Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

December 2, 2008 10:40:40 PM CST


chemicals

chemicals news stories

19 Stories

ANALYSIS

Bush's EPA Gutted Toxic Chemical Protections

Military-use substances were deemed less toxic, key reviews stalled

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency program that rates the toxicity of chemicals used in the US, and around the world, has been manipulated in favor of industry and the military under the Bush administration, Rebecca Claren reports in Salon. Budget-cutting directives from the White House have allowed outside organizations, including the Pentagon, to stall or downgrade assessments, potentially endangering thousands of people. More »

Safety of US
Tap Water Remains Murky

Consumers, experts worry over effect of drugs present in supply

(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 »

More about:  Environmental Protection Agency water chemicals

opinion

Vanishing Bees Reveal Dangers of Pesticides

Why won't the US
do the right thing, ban dangerous products?

(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called Gaucho and Poncho—may be killing off the insects, but Washington will not ban the pesticides because of outdated regulations that require so-called "unreasonable risk."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 »

More about:  insects chemicals pesticide bees honeybees

Even Toughest Toads Are Being Unmanned

Clues to sex-change mystery could explain amphibian decline

(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 »

More about:  endangered species farming extinction chemicals frogs sex change amphibians hermaphrodite

US Firms Balk at EU Crackdown on Chemicals

Tough new regs shift burden to proving products are safe

(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 »

More about:  cancer European Union public health chemicals product safety consumer safety

Nalgene Nixes Suspect Chemical

Company will yank bottles containing bisphenol A

(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 »

More about:  Canada public health plastic chemicals bisphenol A bottles Nalgene

Hot Water Leaches Harmful
Chemical From Plastic

Study finds plastic bottles leach chemical BPA in hot water

(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 »

More about:  research plastic hormones chemicals baby bottle

Chinese Drugs Go Unchecked

Loophole allows pharma-producing chemical companies to bypass regulation

(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 »

More about:  China FDA chemicals pharmaceutical

Household Chemicals Sickening Cats

Flame retardants used on furniture could be hurting humans, too

(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 »

More about:  pets cat illness chemicals thyroid

Bad Plastic:
It's Practically Everywhere

And it's linked to infertility, obesity, cancer—you name it

(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 »

More about:  health cancer women obesity pregnancy safety plastic chemicals product safety reproduction baby bottle neurological disorder

Cleanliness May Be Next to Sickliness

Household products contain chemicals linked to asthma, infant growth defects

(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 »

More about:  chemicals phthalates

Toothpaste Scare Widens—Again

Tainted tubes from China turn up
in Georgia prisons, hospitals

(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 »

More about:  China Florida Georgia food safety food safety chemicals contamination toothpaste tainted toothpaste

China Closes 180 Food Plants

Dangerous chemicals added to products from candy to pickles; most not exported

(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 »

More about:  China food safety food safety chemicals contamination

China Shutters Scores of
Food Factories

Crackdown spreads to plants using industrial chemicals in edibles

(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 »

More about:  China food food safety melamine chemicals toothpaste

Colgate Cautions Against Fake Toothpaste

Counterfeit dentifrice may contain toxic chemical, company says

(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 »

More about:  China