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Why Is it So Hard to Find Safer Alternatives for Hazardous Chemicals?

"The discovery of persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic flame-retardant chemicals everywhere from animals north of the Arctic Circle to the breast milk of California women has been a cause for considerable concern. Alternative flame retardants were introduced to replace these chemicals, but investigators had not even produced the first empirical data on the substitutes’ metabolic fate and toxicity before emerging evidence indicated they, like their predecessors, were accumulating rapidly in the environment. As the postmarket research continues, one wonders: Who, exactly, decides on the replacements for toxic chemicals, and on the basis of what criteria? And why does finding truly safer alternatives seem so difficult?"

Source: EHP, 07/03/2012

"BPA Linked to Brain Tumors for the First Time"

"The news just keeps getting worse for bisphenol A. Lab and animal research has linked it to reproductive disorders, obesity, diabetes, and cancers sensitive to hormonal activity, like those of the breast and prostate. Studies show that more than the vast majority of Americans have measurable levels of BPA in their urine (though as Sydney Brownstone wrote on this blog yesterday, Old Order Mennonites seem to have less)—not surprising given that the chemical is used in thousands of consumer products, including cans and plastic packaging for food and beverages. Now a new study from China has found an association, for the first time, between human exposure to BPA and brain tumors."

Source: Mother Jones, 06/27/2012

GSA Changes To Green Building Standards Rile Chemical, Vinyl Lobbies

"Twenty trade groups representing the plastics, vinyl and chemical industries are lobbying to stop the General Services Administration from adopting proposed new standards for green building construction, saying the changes could eliminate the use of hundreds of their products in construction projects."

Source: Wash Post, 06/27/2012

"Farmworkers Plagued By Pesticides, Red Tape"

"NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Laboring in the blackberry fields of central Arkansas, the 18-year-old Mexican immigrant suddenly turned ill. Her nose began to bleed, her skin developed a rash, and she vomited."

Source: iWatch News, 06/26/2012

As Rockies Burn, Debate Over Fire Retardant Toxicity Flares

"CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- Forest Service officials insist firefighting won't be hindered by new rules meant to prevent millions of gallons of retardant dropped onto scorched landscapes each year from poisoning streams and killing fish and plants."

Source: AP, 06/22/2012

"Injection Wells: The Poison Beneath Us"

"Over the past several decades, U.S. industries have injected more than 30 trillion gallons of toxic liquid deep into the earth, using broad expanses of the nation's geology as an invisible dumping ground. No company would be allowed to pour such dangerous chemicals into the rivers or onto the soil. But until recently, scientists and environmental officials have assumed that deep layers of rock beneath the earth would safely entomb the waste for millennia. There are growing signs they were mistaken."

Source: ProPublica, 06/22/2012

"U.S. Interior Needs To Strengthen Fracking Rules: Lawmakers"

"U.S. Democrats in the House of Representatives urged the Obama administration on Wednesday to expand proposed regulations for fracking for natural gas, saying companies should be required to reveal the chemicals to be used in the process prior to drilling."

Source: Reuters, 06/21/2012

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