Chemicals

"Citing health concerns, newly appointed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said this week that he will direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to stop recommending that states add fluoride to their water, and will convene a federal taskforce of independent health experts to study the health risks presented by the practice while establishing a new “optimal” level."

"When Milwaukee officials discovered in January that lead paint in school buildings had poisoned kids, they called the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." "“The people who were answering our questions are just gone,” City Health Commissioner Michael Totoraitis said in an interview after the firings Tuesday at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

"The Trump administration is quietly carrying out a plan that aims to kill hundreds of bans on highly toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” and other dangerous compounds in consumer goods. The bans, largely at the state level, touch most facets of daily life, prohibiting everything from bisphenol in children’s products to mercury in personal care products to PFAS in food packaging and clothing."

"Two chemical industry groups are asking President Trump for a complete exemption to free their factories from new limits on hazardous air pollution."

"The White House is weighing an executive order that would fast-track permitting for deep-sea mining in international waters and let mining companies bypass a United Nations-backed review process, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the deliberations."

"Staff members who fought childhood lead exposure and those who worked on cancer clusters were among those fired from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a now former employee told The Hill."

"“Rights of nature” is a movement aimed at advancing the understanding that ecosystems, wildlife and the Earth are living beings with inherent rights to exist, evolve and regenerate."

"Beekeepers across the country are sounding the alarm as honeybee populations are dwindling at an unprecedented rate, a trend that could affect Americans' wallets at the grocery store."

"This season, two stubborn Texans try to salvage what’s left of their working-class community. That’s a problem, though, because they live in East Harris County, where the petrochemical industry calls the shots — and where pushing back can be dangerous."

"Set in Channelview, Texas, in the heart of the nation's petrochemical industry, Fumed follows Carolyn Stone and Greg Moss as they risk everything to fight for their community’s future."

"Researchers have identified “forever chemicals” in household dust nearby a North Carolina factory — indicating that dust may be an additional source of exposure to these compounds."