"Childhood lead exposure is costing developing countries $992 billion annually due to reductions in IQs and earning potential, according to a new study published today."

"In 2006, the EPA’s Chicago office told Midwestern fertilizer dealers it found problems with nearly all their safety plans for poisonous anhydrous ammonia. Fix them, the EPA wrote the dealers, or face possible fines."

"Kish, the visible form of mill's pollution, 'invaded' homes, leaving residents to worry about health effects."

"To protect profits threatened by a lawsuit over its controversial herbicide atrazine, Syngenta Crop Protection launched an aggressive multi-million dollar campaign that included hiring a detective agency to investigate scientists on a federal advisory panel, looking into the personal life of a judge and commissioning a psychological profile of a leading scientist critical of atrazine."

"State and federal investigators in Louisiana are working to uncover what caused fatal blasts at two different chemical plants in the span of two days."

"There's fresh evidence that the chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, may play a part in childhood obesity."

"Could your driveway be making you sick? Mounting research suggests it could. It's prompting more cities, states and businesses to ban a common pavement sealant linked to higher cancer risks and contaminated soil."

"Syria has crossed a 'red line' with its use of chemical weapons, including the nerve agent sarin gas, against rebels, a move that is prompting the United States to increase the 'scale and scope' of its support for the opposition, the White House said Thursday."