Glasgow Evening Times
Children exposed to passive smoking face more than triple the risk of lung cancer in later life compared to youngsters who live in smoke-free environments, research revealed today.
Environmental and Occupational Health: January 2005 Archives
Published on 21-Jan-2005
URL: http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=9432
An interim report by the National Research Council proves that the Bush Administration's proposed Clean Air Act revisions take undue risks with public health, according to grassroots organisation, Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP America).
"The report states that, over time, existing rules would provide more stringent emissions reductions than the Administration's new Clear Skies proposal could," REP America's policy director Jim DiPeso stated.
Read more...edie newsroom
From local and wire reports
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's announcement that the chemical used to make Teflon is considered a health risk is being met with resignation by some and with concern by others.
The EPA on Wednesday said exposure to even low levels of perfluorooctanoic acid and its salts, known as PFOA or the chemical trade name of C-8, could pose "a potential risk of developmental and other adverse effects."
Officials emphasized their draft risk assessment was not conclusive.
The issue is important to many in the area because the chemical is used at DuPont's Washington, W.Va., Works plant near Parkersburg and has been found in several area water systems. The chemical was also the subject of a civil suit, which was settled last fall for $343 million.
Read more...Marietta Times
Posted on : 2005-01-11| Author : Pat Fryer
News Category : Health
A team of scientists from the National Academies of Sciences (NAS) have turned the tables in the battle between environmental pressure groups and the US administration. The team presented a report that states that the toxic chemical ‘perchlorate’ is a lot safer than formerly believed.
Perchlorate is a hazardous chemical that was earlier declared as an ‘emerging contaminant’ by the state health department. The chemical is used in rocket fuel and explosives; which is why it can be found in the vicinity of military facilities, in 35 states. In fact, it is found wherever rockets and explosives were ever tested or are being made. There were reports earlier of finding vegetables that showed traces of this toxic chemical. These vegetables were irrigated with water from the Colorado River, which has been contaminated by a Nevada manufacturing facility. In fact, the contamination was found in at least three Colorado sites.
Read more...EARTHtimes.org
A new Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study shows that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, even at extremely low levels, is associated with decreases in certain cognitive skills, including reading, math, and logic and reasoning, in children and adolescents. The study is the largest ever to look at the effects of environmental tobacco smoke on children's health. It is published in the January issue of Environmental Health Perspectives. "This study provides further incentive for states to set public health standards to protect children from exposure to environmental tobacco smoke," says Kimberly Yolton, PhD, a researcher at the Children's Environmental Health Center at Cincinnati Children's and the study's main author.
Read more...Science Blog
Tue Jan 4, 2005 11:25 AM ET
By Amy Norton
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Pregnant women who live in areas with high levels of air pollution may give birth to slightly smaller babies, according to U.S. government researchers.
A new study of more than 18,000 full-term infants born in California in 2000 found that a mother's exposure to fine-particle air pollution seemed to make a difference in her baby's birth weight and the infant's risk of being below average in size.
Read more...Reuter's Health
