Chemicals

"A dark legacy of the Vietnam War is creating a whole new set of problems. ...Why hundreds of thousands of Vietnam vets with Agent Orange–related diseases have been made to suffer without VA health care."

"Maryland advocates for a ban on a toxic flame retardant that accumulates in the environment and has been linked to cancer and brain development problems intend to pursue an earlier phaseout of the chemical than the timeline currently spelled out in a recent federal agreement."

"A Canadian firm says U.S. use of defoliants in Vietnam has left perilous dioxin levels, but that the issue is solvable."

"Of the 84,000 chemicals in commercial use in the United States -- from flame retardants in furniture to household cleaners -- nearly 20 percent are secret, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, their names and physical properties guarded from consumers and virtually all public officials under a little-known federal provision."

"The Obama administration announced Wednesday it might write rules to limit the manufacture, processing and use of C8 and related perfluorinated chemicals, but would not propose any such regulations until at least 2012."

"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will miss its third self-imposed deadline on letting consumers know whether it is safe to use products made with bisphenol A, a chemical ingredient in the lining of most food and beverage cans."

Chemical company executives withheld from the Illinois EPA detailed information about a 1978 chemical spill as plans were being made to clean it up.

"OTTAWA -- Half of the children's jewelry items tested at the government's product safety laboratory last year were made of almost pure lead."

"Federal regulators under President Barack Obama have sharply shifted course on long-standing policy toward pharmaceutical residues in the nation's drinking water, taking a critical first step toward regulating some of the contaminants while acknowledging they could threaten human health."