Saturday. Neither will his first-grade teammates from Riverview Elementary School -- nor, for that matter, any other kids in Durango, Colo."

"Residents of Hinkley, made famous by 'Erin Brockovich,' weigh an offer by PG&E to buy homes near chromium-tainted water. Animosity is high between residents wanting to sell and those opting to stay."