"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Federal investigators began to descend on DuPont Co.'s Belle chemical plant Monday after a worker who was sprayed in the face by the poison gas phosgene died and U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd warned of 'a severe breakdown in even the most basic safety protocols.'"

"Scientists for the first time have found evidence that flame retardants -- ubiquitous in homes and in the environment - may be reducing human fertility. California women exposed to high levels of the compounds take substantially longer to get pregnant than women with low levels."

"Americans are exposed to thousands of chemicals that are potentially harmful to their health, according to a broad coalition of labor, health, and environmental organizations calling for tougher federal toxics regulation."

"Damning new evidence has even the FDA worried about the impacts of BPA in consumer products, especially those for infants and children."

"More than two decades after parents dumped apples from children's lunch boxes because of concerns about a chemical applied to the fruit, most researchers agree the crop is safer although most of it still carries pesticide residue."

"Canadian children were exposed to jewelry containing 100 per cent lead for over a year because Health Canada failed to alert parents of the potentially deadly risk, Canwest News Service has learned."

"Federal investigators are significantly narrowing the scope of their probe of the Bayer CropScience Institute plant as a result of the company's plan to reduce its stockpile of the deadly chemical methyl isocyanate."

"U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials say they are powerless to regulate BPA, although they have declared the chemical to be a safety concern for fetuses, babies and young children."