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September 8, 2008 12:38:05 PM CDT

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Stories related to: chemicals

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18 Stories

  • August 2008

    • Safety of US Tap Water Remains Murky

      Wall Street Journal  |  Aug 19, 08 12:58 PM CDT

      Safety of US Tap Water Remains Murky

      (Newser) - As critics pan bottled water as wasteful and frivolous, many Americans are turning back to tap water—only to find a debate of equal concern waiting at their kitchen sinks. The Wall Street Journal examines the controversy over tap-water purity, and why many argue the federal government isn’t doing enough to protect us from newly discovered impurities. More »

      Tags

      Environmental Protection Agency  • water  • chemicals

  • July 2008

    • Vanishing Bees Reveal Dangers of Pesticides

      Los Angeles Times  |  Jul 30, 08 6:20 PM CDT

      Vanishing Bees Reveal Dangers of Pesticides

      (Newser) - The rapid, mysterious deaths of billions of honeybees demand a closer look at how we use and control pesticides, Al Meyerhoff writes in the Los Angeles Times . A family of toxic chemicals called neonictonoids—led by two Bayer pesticides called Gaucho and Poncho—may be killing off the insects, but Washington will not ban the pesticides because of outdated regulations that require so-called "unreasonable risk." More »

      Tags

      chemicals  • insects  • pesticide  • bees  • honeybees

    • Even Toughest Toads Are Being Unmanned

      Independent (UK)  |  Jul 13, 08 10:40 AM CDT

      Even Toughest Toads Are Being Unmanned

      (Newser) - The mystery of the hermaphrodite toads may be solved: Researchers have found that various chemicals used in farming are linked to sex changes in certain amphibian species, the Independent reports. In a population of cane toads, 40% of males had developed feminine coloring and ovaries, and an additional 20% had marked female characteristics. And the toads are not unique. More »

      Tags

      endangered species  • farming  • extinction  • chemicals  • frogs  • sex change  • amphibians  • hermaphrodite

  • June 2008

    • US Firms Balk at EU Crackdown on Chemicals

      Washington Post  |  Jun 12, 08 1:57 PM CDT

      US Firms Balk at EU Crackdown on Chemicals

      (Newser) - The European Union has passed a series of tough new laws requiring companies to prove that the chemicals in their products are safe, the Washington Post reports. The rule is the exact opposite of US law—which requires proof that a chemical is dangerous before it can be regulated—and manufacturers say it will add billions to their costs. More »

      Tags

      cancer  • European Union  • public health  • chemicals  • product safety  • consumer safety

  • April 2008

    • Nalgene Nixes Suspect Chemical

      Associated Press  |  Apr 18, 08 1:31 PM CDT

      Nalgene Nixes Suspect Chemical

      (Newser) - The maker of Nalgene bottles will pull the products from stores over concerns about the health effects of the chemical bisphenol A, Reuters reports. The plastic water bottles, long a favorite of hikers, will be made with BPA-free materials going forward. The move comes despite the chemical industry's assurances that BPA does not harm humans. More »

      Tags

      Canada  • public health  • plastic  • chemicals  • bisphenol A  • bottles

  • January 2008

    • Hot Water Leaches Harmful Chemical From Plastic

      USA Today  |  Jan 30, 08 9:55 AM CST

      Hot Water Leaches Harmful Chemical From Plastic

      (Newser) - Hot liquid causes a potentially harmful chemical to leach out of certain plastics much faster than usual, researchers have found. The study, published in Toxicology Letters , discovered that  bisphenol A, or BPA, was released from some common plastic bottles 55 times faster when they were placed in boiling water. Concerns about BPA, a hormone "disrupter," have been growing, particularly for containers used by babies and young children. More »

      Tags

      research  • plastic  • hormones  • chemicals  • baby bottle

  • October 2007

    • Chinese Drugs Go Unchecked

      New York Times  |  Oct 31, 07 12:54 PM CDT

      Chinese Drugs Go Unchecked

      (Newser) - China’s massive prescription drug industry has an equally massive flaw: pharmaceuticals made by chemical companies are not held to regulatory standards. Of nearly 500 Chinese companies at a recent drug trade show, 82 were unregulated and uncertified, the New York Times discovered. “This is definitely against the law,” said one drug regulator, who acknowledges that China's food and drug agency doesn't have jurisdiction over chemical companies. More »

      Tags

      China  • FDA  • chemicals  • pharmaceutical

  • August 2007

    • Household Chemicals Sickening Cats

      Los Angeles Times  |  Aug 16, 07 12:21 PM CDT

      Household Chemicals Sickening Cats

      (Newser) - Cats are falling ill with thyroid disease caused by toxic flame retardants found in household dust and some pet food, says the EPA. Chemicals known as PBDEs—polybrominated diphenyl ethers—found in consumer products and furniture are mimicking hormones which send a cat's thyroid into overdrive. Since humans are the only other mammal with a high rate of hyperthyroidism, the common chemicals could be affecting them, too. More »

      Tags

      pets  • cat  • chemicals  • illness

    • Bad Plastic: It's Practically Everywhere

      Salon  |  Aug 2, 07 1:59 PM CDT

      Bad Plastic: It's Practically Everywhere

      (Newser) - It's in everything from baby bottles to coffee makers to CDs, and research is accumulating, as Salon's Elizabeth Grossman puts it, that it's a major health hazard. Bisphenol A is a key ingredient of the lightweight plastics now ubiquitous in consumer products, and it's been variously linked to reproductive health, obesity, cancer and neurological disorders. More »

      Tags

      health  • cancer  • women  • obesity  • pregnancy  • safety  • plastic  • chemicals  • product safety  • baby bottle  • reproduction  • neurological disorder

  • July 2007

    • Cleanliness May Be Next to Sickliness

      Seattle Post-Intelligencer  |  Jul 24, 07 2:43 PM CDT

      Cleanliness May Be Next to Sickliness

      (Newser) - Common household products, including laundry detergents and floor cleaners, contain harmful chemicals that could induce health problems in adults and infants, a new report says. Five chemicals, present in popular brands like Pine-Sol, Formula 409, and Tide, may lead to asthma attacks, developmental problems, and infertility but often are not listed on packaging, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. More »

      Tags

      chemicals  • phthalates

  • June 2007

    • Toothpaste Scare Widens—Again

      New York Times  |  Jun 28, 07 7:41 AM CDT

      Toothpaste Scare Widens—Again

      (Newser) - The Chinese toothpaste scare is far from over and is more than just a scare. Tainted tubes have turned up, as expected, in discount stores—but officials have also found them in institutions such as prisons and hospitals, the Times reports. Nearly 1 million tubes containing varying amounts of a chemical found in antifreeze have been distributed, mostly in Georgia. More »

      Tags

      China  • Florida  • Georgia  • food  • safety  • food safety  • chemicals  • contamination  • toothpaste  • tainted toothpaste

    • China Closes 180 Food Plants

      Wall Street Journal  |  Jun 28, 07 3:51 AM CDT

      China Closes 180 Food Plants

      (Newser) - The Chinese government has shut down 180 food manufacturing plants for racking up a whopping 23,000 violations in the last six months, most of them for using chemicals and industrial materials as food fillers to cut costs. Almost all were small and unlicensed, making it unlikely their products, worth some $26 million, reached international markets. More »

      Tags

      China  • food  • safety  • food safety  • chemicals  • contamination

    • China Shutters Scores of Food Factories

      Associated Press  |  Jun 27, 07 12:49 PM CDT

      China Shutters Scores of Food Factories

      (Newser) - The Chinese government has closed 180 factories that were using dangerous and illegal ingredients, such as formaldehyde, in food products. The relatively large number of plants casts serious doubt on Beijing's insistence that the recent rash of tainted products originated with a small number of sources, the AP reports: A government official said the shutdowns were "not isolated cases." More »

      Tags

      China  • food  • food safety  • chemicals  • melamine  • toothpaste

    • Colgate Cautions Against Fake Toothpaste

      Reuters  |  Jun 14, 07 4:23 PM CDT

      Colgate Cautions Against Fake Toothpaste

      (Newser) - Colgate alerted the public today that counterfeit toothpaste bearing its brand name and possibly containing a deadly chemical has turned up in discount stores in four Northeast states. The phony products' packaging is riddled with misspellings and gives the manufacturing location as South Africa, where the company doesn't make toothpaste. Colgate-Palmolive is working with the FDA to find the source. More »

      Tags

      China  • FDA  • South Africa  • Dominican Republic  • chemicals  • Panama  • counterfeit  • Costa Rica  • toothpaste  • diethylene glycol

    • Largest Oil Spill in US Seeps Under Brooklyn

      New York  |  Jun 4, 07 5:54 PM CDT

      Largest Oil Spill in US Seeps Under Brooklyn

      (Newser) - Underneath the ground of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, is a dark blob of gasoline, solvents, and associated poisons that composes the biggest oil spill in US history.  It's accumulated from a century's worth of smaller leaks and waste dumping, reports New York magazine, and ExxonMobil has quietly accepted the blame, but done little to clean it up. More »

      Tags

      environment  • cancer  • New York  • oil  • environmentalism  • real estate  • ExxonMobil  • oil spill  • chemicals  • Brooklyn  • waste  • bone cancer  • Greenpoint  • hydrocarbon

  • May 2007

    • Common Chemicals Boost Disease Risk

      Los Angeles Times  |  May 25, 07 10:46 AM CDT

      Common Chemicals Boost Disease Risk

      (Newser) - Beginning in the womb, exposure to common substances increases the likelihood of numerous health problems—including cancer, ADD, Parkinson's and obesity—years and even generations later, international environmental scientists say. Two hundred prominent experts yesterday took the unusual step of calling for intervention by governments, even those that have downplayed the risks posed by chemicals in food, air, and water. More »

      Tags

      health  • environment  • pregnancy  • safety  • chemicals  • fetal development

    • Trail of Chinese Chemicals Leads to Toothpaste

      New York Times  |  May 22, 07 8:02 AM CDT

      Trail of Chinese Chemicals Leads to Toothpaste

      (Newser) - The Dominican Republic is the latest country investigating the possibility that a poisonous chemical from China wound up in a consumer product. This time it's toothpaste that contains the industrial solvent diethylene glycol, which has already turned up in Panama and Australia, the Times reports. The Chinese government has tracked the toothpaste to factories in the Danyang region. More »

      Tags

      China  • health  • food  • chemicals  • contamination  • pet food recall  • toothpaste  • cold medicine  • diethylene glycol  • glycerin

    • Chemicals in Tap Water, French Fries May Cause Breast Cancer

      Los Angeles Times  |  May 14, 07 10:16 AM CDT

      Chemicals in Tap Water, French Fries May Cause Breast Cancer

      (Newser) - Hundreds of common chemicals—from a substance used in French fries to one found in tap water—may cause breast cancer, a new report linking the disease to everyday products suggests. Researchers say they've found a link between cancer in animals and more than 200 common chemicals, many of which the federal government doesn't regulate. More »

      Tags

      health  • cancer  • breast cancer  • genetics  • cancer research  • chemicals

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