Chemicals

Two authors of the book "Slow Death by Rubber Duck" used themselves as subjects in a science experiment about the dangers of chemicals in everyday consumer products.

"A leak of more than 3,500 pounds of toxic ammonia gas from the Dow Chemical Co. facility in Institute [WV] went undetected for nearly two weeks, company officials disclosed Wednesday."

"An environmental contractor dramatically underreported the level of a cancer-causing chemical found in tap water at Camp Lejeune, then omitted it altogether as the Marine base prepared for a federal health review, an Associated Press review has found."

"Oregon's Senate shot down a bill this morning that would have banned a potential endocrine-disrupting chemical from baby bottles and sippy cups, splitting 15-15 on a ban that Washington's Legislature has endorsed with lopsided votes."

"Living near farms that use the weed killer atrazine may up the risk of a rare birth defect, according to a study presented this past Friday at the annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine in Chicago."

EPA is reopening its review of the possible health effects of the widespread herbicide atrazine. A new focus is on several studies linking the hormone-mimicking weedkiller to birth defects and other risks in newborns.

"Exactly what's in floor cleaner? What's stain remover made of? And what effects, if any, might they have on human health or the environment Environmental advocates want to know, and they asked a court Thursday to use a 1971 New York state law to force ... manufacturers ... to reveal just what makes up such household staples as Ajax, Ivory soap and Tide. The cleanser industry says that the legal case is unwarranted and that fears about health risks are misinformed."

"The nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity has put the U.S. EPA on notice that it intends to sue the agency for failing to adequately evaluate and regulate nearly 400 pesticides harmful to hundreds of endangered species across the country as well as human beings."

"MADISON, Wis. -- Washington and Wisconsin are one step closer to becoming the third and fourth U.S. states to ban the use of bisphenol A in baby bottles and food and drink containers."