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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: contamination

contamination stories: 21 news summaries

1 - 20 of 21 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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 P&G Recalls 
 Contaminated 
 Vicks Nasal Spray 

Lots affected by bacteria were sold in US, UK, Germany

Nov 20, 09 10:19 AM CST
(Newser) - Procter & Gamble has voluntarily recalled batches of its Vicks nasal spray contaminated with bacteria. Though the bacteria are likely harmless to healthy people, CNN reports, the contamination could prove disastrous for those with compromised immune systems. The product is in the Vicks Sinex line in the US and UK,... More »

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Germany • United Kingdom • United States • bacteria • immune system • contamination • drug recall • Procter & Gamble • Vicks Sinex • Vicks nasal spray recall

 Soda Drinker Finds
Frog in His Throat

Hopping mad couple want apology, compensation from Pepsi

Sep 3, 09 4:12 AM CDT
(Newser) - A Florida man who found a frog in his can of Diet Pepsi wants the company to jump forward with an apology, CNN reports. The man started gagging after taking a swig from the can, his wife says, and found something heavy remained inside the can after he emptied it... More »

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FDA • Pepsi • contamination • frogs • soft drinks

 Test Finds Mercury 
 in Every Fish 

A quarter contaminated beyond EPA safety limit

Aug 20, 09 12:04 PM CDT
(AP) - Catch a fish in one of America's streams, and there's a good chance it will have at least trace amounts of mercury. The most comprehensive survey to date from the US Geological Survey tested more than 1,000 fish from nearly 300 streams around the nation—and found mercury in... More »

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environment • pollution • food contamination • fish • Environmental Protection Agency • trout • contamination • power plant • toxic • US Geological Survey • mercury

(Newser) - Chinese furious about a lead smelting plant that has sickened some 600 children stormed the factory yesterday after a suicide attempt by teenager who feared she had been poisoned, reports the Wall Street Journal. Some 150 children have been hospitalized due to lead poisoning near the plant in northwest China's... More »

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China • health • Shanxi Province • protests • lead poisoning • contamination

85% of Dollars in US Cities Test Positive for Cocaine

95% of DC bills test positive

Aug 18, 09 2:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - The US money supply is literally soaked in cocaine, the Guardian reports.Tests performed by the American Chemical Society found that an average of 85% of paper money circulating in big US cities tests positive for traces of the drug. While cross-contamination between bills bundled together is a factor, it... More »

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drugs • cocaine • money • contamination • US dollar • five dollar bill

Roof Leak at Plant Implicated in Outbreak

Earlier Ga. salmonella scare also thought caused by rainwater

Mar 27, 09 1:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - A leaky roof at the Peanut Corporation of America’s Georgia plant is seen as a possible culprit for the recent salmonella outbreak, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Not only is water necessary to activate salmonella, but rain could have washed salmonella-carrying bird droppings into the plant. “Allowing water to... More »

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Georgia • contamination • salmonella • outbreak • Peanut Corporation of America • processing plant • roof leak • rainwater

Drugs Found in US Water Supply

Water drunk by 41M people contaminated

Mar 10, 08 7:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - Small amounts of a wide range of prescription and over-the-counter drugs have been found in drinking water used daily by 41 million Americans in 24 major cities. A major AP investigation found pain killers, anti-seizure drugs, angina and cholesterol medications, mood-altering drugs, and other pharmaceuticals in tap water, the water... More »

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bottled water • drugs • Washington DC • Detroit • Southern California • Louisville • Environmental Protection Agency • Philadelphia • contamination • pharmaceutical • drinking water • US Geological Survey • medication • lakes • reservoirs • aquifers • water table

Great Lakes Study Mired in Politics: Author

Scientist says feds didn't like pollution report, reassigned him

Feb 18, 08 7:52 AM CST
(Newser) - A report suggesting industrial contamination in the Great Lakes poses health threats to residents is being suppressed by the feds, says study author Chris De Rosa, who also claims he was demoted because of his findings. The study found 230,000 "vulnerable" people are living in polluted areas, but... More »

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environment • pollution • Great Lakes • FEMA • contamination • Chris De Rosa • health risks • industrial contamination • FEMA trailers

Feds Pursue Fewer Polluters

EPA cuts down on criminal cases, says  focus is on biggest offenders

Sep 30, 07 8:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - The EPA has taken a decidedly less aggressive tack in criminal cases, the Washington Post reports, a trend advocates fear will embolden polluters. The number of prosecutions, new investigations, and total convictions have all dropped by more than a third. One ex-official, who resigned in protest, blamed the Bush... More »

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Bush administration • environment • Department of Justice • pollution • Clean Air Act • Environmental Protection Agency • contamination • civil lawsuits • US Attorney's Office • House Energy and Commerce Committee • air pollution • John Dingell

Producer Recalls 68K Pounds of Calif. Spinach

Metz Fresh finds salmonella in sample during routine testing

Aug 30, 07 4:07 PM CDT
(Newser) - A California produce company is recalling over 68K pounds of bagged spinach after a sample taken from one of the company's packing plants tested positive for salmonella, the San Jose Mercury News reports. But Metz Fresh has likely averted a repeat of last year's contaminated spinach mess, corralling 90% of... More »

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food • California • spinach • safety • contamination • Metz Fresh

Chinese Follies Are All
Too Familiar

US exhibited capitalist lapses once upon
a time

Aug 27, 07 9:28 PM CDT
(Newser) - Before Americans get on their high horse about China’s recent lapses into substandard products—not to mention those fake Harry Potter translations—they should look long and hard at their own history, the Boston Globe suggests. In the 19th century, it was the US that was considered the nation... More »

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China • Harry Potter • exports • capitalism • contamination • knockoff • Charles Dickens

Fire Probe Focuses on
Pipe Failure

Water supply under scrutiny in deadly blaze near Ground Zero

Aug 20, 07 10:24 AM CDT
(Newser) - A broken standpipe may have crippled the battle against Saturday's Deutsche Bank tower blaze near Ground Zero. Water filled the basement as flames on higher floors raged, the Times reports, and water from the hose connected to the suspect standpipe apparently didn't reach past the fifth floor. Firefighters spent precious... More »

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New York • fires • Ground Zero • Deutsche Bank • firefighters • Environmental Protection Agency • contamination

Chinese Goods Flunk Gov't Safety Tests

Nearly 20% of domestic consumer products can't meet quality standards

Jul 4, 07 3:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Chinese government acknowledged today what people around the world suspected—many products manufactured by the world's largest exporter of consumer goods are unsafe. One-fifth of its manufactured wares fail to meet government safety standards, a regulatory agency said in a posting on its website. Despite the findings, which did... More »

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China • food • consumer • pet food recall • imports • exports • safety • contamination • recall

Oil Spill Worsens Floods

Malfunction at Kansas factory unleashes gallons of crude into water torrents

Jul 3, 07 2:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - The floods overwhelming the Midwest worsened today as 42,000 gallons of crude oil accidentally released from a refinery on Sunday made its way farther downstream. A malfunction at a plant in Coffeyville, Kan., on the Oklahoma border, contaminated flood waters with a thick, pungent layer of sludge that threatens... More »

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environment • Midwest • water • oil spill • Kansas • flood • safety • contamination • Oklahoma • Oologah Lake

Chinese PR Combats
Export Rap

Enemies in Washington stymie effort to promote food products called unsafe

Jun 30, 07 11:05 AM CDT
(Newser) - China is on a public relations blitz to keep its exports solvent after nonstop coverage of unsafe toothpaste, fish and even tires in the US, China's largest customer, last week. Beijing broke its pattern of protest over the coverage, shutting down 180 offending factories and promising consumers that tainted food... More »

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China • food • health • toothpaste • fish • safety • contamination • public relations

FDA Flags Chinese Seafood

Officials put the brakes on imports of species tainted with unapproved drugs

Jun 28, 07 6:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - Add farmed seafood to the list of unsafe goods imported from China. The FDA will detain three varieties of fish as well as shrimp and eel, the agency said today, after tests revealed the presence of antibiotics and antifungals that aren't approved in the US for use in aquaculture. The... More »

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China • banned foods • food • FDA • drug safety • imports • contamination • seafood

Toothpaste Scare Widens—Again

Tainted tubes from China turn up
in Georgia prisons, hospitals

Jun 28, 07 7:41 AM CDT
(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... More »

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

China Closes 180 Food Plants

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

Jun 28, 07 3:51 AM CDT
(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... More »

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

Trail of Chinese Chemicals Leads to Toothpaste

Governments on two continents investigate tainted product

May 22, 07 8:02 AM CDT
(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... More »

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China • food • health • pet food recall • toothpaste • chemicals • contamination • diethylene glycol • glycerin • cold medicine • Mr. Cool Junior

Second Toxin Found in Lethal Pet Food

Cyanuric acid plus melamine could be fatal combination

May 9, 07 7:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - Add cyanuric acid to the list of industrial chemicals found in the contaminated pet food that killed thousands of dogs and cats. Like melamine, it was used by Chinese animal feed producers  to fake higher protein content in their wheat and rice products, the New York Times reports. More »

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China • pet food recall • melamine • cyanuric acid • protein • contamination

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