A House Homeland Security subcommittee April 14 approved a bill (HR 901) that effectively extends chemical plant security rules put in place by the Bush administration. Chemical industry groups applauded, while Greenpeace said it puts public safety at risk. Various trade publications reported the action, although most mainstream media did not.

"Alarmed by studies showing children are vulnerable to toxic chemicals found in scores of consumer products, the nation's largest pediatrician group is joining a growing campaign to overhaul how the U.S. regulates hazardous substances."

"High levels of pesticide exposure in pregnant women have been linked to lower IQs in their children, according to three separate US studies."

"Mexican American school children in California are contaminated with seven times more flame retardants than children in Mexico and three times more than their own mothers, according to a new study. The 7-year-olds in the Salinas Valley had more of the chemicals in their bodies than almost all other people tested worldwide."

Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control are trying to develop a new product that both repels and kills insects. Called nootkatone, it is found in Alaska yellow cedar trees and citrus fruit. Consumers may prefer it to DEET, and that may mean a chance to lower the chances of insect-borne disease.

"The U.S. EPA is considering a ban or restriction on consumer insulation and sealant products containing a family of chemicals known as diisocyantes."

"If you didn’t know, there are about 70,000 gallons of oil and industrial waste pooling beneath the city of Pittston. That’s about 10 of the petroleum tankers you’ve seen at your local gas station."

"Over the years, rat poison has spared [California] residents untold filth and disease. But a new generation of highly toxic, long-lasting poisons is killing not only rats, mice and ground squirrels, but whatever feeds on them, too."

"Wild rice is sacred to the Ojibwe of Minnesota, but that may not be enough to protect it from the promise of jobs that a new copper-nickel mining industry would bring to the state."

"With the Obama administration moving to impose tougher limits on toxic air pollution as well as emissions that lead to smog and acid rain, it's betting the private sector can add a new technology to the utility industry's arsenal."