By Dick Clapp Researchers devote a lot of effort to determining what causes cancer, and their findings can help us treat and prevent the disease. Industries that use and manufacture suspected carcinogens have something to fear, though, if research shows their products or processes to be contributing to cancer in workers or nearby communities. As […]
Like microwave-popcorn manufacturers and toy companies, members of the trade group Grocery Manufacturers of America have recognized that itâs not a good thing to have consumers worried about whether their favorite products might kill them. So, theyâre asking the FDA to do more to ensure the safety of foods and beverages, and have come out […]
By David Michaels Congratulations to Ron Melnick! Ron is a senior toxicologist and director of special programs in the Environmental Toxicology Program at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Since coming to NIEHS as a young toxicologist 36+ years ago, Ron has produced made a huge contribution to our understanding of the health effects […]
by Liz Borkowski Bush appointees and polluting industries may oppose statesâ attempts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, but courts have been ruling in statesâ favor. In April, the Supreme Court found that EPA, contrary to its insistence, does in fact have the authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. Last week, a federal judge upheld a […]
By Liz Borkowski Here in the U.S., people seem to like the idea of our government ensuring that weâve got clean air, clean water, and healthy workplaces, and that our exposure to toxic substances is limited. However, we also keep electing politicians who make it hard for federal agencies to ensure these things. Weâve written […]
By Liz Borkowski Revereâs been keeping us up to date on the latest news about the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences â specifically, the stepping aside of Director Dr. David Schwartz for an NIH investigation, and the letter sent to NIEHS employees with the apparent goal of discouraging whistle-blowing. It seems like a good […]
Cross-posted by Revere at Effect Measure You wonder when they will ever learn — or IF they will ever learn. In the wake of yesterday’s announcement that the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Dr. David Schwartz, will step aside while NIH does an inquiry into allegations of turmoil at the institute […]
In a McClatchy Newspapers article, Kevin G. Hall shows how China and the Bush administration have both undermined efforts to keep lead out of children’s products by opposing efforts to police Chinese imports. This description of the Bush administration’s role will sound familiar to regular readers of this blog (emphasis added): Consumer advocates say the Bush administration […]
Cross-posted by Revere at Effect Measure In an email letter sent internally to all National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) personnel, its Director, Dr. David Schwartz, has announced he is temporarily stepping aside while the NIH Director, Dr. Elias Zerhouni, conducts an internal review of NIEHS and the National Toxicology Program (NATP), both of […]
Apparently, thereâs something about a study involving cats and flame retardants that makes it irresistible blogging fodder. Lisa Stiffler at Dateline Earth was the first to alert us to the study, reporting that it linked catsâ PBDE exposure and hyperthyroidism. (PBDEs, or polybrominated diphenyl ethers, are flame retardants that have been banned in Washington state […]