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.

Research Links Pesticide Ingestion to ADHD in Children (Los Angeles Times)

Researches recently reported that children with high levels of the pesticide malathion in their urine are at greater risk of contracting Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD. Epidemiologist Marc G. Weisskopf of Harvard University's School of Public Health and his colleagues studied data on 1,139 children from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey over a four-year period. Weisskopf suggests that similar studies "'should raise eyebrows and get people concerned enough to want to follow up intensively.'"

(04 Jun 2010)

Toxic Chemicals Finding Their Way Into The Womb (CNN)

"A growing number of studies are finding hundreds of toxic chemicals in mothers' and, subsequently, their babies' bodies when they are born."

(04 Jun 2010)

CNN Investigates Toxic Town (Center for Health, Environment & Justice)

"On June 2nd, CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be airing an hour-long investigative story into the environmental health and justice problems plaguing the community of Mossville, Louisiana. Nestled amidst an alarming cluster of chemical plants, Mossville is home to more PVC chemical plants than anywhere else in the entire country, and has been dubbed the Vinyl Manufacturing Capital of America."

(27 May 2010)

How Toxic Are Dispersants Being Used In Gulf Oil Spill? (USA Today)

The two "dispersants" now being dumped onto the Gulf oil spill are banned in the UK; and more effective and less toxic alternatives exist. Information on the toxicitiy, ingredients, and health impacts of the dispersants is either unkown or being kept secret.

(20 May 2010)

On Pesticides: Canadian Bylaws and American Lawn Flags (Environmental Working Group)

"The Canadian and U.S. governments have the same scientific evidence available to them... So why have so many jurisdictions in one nation chosen, as a response to that data, abolition of cosmetic pesticides while jurisdictions in the other rely on dinky yellow flags?"

(20 May 2010)

Gulf Oil Spill Health Hazards

Learn more about the possible human health impacts of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico with this factsheet.

(13 May 2010)

Fragrance Companies Withhold Chemical Information (CNN)

"Perfumes commonly list 'fragrance' as an ingredient, rather than naming the specific chemicals involved, withholding information that could cause allergic reactions and other health effects, a report released Wednesday asserts."

(13 May 2010)

Cancer Panel: 'Grievous Harm' Posed By Unchecked Chemicals In U.S. (Washington Post)

According to the President's Cancer Panel, Americans are facing "grievous harm" from chemicals in the air, food and water that have largely gone unregulated and ignored. "With the growing body of evidence linking environmental exposures to cancer, the public is becoming increasingly aware of the unacceptable burden of cancer resulting from environmental and occupational exposures that could have been prevented through appropriate national action."

(06 May 2010)

BP Won't Say What Toxics It's Dumping Onto Its Oil Spill (OMB Watch)

BP refuses to disclose the identities of the chemical "dispersants" it is dumping onto its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The chemical identities are considered trade secrets. Without knowing the chemical identities, we may never know what additional insults BP has left us to clean up for years to come.

(06 May 2010)

Spreading the Word on the Oil Spill (Federal Computer Week)

"Federal agencies are employing their Web sites and social media tools to release emergency response and health information about the leak from BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig off the coast of New Orleans." Tools include an EPA webpage, a NOAA website, a Facebook page, and Twitter.

(05 May 2010)