When I was researching a piece last year on chemical regulation — and the lack of it in the U.S. — one of the facts I was most surprised to learn was the existence of perchlorate in the bloodstream of many Americans.
environmental health
Study: Living Near a Highway May Contribute to Autism Risk
There are many reasons why living near a highway is undesirable — the noise, the poor air quality, the endless stream of lost tourists using your driveway to turn around.
Wildlife: Protecting Biodiversity Might Just Protect Us From Disease
Over on Ecocentric (home for all your green and green-related needs), I have a post on a neat new study in Nature that makes the case that dwindling animal and plant biodiversity can actually increase the risk of infectious …
Flame Retardants in Everyday Products May Be a Health Hazard, Scientists Say
Here’s a fact to brighten your Thursday: you have a much smaller chance than your grandparents of bursting into flames.
Canada Declares BPA Toxic. Is the U.S. Next?
Yesterday Canada—with very little fanfare—declared the endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) a toxic substance, both to the environment and to public health.
Arsenic Poisons Millions in Bangladesh — But They’re Not the Only Ones
A cross-post from Time.com’s Ecocentric blog:
A new study published Saturday in the British medical journal the Lancet found that tens of millions of people in Bangladesh have been exposed to poisonous levels of arsenic from …