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Scientists Still Tracking Source Of 'Teflon Chemical' [1]

By CHERYL HOGUE

 

The so-called Teflon chemical continues to make headlines. This synthetic compound, known as PFOA (short for perfluorooctanoic acid) or C8, is found in the blood of most people around the world, including you and your audience. But just where this chemical is coming from remains an open question.

Topics on the Beat: 
Chemicals [2]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [3]
Visibility: 
Public [4]

"Are Perfluorochemicals Widespread in Biosolids?" [5]

"Scientists are scrambling to get a handle on the levels of perfluorochemicals in treated municipal sewage sludge as further details emerge about the unexpected discovery of these compounds in fields near Decatur, Ala."
Chemicals [2]
Public [4]
Source: ES&T [6], 06/04/2009

EPA Studies Used-Tire Playground Risks [7]

"The federal government is reconsidering whether sports fields and playgrounds made from ground-up tires could harm children's health after some Environmental Protection Agency scientists raised concerns,"
Chemicals [2]
Public [4]
National (U.S.) [3]
Source: AP [8], 06/04/2009

"Crime Scene Cleanup" in Kelly AFB Toxics Case [9]

New evidence indicates the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry fails to protect communities from dangers such as the now-disappearing plumes of toxic groundwater carrying cancer-causing chemicals far beyond the Kelly Air Force Base near San Antonio, TX.
SEJ Publication Types: 
WatchDog TipSheet [10]
Topics on the Beat: 
Chemicals [2]
Pollution [11]
Water & Oceans [12]
Military [13]
Region: 
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [14]
Visibility: 
Public [4]

FDA Mulls Putting Public's Health Above Companies' Trade Secrets [15]

NYT: "The goal is to open up a system in which the agency failed to inform the public that a widely prescribed heartburn drug was especially toxic to babies; that a diabetes medicine and a painkiller increased heart attack risks; and that antidepressants increased suicidal thoughts and behavior in children and teenagers."
SEJ Publication Types: 
WatchDog TipSheet [10]
Topics on the Beat: 
Chemicals [2]
Health [16]
Government [17]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [3]
Visibility: 
Public [4]

New Jersey DEP Proposes Gag Order on Science Info [18]

The Newark Star-Ledger reports a move by a top New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection official to prevent public disclosure of scientific information that should be public until political appointees without science credentials and press officers have approved it.
SEJ Publication Types: 
WatchDog TipSheet [10]
Topics on the Beat: 
Chemicals [2]
Government [17]
Science [19]
Region: 
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [20]
Visibility: 
Public [4]

"California Senate Approves Ban on BPA in Plastics" [21]

California's Senate narrowly passes a ban on BPA, a chemical that threatens child development, in baby bottles and sippy cups. Industry groups are mounting a big PR and lobbying blitz to stop it in the state Assembly.
Chemicals [2]
Public [4]
California [22]
Source: LA Times [23], 06/03/2009

"FDA Reviewing Decision on Safety of BPA" [24]

After a letter from key Congressmen, the FDA is reviewing its Bush-era decision that BPA, a chemical used in baby bottles and food containers, is safe.
Chemicals [2]
Public [4]
National (U.S.) [3]
Source: AP [25], 06/03/2009

The Beat: Leaking Gas Tanks And Chemical Pollution Are Common Focus [26]

Ever wonder what lies beneath your feet – what's down there in the ground on which we walk? The Toledo Blade's Tom Henry has an editor who asked that question and the result was an interesting look at what the government is doing – or not doing – to clean up gasoline spills from leaky underground tanks.

Topics on the Beat: 
Chemicals [2]
Pollution [11]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [3]
Visibility: 
Public [4]

"Groups Ask EPA to Ban Lead Tire Weights" [27]

"The federal government should ban the use of lead weights, those fingertip-size chunks of metal that balance the tires of cars and trucks, says a petition filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week."
Chemicals [2]
Public [4]
National (U.S.) [3]
Source: San Francisco Chronicle [28], 06/01/2009

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Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/publications/chemicals/scientists-still-tracking-source-of-teflon-chemical [2] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics [3] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national [4] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/81 [5] https://www.sej.org/headlines/are-perfluorochemicals-widespread-biosolids-0 [6] http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/es901417h [7] https://www.sej.org/headlines/epa-studies-used-tire-playground-risks [8] http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_PLAYGROUND_SAFETY?SITE=WIPOR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT [9] https://www.sej.org/publications/watchdog-tipsheet/crime-scene-cleanup-kelly-afb-toxics-case [10] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication/watchdog-tipsheet [11] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/pollution [12] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/water [13] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/military [14] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southwest [15] https://www.sej.org/publications/watchdog-tipsheet/fda-mulls-putting-publics-health-above-companies-trade-secrets [16] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health [17] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/government [18] https://www.sej.org/publications/watchdog-tipsheet/new-jersey-dep-proposes-gag-order-science-info [19] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/science [20] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/northeast [21] https://www.sej.org/headlines/california-senate-approves-ban-bpa-plastics [22] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/california [23] http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-baby-bottles3-2009jun03,0,6458278.story [24] https://www.sej.org/headlines/fda-reviewing-decision-safety-bpa [25] http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hYwYR5ULUu2bNooSnKxU_80kJcfwD98IQ6J00 [26] https://www.sej.org/publications/sejournal/the-beat-leaking-gas-tanks-and-chemical-pollution-are-common-focus [27] https://www.sej.org/headlines/groups-ask-epa-ban-lead-tire-weights [28] http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/31/BAJB17TLD7.DTL [29] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=515 [30] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=512 [31] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=513 [32] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=514 [33] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=517 [34] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=518 [35] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=519 [36] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=520 [37] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics?page=525