toxic chemicals

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Vietnam's Agent Orange Victims Get Scientology Detox

But doctors skeptical about detoxification program

(Newser) - In an attempt to detoxify people exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, the Vietnamese government is relying on … L. Ron Hubbard. The Church of Scientology founder developed a detoxification method espoused by Tom Cruise and other bigwig Scientologists. The "Purification Rundown" or "Hubbard method" involves...

Johnson & Johnson Booting Harsh Chemicals by 2015

And for baby products, even sooner

(Newser) - By 2015, almost every single Johnson & Johnson product will no longer contain dangerous chemicals, the company pledged yesterday. It had already promised to remove "chemicals of concern" from baby products by the end of next year, and is still on track to do so. Now it also plans...

Elderly Termites Grow Suicide Backpacks
 Elderly Termites 
 Grow Suicide 
 Backpacks 
weird science
Jul 27, 2012 4:58 PM CDT

Elderly Termites Grow Suicide Backpacks

... and then explode them when enemies invade

(Newser) - Some termites grow up to be suicide bombers. Researchers observing the termite species Neocapritermes taracua found that certain workers, when they became elderly, grew a pair of dark blue spots between their abdomen and torso. When invaders raided their colony, these aging workers bit the intruders and then exploded the...

Culprit for Epidemics of Autism, Obesity: Fungicide?
Culprit for Epidemics of Autism, Obesity: Fungicide?
study says
May 22, 2012 12:14 PM CDT

Culprit for Epidemics of Autism, Obesity: Fungicide?

New study suggests chemicals' effects linger for generations

(Newser) - Can the recent increase in autism, obesity, and anxiety disorders be traced back to chemical exposure? That's what a new study involving pregnant rats suggests, AFP reports. Pregnant rats who were exposed to the common fungicide vinclozolin had descendants who, three generations later, weighed more, were less sociable, and...

Chemical Regulators Aren&#39;t Protecting Us
Chemical Regulators
Aren't Protecting Us
Nicholas Kristof
May 3, 2012 12:47 PM CDT

Chemical Regulators Aren't Protecting Us

Nicholas Kristof says lobbying is keeping harmful chemicals legal

(Newser) - Male frogs born with female organs. Male fish laying eggs. Male alligators with tiny penises. These are just some of the bizarre effects we've seen in nature thanks to hormone-mimicking chemicals, Nicholas Kristof laments in the New York Times. Despite this, the same class of chemicals is nearly unavoidable...

'Toxin-Free' Nail Salon Products Still Have Toxins

Findings pose threat to salon workers, says study

(Newser) - The labels say they're free of toxic chemicals—but certain products in nail salons could be dangerous for workers, a California report finds. Investigators are raising concern about the so-called "toxic trio" of formaldehyde, toluene, and dibutyl phthalate, which have been associated with cancer and birth defects, the...

Climate Change Could Cause Cancer, UN Warns

As glaciers melt, toxic chemicals released into food chain

(Newser) - Climate change is doing more than just harming our environment—it could also be harming you, scientists say. Toxic chemicals that have been linked to cancer, tumors, heart disease, and infertility are being released into the air and water via melting glaciers, reports the Daily Mail , pointing to a new...

Toxin Plagues Brockovich Town, Again

Cancer-causing material spreads through wells

(Newser) - A toxic plume of chromium continues to trouble the California desert town that Erin Brockovich put on the map—and the pollution is getting worse, reports the AP . High levels of the material, which can cause cancer, have spread through wells near Hinkley. “Because of the widespread nature of...

Hungary Arrests Toxic Sludge Boss

PM wants state to take over the firm

(Newser) - The head of the company behind Hungary's toxic sludge spill has been arrested, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has asked parliament to take over. "The company should be put under state control and its assets under state closure," he said. Zoltan Bakonyi, of aluminum firm MAL Co,...

Burning Trash Made Us Sick: Troops

Hundreds sue contractors running burn pits

(Newser) - Hundreds of service members and employees of Kellogg Brown & Root have filed lawsuits against the contractor, which burns vast amounts of trash on US bases in Afghanistan and Iraq, saying the thick smoke from the burn pits has made them sick. KBR operates more than two dozen of the...

Don't Touch That Receipt! It May Be Toxic
Don't Touch That Receipt!
It May Be Toxic
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jul 31, 2010 6:00 AM CDT

Don't Touch That Receipt! It May Be Toxic

40% of receipts tested were slathered with bisphenol A

(Newser) - Sheesh: The same toxic chemical—bisphenol A—that's shown up in baby bottles and canned goods is apparently also all over the receipts you get from stores and restaurants, and in much greater amounts. BPA was found in the coating used on cash register receipts in 40% of businesses tested,...

Beware Toxic Beauty Products
 Beware Toxic Beauty Products 
Jul 20, 2010 11:37 AM CDT

Beware Toxic Beauty Products

Attention finally being paid to potentially unsafe cosmetics

(Newser) - With all the fervor over organic food, it’s surprising that so little attention has been paid to the many chemical ingredients we put on our face each day—until now. A February protest by a group of students in Maine was one of a number that have been recently...

Cancer Risk From Chemicals 'Grossly' Understated
Cancer Risk From Chemicals 'Grossly' Understated
President's panel
May 6, 2010 10:09 AM CDT

Cancer Risk From Chemicals 'Grossly' Understated

Carcinogens in food, water systematically ignored

(Newser) - Environmental factors play a much bigger role in causing cancer than currently acknowledged, and President Obama needs to do something about it, the President's Cancer Panel concluded today. “The true burden of environmentally induced cancer has been grossly underestimated,” the authors found after two years of testimony and...

Feds Plan Cell Phones That Can Smell Biochem Attack

Detector chip could save lives: Homeland Security

(Newser) - Ever wish that your cell phone could double up as a poison gas detector? If so, you'll be thrilled to learn that Homeland Security's science division is working to make your somewhat unusual dream become reality. The scientists are in talks with cell phone manufacturers about inserting a chip into...

Dozens of iPhone Factory Workers Seriously Ill

Chinese workers hospitalized with nerve damage

(Newser) - Dozens of Chinese workers have spent close to a year in hospital after sustaining nerve damage in a factory making iPhone components. The workers, mostly young women, were exposed to a toxic solvent they used to clean iPhone and iTouch screens, GlobalPost finds in part of a series of investigations...

Green Nail Salons Smell a Trend

Workers suffer through long exposure to toxic chemicals, carcinogens

(Newser) - The booming nail salon business has a booming subcategory: green salons. Besides helping the planet, the ecofriendly establishments are healthier than traditional salons for manicurists and other workers, who are exposed to a multitude of toxic chemicals used in their work. “The cost of course is more,” says...

Feds: Zhu Zhu Pets OK
 Feds: Zhu Zhu Pets OK 
UPDATED
Dec 7, 2009 9:06 PM CST

Feds: Zhu Zhu Pets OK

Chemical levels don't violate standards

(Newser) - Zhu Zhu Pets robotic hamsters—one of the holiday season's hottest toy crazes—do not violate safety standards, federal toy regulators say after a consumer group raised concerns over the presence of a heavy metal on one model. The toy "is not out of compliance," says a spokesman...

CPSC Links Chinese Drywall to Toxic Fumes

Owners of some 100K homes told to spend more time outdoors

(Newser) - Americans who live in homes containing Chinese-made drywall should start spending more time outside in the fresh air, the Consumer Product Safety Commission warned yesterday. The commission's investigators found "a strong association" with the imported drywall and the corrosion of metal and wire in homes, and with raised levels...

Calif. Strawberries May Turn Toxic
 Calif. Strawberries 
 May Turn Toxic 
glossies
Jul 17, 2009 8:40 PM CDT

Calif. Strawberries May Turn Toxic

(Newser) - California appears close to producing strawberries that induce side-effects such as neurological damage and fetal loss, Gourmet reports. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is under industry pressure to approve a fumigant called methyl iodide, which rids soil of all living organisms without hurting the ozone layer. But a group of 50 scientists...

Toxic Drywall May Be Sickening Homeowners

Chinese-imported materials used in more than 500,000 homes

(Newser) - Something’s rotten in the state of American homes: Chinese-imported drywall, which emits a sulfurous odor and could sicken homeowners, AP reports. More than 500 million pounds of the material was imported during America’s housing boom, when domestic supply was scarce and expensive, and it could line over 100,...

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