Chemicals

"A new study says nearly two-thirds of New Orleans homes and yards have “dangerous” levels of lead, according to federal standards, a finding the authors believe may be linked to the extensive renovation and demolition of homes after Hurricane Katrina."

"Researchers found a six-fold increase in the risk of developing Parkinson's in individuals exposed in the workplace to trichloroethylene (TCE)."

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"FAIRFIELD -- The arsenic exposure risk in Fairfield is official, the health danger real. Those who live in the Cedar Valley town stand a higher risk of getting some cancers, nerve damage and brain injury with exposure to contaminants from old mine tailings over an extended period of time, according to a new Utah study."

"LAKELAND -- A hulking mountain of ash sitting inside the Lakeland city limits isn't exactly a point of pride, but city officials would rather see it stay than go."

"Long a pacesetter in efforts to control dangerous chemicals, California is moving toward sweeping new rules to reduce toxins in cleaning products, cosmetics, electronics, toys and possibly many other consumer goods."

"The U.S. has worked to get lead out of gas and out of paint, but the biggest source of lead in a consumer product is still on roadways. It’s in the form of wheel weights, used to balance the tires on our cars. The Environmental Protection Agency says about 1.6 million pounds of lead fall off of vehicles each year, and it winds up in the environment. A handful of states is leading the effort to ban lead wheel weights."

Julie Grant reports for the Environment Report November 10, 2011.

An independent EPA science panel has taken issue with EPA's longstanding conclusion that Atrazine, the second most widely used pesticide on US farms, is not likely to cause cancer.

The Martins, a Latino family who live in Maywood, California, 10 minutes from downtown Los Angeles amid a sea of heavy industry, suffered from a variety of chronic sicknesses. Test results finally showed "The Martin family had traces of eight dangerous heavy metals and 17 industrial byproducts in their bodies. Levels of arsenic, chromium, mercury, manganese and vanadium were far higher than for most Americans."

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it will take steps to remove 20 rodent control products from the marketplace because they contain toxic chemicals."

"The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday released the outlines of its long-awaited probe into whether hydraulic fracturing -- the unconventional drilling technique that's led to a boom in domestic natural gas production -- is contaminating drinking-water supplies. Investigators will try to determine the impact of large-scale water withdrawals, aboveground spills of drilling fluids, and the fracturing process itself on water quality and quantity in states where tens of thousands of wells have been drilled in recent years."