Environmental Health

A new study suggests that farm workers who work with hogs are much more likely to be carrying certain strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

"Alarming levels of brain-damaging lead are poisoning more than a fifth of the children tested from some of the poorest parts of Chicago, even as the hazard has been largely eliminated in more prosperous neighborhoods, a Tribune investigation has found."

"More than 200 scientists outline potential health concerns from fluorinated chemicals, urge replacements and tightened regulations ".

"The waterway linking Gulf Coast oil with the refineries of Baton Rouge has brought great prosperity to Louisiana. But the people living in 'Cancer Alley' have a different story to tell."

"Male minnows exposed to a widely used diabetes drug ubiquitous in wastewater effluent had feminized reproductive parts and were smaller and less fertile, according to a new study."

"A Senate committee passed a bill Tuesday that would reform the federal government’s regulation of toxic chemicals for the first time in decades."

"Tyson, the country's biggest producer of chicken meat, says within 2 years, it expects to stop giving chickens antibiotics that humans also use. The decision echoes one by McDonald's last month."

"For the first time in more than 50 years, the federal government has recommended lowering the level of fluoride in drinking water."

"It’s probably in your garage and on your lawn. And it’s used on nearly every acre of corn and soy. But what risks does it pose?"