lead poisoning

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There's a Hidden Hazard in the Air at Gun Ranges

After reports of poisonings, DoD tightens safety standard for lead in blood

(Newser) - Visiting a shooting range is not without risk, and we aren't talking about deadly accidents . Lead dust discharged by firearms is the leading cause of lead poisoning outside the workplace, the Seattle Times reported in a lengthy 2014 investigation. Each time a gun filled with lead-based ammunition is fired,...

CDC Mulling Lower Threshold for Kid Lead Levels: Sources

But move is controversial, with critics saying money would be diverted from those who need it most

(Newser) - For the past four years, kids under the age of 6 who had a 5-micrograms-per-deciliter blood lead level warranted a public health response. Now a handful of sources who've received word from the CDC say the agency may lower that level another 30%—down to 3.5 micrograms per...

Lead Toxicity Showing Up in Flint Area's Dogs

Animal experts warn that pets near Flint should be drinking filtered or bottled water

(Newser) - First it was the kids of Flint found to have been tainted by lead, attributed by many to the area's toxic water. Now two dogs who live in the vicinity of the Michigan city have tested positive for lead toxicity—the first two pups to be confirmed with this...

Flint Lead Problem Could Be Eased by Recoating Old Pipes

Flint's mayor says it would cost $1.5 billion to replace the pipes

(Newser) - Flint's mayor has floated a shockingly high price tag to fix the Michigan city's lead-contamination problem: $1.5 billion to replace damaged pipes. Gov. Rick Snyder put the figure at $700 million. In the meantime, officials and water experts are hopeful that there is a less drastic and...

Emails Reveal Buck-Passing in Flint Water Crisis

'This issue will fade in the rearview,' aide predicted

(Newser) - Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has, as promised , released hundreds of pages of emails relating to Flint and its water crisis —and while there may not be anything in them that will cost him his job, members of his administration will have questions to answer about what appears to be...

Lead Levels in Michigan Kids' Blood Prompts State of Emergency

Flint mayor is worried about fallout from tainted water

(Newser) - Flint, Mich., drew its water from the Flint River for about 18 months after ditching Detroit's water service—but that was enough time to cause lead levels in local kids to spike, which has now led the mayor to declare a state of emergency, Michigan Live reports. Mayor Karen...

One of America's Most Toxic Places: a Town Called Picher

Only 3 residents remain

(Newser) - The former lead and zinc mining boomtown of Picher, Okla., has seen better days. It swelled to some 14,000 residents when bullet demand rose during both World War I and II, with Wired reporting previously that "most" of the lead found in bullets used by America during those...

Water in Flint, Michigan, Looks 'Like Urine,' and Worse

After nearly a year of complaints, state may be taking action

(Newser) - A public health emergency was declared in Flint, Michigan, yesterday over the state of the city's drinking water—and a story in the Detroit News illustrates just how bad the situation is. Ashley Holt, 25, tells the paper that the water coming out of her faucet looks "like...

Victims of Lead Poisoning Are Losing Millions

Companies are buying their settlements for cents on the dollar

(Newser) - In the late-'80s and early '90s, thousands of children living in Baltimore tenements were being diagnosed with lead poisoning every year. Two decades later, the Washington Post digs into the "little-noticed, effectively unregulated netherworld of structured settlements"—and the structured settlement companies that are making millions...

Gun Ranges Are Poisoning America

Lead poisoning threatens cops, workers, and gun lovers

(Newser) - Many Americans love using gun ranges, and thousands have gotten sick because of it. In an ongoing investigation called "Loaded with Lead," the Seattle Times reports that "reckless" range owners often fail to clean and ventilate shooting areas plagued by lead dust and vapor. The result: a...

Paint Firms Told to Cough Up $1.1B for Lead Cleanup

Millions of California homes affected

(Newser) - A long-running California lawsuit has concluded with three paint companies being ordered to pay $1.1 billion to remove lead paint in 10 cities and counties. The judge ruled that the companies had created a "public nuisance" by selling the toxic paint for decades before it was banned in...

The Real Cause of Violent Crime: Leaded Gasoline

Lead poisoning created a generation of criminals: Kevin Drums

(Newser) - Violent crime has fallen in the US for years, but why? Experts have floated theories ranging from police techniques to the "crack epidemic" to the legalizing of abortion, but none quite fit the facts. One, however, does: lead poisoning. In Mother Jones , Kevin Drums reports that the rise and...

Your Home May Sit on Lead-Poisoned Soil

 Your Home May Sit 
 on Lead-Poisoned Soil 
investigation
Apr 19, 2012 10:05 AM CDT

Your Home May Sit on Lead-Poisoned Soil

...and the EPA and government regulators know it: USA Today

(Newser) - The ground your home is sitting on could very well be harming you. A 14-month USA Today investigation revealed that the health of thousands of families could be in jeopardy due to potentially hazardous levels of lead in the soil—a possibility government regulators were told of more than a...

US Battery Recycling Is Poisoning Mexico's Kids

American batteries should be recycled domestically, say critics

(Newser) - Recycling is becoming a very environmentally unfriendly word when it comes to industrial and automotive batteries, the New York Times finds. Close to a fifth of old American batteries now end up in Mexico, where the lead is extracted using crude methods in plants with low or nonexistent safety standards....

Eco Group: Disneyland Exposes Kids to Lead

Mateel Foundation seeking an injunction against Disney

(Newser) - Beware riders of Mr Toad's Wild Ride: The Mateel Environmental Justice Foundation says it has found excessive lead in the brass door knobs at Minnie's House, stained glass windows in Cinderella's Castle, the handle of the Sword in Stone, and other items throughout Disneyland. The eco group...

Chinese Storm Lead Plant in Poison Protest

(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...

CDC Soft-Pedaled Signs of DC Lead Poisoning
CDC Soft-Pedaled Signs of DC Lead Poisoning
investigation
Apr 10, 2009 12:53 PM CDT

CDC Soft-Pedaled Signs of DC Lead Poisoning

(Newser) - A CDC report withheld evidence linking water contamination to lead poisoning in Washington, DC, children, reports Salon. The 2004 study said city water caused only slightly increased blood lead levels, but thousands of blood tests were missing from the influential report, which may have skewed results. And just 3 years...

Car Batteries Killing Off African Town

18 children die before cause found; cleanup efforts unsuccessful

(Newser) - A mystery illness that plagued a Senegalese town and sparked fears of AIDS, polio, and curses came down to an odd source: car batteries, the AP reports. After 18 deaths and pleas for an investigation, a World Health Organization probe blamed lead for poisoning the village, a center for battery...

Turf-Makers Sued Over Lead
 Turf-Makers Sued Over Lead 
Sep 4, 2008 12:50 PM CDT

Turf-Makers Sued Over Lead

As fake grass ages, toxin levels 20 times legal limit

(Newser) - California has sued three top turf-makers, claiming they are deliberately hiding the fact that their products contain lead, the Los Angeles Times reports. State law requires labeling of products containing the metal, which gives a "natural" green color to fake grass. Lead can cause cancer, birth defects, and damage...

New Tests: 35% of Toys Contain Some Lead

Many offenders still on shelves, environmental health groups say

(Newser) - Toy shelves are still lined with lead, according to test results released today from environmental health groups in nine states. Checking 1,268 toys, the groups found lead in 35%, with levels often surpassing federal recall standards. Only 23 of those toys have been recalled. “This is not about...

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