Chemicals

"LePage Motives on BPA Policy, Mills Firing Questioned"

"As [Maine] Gov. Paul LePage continued to weather national fallout for recently saying women could develop 'little beards' if exposed to bisphenol-A, or BPA, questions continue to mount about the motives behind the governor's proposal to reverse a ban on the substance."

Source: Lewiston Sun Journal, 02/25/2011

Court Upholds Firing of Custodian for Warning of Asbestos in School

The asbestos came to the attention of the head custodian at Somers Central High School in New York, when a chunk fell from the gymnasium ceiling onto the floor and he was asked to clean it up. Morey warned school authorities that he feared it could be asbestos. They told him to put tape over it and to drop the subject.

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Maine Gov on BPA: 'Worst Case Is Some Women May Have Little Beards'

The debate in Maine and the US at large over BPA, an estrogen-disrupting chemical common in plastics, may be shaped by a comment of Maine's newly elected, Tea Party-backed GOP governor, Paul LePage. "The worst case is some women may have little beards," he said.

Source: Bangor Daily News, 02/24/2011

"Use of Toxic Acid Puts Millions at Risk"

Hydrofluoric acid is a deadly chemical used in many petroleum refinery operations. When it escapes, it becomes a gas that can race long distances and kill people who inhale it. Safer alternatives are available to refineries. At the urging of petrochemical companies, Congress and the executive branch have kept the dangers largely secret from the at-risk public, so there has been little pressure for refineries to make their operations safer. In a joint investigation the Center for Public Integrity and ABC News found that worst-case scenarios filed by just 50 refineries showed some 16 million Americans at risk from accidental or intentional hydrofluoric acid releases.

Source: Ctr. for Public Integrity/ABC, 02/24/2011

"UN Sees Rising Risks From Climate, Toxic Chemicals"

"Climate change is a major obstacle to a 2004 global treaty aimed at cutting exposure to 21 highly dangerous chemicals, says a new U.N.-commissioned report issued Monday. The 66-page report says the risks of exposure could increase if more stockpiles and landfills leak due to flooding, or other extreme weather linked to rising temperatures."

Source: AP, 02/22/2011

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