Environmental Health

"Critics claim the leading breast cancer research group is in the pocket of its BPA-happy sponsors."

"Bryan and Kathleen Borres worried that Marcellus shale drilling near their Murrysville home might affect their well water. During the summer, the couple had a baseline test done. The results surprised them — the water they had been drinking from the well, drilled in 2005, contained coliform and E. coli bacteria."

For many poor families in California's rural San Joaquin Valley, the drinking water that comes from the tap is unhealthful -- often polluted by the same large-scale agriculture that gives them jobs. Pollution of private wells is a problem that spreads nationwide.

Mark Grossi reports for the Fresno Bee October 1, 2011.

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Many people have told stories of getting severely sick near natural gas wells, especially ones using the controversial fracking technique. One of the biggest barriers to determining whether the gas production is causing illness is the gas industry's resistance to disclosing the toxic emissions and hazardous wastes they generate.

Abrahm Lustgarten and Nicholas Kusnetz originally reported the story for ProPublica September 16, 2011.

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"EPA finds trichloroethylene causes kidney and liver cancer, lymphoma and other health problems. The decision could raise the cost of cleanups nationwide, including in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys."

"When Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) recently suggested that the human papillomavirus vaccine — recommended for girls and young women to protect against cervical cancer — was dangerous and could cause mental retardation, the American Academy of Pediatrics pushed back hard. The AAP, which represents 60,000 pediatricians, issued a statement saying the claim had 'absolutely no scientific validity.'"

"The federal government has spent $16.9 billion over the past 15 years to subsidize key ingredients in junk foods that bloat Americans’ midsections and contribute to obesity-related medical conditions that cost billions more to treat."

A complex of causes -- including global warming -- may be making worse the threat of cholera outbreaks.

"The Obama administration recently pulled the plug on lowering EPA limits. It seems clear, though, that the lower the level, the fewer effects on health."

"The glassy stares of the dead, the garbage piling up in the streets, the frightened, angry mobs smashing their way into drugstores and attacking food lines. The images in the thriller Contagion may be delivered with Hollywood flair, but they also have a ring of truth to those on the medical front lines.