contaminants

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This 'Dirty Dozen' Are the Most Contaminated

Strawberries top Environmental Working Group list on which fruits, veggies contain the most pesticides

(Newser) - If you aim to eat as cleanly as possible to preserve that temple you call your body, you may want to cross-check what you're buying with the new list of contaminated produce items from the Environmental Working Group. The EWG ranked the pesticide levels of the fruits and veggies...

Breathing San Fran Air Like Smoking 11 Cigarettes: Researchers

Smog from wildfires has given San Francisco, Stockton, Sacramento worst pollution in the world

(Newser) - The smoke in some parts of California from the wildfires has been "overwhelming," and now the air in some cities there has earned a new descriptor: the world's worst. CNN reports on a sobering chart from the Berkeley Earth nonprofit , which pulls together stats from sites that...

Report: Harvey Caused 145K Gallons of Fuel to Spill

Now all eyes are on Florida's petroleum storage facilities as Irma bears down

(Newser) - More than two dozen storage tanks holding crude oil, gasoline, and other contaminants ruptured or otherwise failed when Harvey slammed into the Texas coast, spilling at least 145,000 gallons of fuel and spewing toxic pollutants into the air, per an AP analysis of pollution reports submitted to state and...

Treatment Plants May Miss Half the Drugs in Sewage

Antibiotics, herbicide among chemicals found in Great Lakes study

(Newser) - Treatment plants may only be getting rid of about half the drugs and other "chemicals of emerging concern" that turn up in our sewage, a study finds. Officials in a joint US-Canadian study of the Great Lakes assessed 42 of these chemicals using a decade's worth of data,...

Lather, Rinse, Disinfect the Showerhead

But even bleach may not kill stealth bacteria invading your bathtub

(Newser) - The showerheads of America are crawling with bacteria that can cause pulmonary disease in people with weakened immune systems, LiveScience reports. Around 20% of showerheads tested for a new study held significant levels of Mycobacterium avium, which can be suspended in air when water flows and be inhaled deep into...

Eau de Stampede: Perfume Panic Fells 34 at Texas Bank

(Newser) - A spray of strong perfume by an employee sparked chaos at a Bank of America call center in Texas yesterday, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. After two employees complained of feeling dizzy from a colleague's strong perfume, an announcement was made saying anyone feeling ill should exit the building. Hundreds...

Mercury Found in Corn Syrup
 Mercury Found in Corn Syrup 

Mercury Found in Corn Syrup

Researchers believe contamination comes from corn syrup

(Newser) - A test of some of America's most popular processed foods has turned up trace amounts of mercury, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. Researchers believe that the mercury, found in levels far lower than in seafood, comes from plants that use caustic soda laced with mercury to produce high-fructose corn syrup, widely...

China Milk Scandal Trials Begin

Toxic formula left 6 babies dead, 300,000 others ill

(Newser) - Trials began today in China for six people accused of intentionally tainting and selling the milk powder that killed six babies and sickened 300,000, the Guardian reports. The men added the toxic chemical melamine to diluted milk to help it pass quality tests in one of China’s worst...

EPA Won't Limit Rocket-Fuel Ingredient in Water

Contaminant perchlorate is linked to thyroid problems

(Newser) - The EPA has decided not to set limits for a component of rocket fuel that contaminates drinking water, according to an agency document reviewed by the AP. Perchlorate, linked to thyroid problems in pregnant women and babies, enters the water supply through improper disposal by rocket test sites and chemical...

Made in China: Toxic Baby Formula

Dangerous food may be in some US markets

(Newser) - Baby formula made in China has been found to contain melamine, the same toxic substance that contaminated pet food and poisoned thousands of US dogs and cats last year. None of the formula is in the general US food supply—but some may be on the shelves in American Asian...

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