Chemical Safety Helpdesk

3641. May 3, 2013 | The Guardian
Nearly 3,000 birds die from chemical spill in English Channel, UK
An estimated 2,400 birds have died and more than 500 live but 'disabled' birds have been rescued since February..

3642. May 3, 2013 | today.com
FDA reviewing chemical found in liquid soap, USA
The FDA is reviewing whether triclosan, an antibacterial chemical contained in liquid soap and body wash, may be ineffective or even harmful to humans...

3643. May 3, 2013 | Environmental Health News
BPA levels in minority communities linked to ethnicity, season, chemical exposures,
A new study provides deeper insight into how bisphenol A exposures differ among minority populations in New York City. While exposure was widespread, African American women and children had higher levels than Dominicans...

3644. May 2, 2013 | The Associated Press (AP)
Fire forces evacuation of campus, homes in Calif, USA
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A wildfire fanned by a long day of Santa Ana winds raged along the edges of Southern California communities and coastal highways Thursday, forcing the evacuation of a university and hundreds of homes and threatening 2,000 more, officials said...

3645. May 2, 2013 | BBC
Toxic lipsticks: Cancer-causing metals in lipstick, glosses?, USA
Scottish Water has been fined £9,750 for illegal discharges and sewage pollution in Ayrshire and Lanarkshire...

3646. May 2, 2013 | United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Student Conference in Tongji University, Shanghai Hooks into World Environment Day Theme, Kenya/China
As citizens across the globe gear up to celebrate World Environment Day (WED) with activities aimed at promoting environmental awareness, Tongji University in Shanghai has announced its annual International Student Conference on Environment and Sustainability (ISCES)...

3647. May 2, 2013 | Environmental Health News
Surprising source of lead poisoning in Amazon, Peru
Inside the simple wood-frame house, a 6-year-old boy plays with a piece of malleable metal, biting it as his younger sister watches. In the background, piled against the wall, are two long strips of the metal – lead sheathing from an electrical cable that the family sold for scrap...

3648. April 30, 2013 | United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Scottish Water fined ?9,750 over pollution incidents, UK
UNEP and FAO team up to promote synergies between the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions in two-week chemicals and waste meeting...

3649. April 30, 2013 | United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Delta air quality improves, but roadside pollution worse in Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Increasing international cooperation and establishing and maintaining high-quality patent systems will foster innovation and growth...

3650. April 29, 2013 | United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Environmentalist Receives Major Award for Work to Restore Iraq's Marshlands, Kenya
In 2001, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) alerted the international community to the destruction of the marshlands when it released satellite images showing that 90 percent of the ecosystem had been lost...

3651. April 28, 2013 | The Observer
Insecticide firms in secret bid to stop ban that could save bees, UK
Europe is on the brink of a landmark ban on the world's most widely used insecticides, which have increasingly been linked to serious declines in bee numbers...

3652. April 28, 2013 | The Fresno Bee
Living in a Toxic Land: A history of neglect, risk in Lanare, USA
LANARE -- In the early 1960s, Carrie Bonner was pregnant with her eighth child and widowed after her husband was shot dead in a juke joint here. She moved to a small rental and could never afford to leave Lanare. That's fine with Bonner. She likes it here. Sitting in the Lanare Community Center, a leaky old building with no air conditioning or heating, the 89-year-old says she relishes her role as one of four members in the town's only church...

3653. April 28, 2013 | JamaicaObserver.com
NCU scientists name areas with ‘poisoned’ soil, Jamaica
MANDEVILLE, Manchester — ONE year after revealing that sections of the soil in some farming communities in St Elizabeth and Manchester were contaminated with poisonous metals...

3654. April 28, 2013 | The Denver Post
Whether paper or plastic, 5-cent bag fee in Denver checks out, USA
A Denver councilwoman is on the right track with a plan to charge customers a nickel for each disposable bag they use...

3655. April 28, 2013 | dgstandard.co.uk
Call for delay to pesticide ban, UK
The Scottish Environment Secretary has called for a two-year delay to the implementation of a ban on pesticides which are thought to be harmful to bees...

3656. April 28, 2013 | BBC
Neonicotinoids: Scottish government calls for ban to be delayed, UK
Scotland's rural affairs secretary has called for a two-year delay on the banning of pesticides which are said to harm bees...

3657. April 28, 2013 | The Sentinel
Air quality: How do salt caves combat bad air?, USA
Salt caves in Carlisle and Camp Hill offer Cumberland County residents a holistic alternative for treating their upper respiratory issues with a dosage of clean, filtered air...

3658. April 28, 2013 | United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
UN delegates set to back new chemical and waste rules, UN
Officials at a major UN conference on chemical and hazardous waste said on Saturday that they expect delegates to back new international industrial controls and clamp down on cross-border polution...

3659. April 28, 2013 | Xinhua
Symptoms of chemical gas occur in some Syrian soldiers: report, Syria
DAMASCUS, A Syrian pro-government newspaper reported Sunday that many soldiers battling rebels in a restive neighborhood of the capital Damascus have shown symptoms of exposure to chemical gas...

3660. April 28, 2013 | The Associated Press (AP)
EPA: Natural gas pollution down, USA
PITTSBURGH -- The Environmental Protection Agency has dramatically lowered its estimate of how much of a potent heat-trapping gas leaks during natural gas production, in a shift with major implications for a debate that has divided environmentalists...