PROTECTING ACCESS TO ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION

RTKnet: Chemical Evaluations

EPA Seeks to Enhance Public Access to Chemical Data (OMB Watch)

The EPA has proposed several changes to its regulation of chemicals that should improve the public's access to crucial information. The improved data collected under the proposed rule will help the agency and the public identify potential chemical risks and take action to manage those risks.

(20 Aug 2010)

BPA Linked to Decreased Sperm Quantity and Quality (Environment News Service)

Researchers have found a connection between urinary concentrations of Bisphenol A, or BPA, and decreased sperm quality and quantity. The results of the study show that the sperm concentrations of men with the highest concentrations of BPA were 23 percent lower on average with a 10 percent increase in sperm DNA damage. According to the study's lead author, "Much of the focus for BPA is on the exposures in utero or in early life...but this suggests exposure may also be a concern for adults."

(04 Aug 2010)

TAKE ACTION - Tell Congress to Support Research on Hormone-Disrupting Chemicals (The Endocrine Disruption Exchange)

A growing pandemic of endocrine-related disorders, such as ADHD, Parkinsons, Alzheimers, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, early puberty, infertility and other reproductive disorders, and childhood and adult cancers, is seriously undermining the health and wealth of our nation. TAKE ACTION and demand greater research to identify endocrine disrupting chemicals and determine their safety.

(03 Aug 2010)

EPA Releases Second Phase of Toxicity Testing Data for Oil Dispersants (EPA)

The EPA released peer-reviewed results from the second phase of its independent toxicity testing on the mixture of eight oil dispersants with Louisiana Sweet Crude Oil. EPA has concluded that the eight dispersants have similar toxicities to one another and to Corexit 9500 based on the mixtures' impacts on juvenile shrimp and small fish. Administrator Lisa P. Jackson asserted, "EPA has committed to following the science at every stage of this response."

(02 Aug 2010)

NRDC Sues FDA for 30 Year Delay in Regulating Antimicrobials (NRDC)

The NRDC sued the FDA because the agency failed to finalize a 32 year old document that would regulate the use of triclosan and triclocarban, which are widely used and unregulated despite potential health risks, in hand soaps and body washes. The FDA revealed that these chemicals are minimally effective and data from laboratory animal studies shows that the chemicals interfere with hormones necessary for development and reproduction.

(28 Jul 2010)

Disputed Chemical Bisphenol-A Found in Paper Receipts (The Washington Post)

The EWG reported that researchers found Bisphenol-A on 40 percent of receipts collected from automated teller machines, supermarkets, gas stations, and chain stores, which could explain why the chemical can be detected in approximately 93 percent of Americans' urine. According to the EWG, "We've come across potentially major sources of BPA in our daily lives...you could be getting all kinds of exposure and not realize it."

(27 Jul 2010)

EPA Chief Calls for More Authority Over Dispersants (The New York Times)

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson urged Congress to pass legislation strenghtening the EPA's authority over oil dispersants, asking for increased testing and disclosure of the chemical ingredients in Corexit. Jackson asserted that new dispersant legislation "would give us critical transparency and openness protections that right now EPA cannot provide by law."

(19 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)

Gulf Seafood Tested for Oil, But Not Dispersants (TC Palm)

The FDA is not testing fish to determine whether compounds found in dispersants used in the Gulf are present in seafood. EWG asserts that the use of dispersants is "irresponsible" because they contain heavy metals, arsenic, chromium, and copper, with little information on their long-term effects.

(14 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)