Environmental Health
The Pump Handle
Category archives for Environmental Health
Report on chemical-asthma links a useful resource for workers at risk
Posted by The Pump Handle on September 21, 2012 It really is a chemical world, which is bad news for people with asthma. According to a recent report, at this very moment from where I write, I’m surrounded by objects and materials that contain chemicals that are known or suspected asthmagens — substances that can act as asthma triggers if inhaled.
“Organic, schmorganic” – unless it’s your child’s ability to learn that’s impaired by pesticides
Posted by The Pump Handle on September 13, 2012 The New York Times’ Roger Cohen may dismiss organic agriculture, but new research on the effects of pesticides on developing brains gives a reason to reduce the use of organophosphate pesticides.
Don’t blame the messenger, calls to save NTP’s Report on Carcinogens
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on September 11, 2012 Producers and users of styrene and formaldehyde can’t handle the truth about those compounds’ carcinogenicity, and use their friends in Congress to punish the messenger.
More jobs than coal, oil and gas: Investing in the environment promotes economic growth
Posted by The Pump Handle on September 4, 2012 A new study finds that spending $1 million on coastal habitat restoration creates far more jobs than investing the same money in fossil-fuel industries.
Legislation signed on Camp Lejeune survivors and Massachusetts temp workers
Posted by Liz Borkowski on August 16, 2012 Two bills we’ve written about recently are now law: President Obama signed the “Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012,” and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed the “Temporary Workers Right to Know Act.”
On the departure of Obama’s regulatory czar and cost-benefit analysis
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on August 14, 2012 President Obama offered high praise to his regulatory czar on the day Mr. Cass Sunstein announced his resignation. It’s disappointing neither are bold enough to address the grave limits of cost-benefit analysis.
U.S. House passes Camp Lejeune compensation bill
Posted by The Pump Handle on August 1, 2012 After years of diligent and effective advocacy by former Marines and family members, the House voted on July 31, 2012 in favor of the Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act (H.R. 1627). The bill’s first section is named after Janey Ensminger, who died of leukemia at age nine after exposure to contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune.
Chicken, UTIs, and a long-festering antibiotic problem
Posted by Liz Borkowski on July 16, 2012 Researchers have linked the increase in antibiotic-resistant urinary tract infections to the use of antibiotics in livestock. The counterargument that the resistance could have originated in humans in the first place misses the point.
Investigative reporters team up to expose national disgrace: US coal miners still get black lung
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on July 9, 2012 Three of my favorite investigative journalists have worked together to expose a national disgrace: coal miners in the U.S. still develop black lung disease.
30 years after Warren County protests, the struggle for environmental justice continues
Posted by Liz Borkowski on June 25, 2012 Environmental Health News’ “Pollution, Poverty, People of Color” series documents the continued struggle of the environmental justice movement in communities across the country.