"Federal judges today upheld U.S. EPA's ozone air standard in a challenge from public health groups that said the agency ignored a scientific consensus pointing to a stricter limit."

"At the doorstep to the largest hazardous waste landfill in the West, Kettleman City has some of California's biggest pollution burdens, the state Environmental Protection Agency says."

"Advocates for farmworkers, especially those who grow America's leafy greens and fresh vegetables, are pushing the government to do more to protect those workers from exposure to pesticides."

"ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Indian authorities on Wednesday were trying to determine how food served as part of a free school lunch program got tainted with insecticide, leading to the deaths of at least 22 children and the hospitalization of more than two dozen others."

"SAVAR, Bangladesh — On the worst days, the toxic stench wafting through the Genda Government Primary School is almost suffocating. Teachers struggle to concentrate, as if they were choking on air. Students often become lightheaded and dizzy. A few boys fainted in late April. Another retched in class."

"MEXICO CITY -- More than 800 tons of asbestos from Russia were dumped eight months ago at the Mexican Gulf coast port of Veracruz and represents a health risk for the population, the Reforma newspaper reported Saturday."

"Scientists and lawyers are scheduled to debate the safety of certain 'BPA-free' plastics this week in a U.S. District Court in Austin, Texas."

"Levels of manganese, a neurotoxin, in the cove and in a nearby creek were 10, 20 or nearly 30 times above the EPA's safety standard for tap water."

The incidence of autism has increased in recent decades, but scientists are still struggling to understand what causes the developmental disorder. Now they are starting to suspect "environmental epigenetics" may play a key role in its origin.

"An extensive new study confirms a long-suspected link between crippling birth defects and the nitrate contamination that threatens drinking water for 250,000 people in the San Joaquin Valley."