PROTECTING ACCESS TO ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION

RTKnet: Health

We have a right to information about threats to the health of our families, friends, coworkers, and selves.

Urban Air Pollutants May Damage Unborn Babies' IQs (Environmental Health News)

Recent studies of over 400 women in New York City and Krakow have found that 5 year olds exposed in the womb to above-average levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are created from the burning of fossil fuels, score lower on IQ tests. A pregnant woman involved in the New York City study asserted, "It’s scary and alarming that we can live in a society where these things are happening and they go unnoticed."

(26 Jul 2010)

TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress to Label Genetically Modified Foods! (Grassroots Network)

The Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act (HR 5577) calls for the labeling of genetically engineered food, which may negatively impact health. Potential risks of consuming genetically engineered food include birth defects, sterility, and "horizontal gene transfer," among other adverse effects. Contact your representative here, and defend your right to know!

(22 Jul 2010)

How Safe Are Your Cosmetics? New Bill Wants to Find Out (AOL News)

If passed, the newly introduced Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 will be the first piece of legislation to give the FDA authority to regulate chemical use in toiletries, including required labelling of all ingredients, which is "even more crucial now as many manufacturers are using nano-sized chemicals such as titanium dioxide in their cosmetic and health products." Currently, industry claims ingredients to be confidential business information, so "it's only the public that's kept in the dark."

(21 Jul 2010)

EPA and Other Federal Agencies Collaborate to Improve Chemical Screening (EPA)

The FDA joins the EPA, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences' National Toxicology Program (NTP), and the National Institutes of Health's Chemical Genomics Center (NCGC) in the Tox21 collaboration, which uses federal agencies' combined resources to develop methods to more effectively predict how chemicals will impact human health and the environment. According to the NTP, "The addition of the FDA...allows biomedical researchers and regulatory scientists...to more rapidly screen chemicals and find more effective ways to protect the health of the public."

(19 Jul 2010)

TAKE ACTION - Tell Your Representatives To Support the FRAC Act (Food & Water Watch)

Companies that are threatening our drinking water with hydraulic fracturing can't be held accountable under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and they don't have to disclose the 596 chemicals that they are injecting into the ground. Ask your representative to close the loophole and require companies to disclose the chemicals they are using by passing the FRAC Act.

(15 Jul 2010)

EPA Relies on Industry-Backed Studies to Determine Safety of Weed Killer (The Huffington Post)

The EPA is publishing studies of the health effects of the pesticide Atrazine in drinking water that have been funded by companies with financial interest in the weed-killer. Many of these studies, which allege that the pesticide has minimal health risks, have not been scrutinized by independent scientists.

(09 Jul 2010)

Minnesota Department of Health Lists Chemicals of High Concern (Minnesota Public Radio)

The Minnesota Department of Health released a list of 1755 hazardous substances used in consumer products and industrial processes. "The list doesn't consider how often people are exposed to the chemical or the risk of exposure" because there is limited access to toxicity information. The Health Department may use the list to increase public awareness or other organizations might point to the list to inform consumers.

(02 Jul 2010)

Health of Exxon Valdez Clean-Up Workers Never Studied (McClatchy)

More than 20 years after the Exxon Valdez spill, scientistists are unaware of the long-term health effects that the thousands of workers in the Gulf may face. Also startling, BP is not taking note of the majority of workers' complaints of illness. An Anchorage lawyer asserted the need for a study of workers' health with recorded links between illness and oil exposure. "If you're the oil industry, you may or may not have this data. Lord knows, you're not going to want to publish it."

(30 Jun 2010)

Potentially Harmful Chemicals Used in Pennsylvania Drilling (New York Times)

Chemicals being used to drill natural gas wells in Pennsylvania are linked to neurological problems, cancer, and other health problems. Using data from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Associated Press hopes to release a full list of gas drilling chemicals used in Pennsylvania online. Environmental advocates are concerned that these chemicals are polluting their drinking water and harming their health.

(29 Jun 2010)

San Francisco Cell Phone Users Gain Right-to-Know (Environmental Working Group)

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to require retailers to post cell phone radiation emissions. EWG has a database so that users can find out how much radiation their phone transmits to the body, or their phone's Specific Absorption Rate (SAR).  EWG asserts, "consumers at least have a right to know their phone's SAR when making purchasing decisions."

(17 Jun 2010)