Publication Items

USFS Releases Court-Ordered EIS for Fire Retardants [1]

Information sessions and webinars on possible health and environmental effects of aerial-applied chemicals used to fight wildfires will be held in various locations around the country during the 45-day public comment period that ends June 27, 2011.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Health [3]
Chemicals [4]
Forests [5]
Health [6]
Region:
California [7]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [8]
Northwest (OR WA) [9]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [10]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about USFS Releases Court-Ordered EIS for Fire Retardants [1]
Forest Fire Retardants Not Always the Hero [12]

The most commonly used slurry mixtures can be toxic to fish, aquatic invertebrates, and algae, can harm rabbits, birds, and humans, and can reduce vegetative diversity and boost the growth of weeds. Slurries and foams are mostly water, but they also include ammonium fertilizer, detergent, and other ingredients.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Health [3]
Chemicals [4]
Forests [5]
Health [6]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Forest Fire Retardants Not Always the Hero [12]
Is Corporate Ghostwriting of Journal Articles a Threat to Environmental Information? [13]

Before picking up stories based on journals in the environmental sciences, reporters might pause to ask about those journals' policies on transparency and potential conflict of interest. And then ask about enforcement, and any relevant conflict declarations on the article in question.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [14]
Topics on the Beat:
Health [6]
Economy & Business [15]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Is Corporate Ghostwriting of Journal Articles a Threat to Environmental Information? [13]
Oil Fracking Poses Similar Concerns As Gas Fracking [16]

EPA is conducting a study of fracking, no matter where it is used (e.g., gas shale, oil shale, coalbed methane, tight sands). Public comment is being allowed as the agency's Science Advisory Board meets March 7-8, 2011, to review the draft study plan. Initial study and research results are possible by the end of 2012, and a report may be published some time in 2014.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Health [3]
Energy & Fuel [17]
Health [6]
Pollution [18]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Oil Fracking Poses Similar Concerns As Gas Fracking [16]
"Chasing Molecules: Poisonous Products, Human Health, and the Promise of Green Chemistry" [19]

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [20]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [4]
Environmental Health [3]
Health [6]
Science [21]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about "Chasing Molecules: Poisonous Products, Human Health, and the Promise of Green Chemistry" [19]
Tiny Bits of Silver, Used As Bacteria-Eaters, Emerge As New Health Concern [22]

Rae Tyson reports there may well be a connection between odor-resistant socks and an emerging health and environmental concern.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [23]
Topics on the Beat:
Health [6]
Science [21]
Technology [24]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Tiny Bits of Silver, Used As Bacteria-Eaters, Emerge As New Health Concern [22]
Food News Hooks: Safety, Healthfulness, Availability, Cost, and More [25]

Much of your audience likely considers food a minor issue since they see it as generally available, affordable, healthy, environmentally benign, and unrelated to issues such as national security. You can help paint a more realistic picture for them, from the global to the local.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Health [6]
Food [26]
Agriculture [27]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Food News Hooks: Safety, Healthfulness, Availability, Cost, and More [25]
EPA Issues New Information on Old and New Fluorescent Light Bulbs [28]

Some light bulbs require special handling to reduce toxic exposures. EPA's latest guidance for old fluorescent bulbs that contain PCBs and current generation CFLs that contain mercury both provide important fodder for consumer-awareness stories.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Health [6]
Government [29]
Consumer [30]
Chemicals [4]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about EPA Issues New Information on Old and New Fluorescent Light Bulbs [28]
EPA Asks for Comment on School Siting Guidelines [31]

This guidance would provide insights and reduce threats when competing forces — such as land availability, cost, timing, vehicle and utility access, zoning, and developer cooperation — drive decision makers to build a school at a site that may pose a toxic threat to the children and staff.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Pollution [18]
People & Population [32]
Health [6]
Air [33]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about EPA Asks for Comment on School Siting Guidelines [31]
EPA Releases Reports on Toxics at Selected Schools [34]

Following a December 2008 USA Today report on outdoor air pollution at hundreds of schools, EPA began a monitoring process. Final reports for 21 (of the small number of schools selected) have now been released; the results are mixed.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Pollution [18]
People & Population [32]
Health [6]
Chemicals [4]
Air [33]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about EPA Releases Reports on Toxics at Selected Schools [34]

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