The EPA is considering requiring pesticide-makers to disclose often-toxic "inert" ingredients, changing a policy of secrecy that has been in effect for nearly 2/3 of a century.

"Exposure to certain chemicals and pollutants before a woman reaches her mid-30s could treble her risk of developing breast cancer after the menopause, Canadian scientists said on Thursday."

"Workers who apply certain pesticides to farm fields are twice as likely to contract melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, according to a new scientific study."

"The Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday that it is intensifying its look at how BPA affects the nation's wildlife and water supply and will designate the compound as a 'chemical of concern.'"

"The metal tungsten remains an important clue in research related to the Fallon [NV] leukemia cluster, which sickened 17 children and killed three of them between 1997 and 2004, scientists said Thursday."

An Indian company that produces endosulfan -- a pesticide banned in Europe because of suspicions it causes birth defects and death -- is pushing to keep the U.N. from restricting its use.

Bisphenol A, an estrogen-mimicking building block of polycarbonate  plastics and food-can coatings, is being found in beach sand and coastal seawater around the world. A Japanese chemist reported the findings, and he suspects the source may be certain resins used in marine paint.