Environmental Health

"ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Department of Health is taking a closer look at a variety of chemicals that make their way into the water supply. Federal and state regulators have already placed limits on many contaminants found in drinking water, among them lead and mercury. But health officials are turning their attention to other chemicals that are not widely known, including those in fragrances, prescription drugs and bug spray."

"Environmentalists have mounted a legal challenge against Wyoming regulators they say are improperly approving oil and gas companies’ 'overly broad,' boilerplate requests to shield information about the chemicals they use in drilling operations."

"Under a new law, doctors in Pennsylvania can access information about chemicals used in natural gas extraction—but they won't be able to share it with their patients. A provision buried in a law passed last month is drawing scrutiny from the public health and environmental community, who argue that it will "gag" doctors who want to raise concerns related to oil and gas extraction with the people they treat and the general public."

"Fresh water supplies are unlikely to keep up with global demand by 2040, increasing political instability, hobbling economic growth and endangering world food markets, according to a U.S. intelligence assessment released on Thursday."

"NEW YORK -- A federal judge on Thursday ordered U.S. regulators to start proceedings to withdraw approval for the use of common antibiotics in animal feed, citing concerns that overuse is endangering human health by creating antibiotic-resistant 'superbugs'."

"A new study finds that even low doses of hormone-disrupting chemicals -- used in everything from plastics to pesticides -- can have serious effects on human health. These findings, the researchers say, point to the need for basic changes in how chemical safety testing is conducted."

Funds for the Centers for Disease Control to use in preventing lead poisoning have been cut by Congressional deficit hawks for fiscal 2012. That will mean serious and permanent harm to kids' health in some 35 of the states who get CDC grants under the program. Health advocates are trying to get the funds restored for fiscal 2013.

"As bacteria evolve to evade antibiotics, common infections could become deadly, according to Dr. Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organization. Speaking at a conference in Copenhagen, Chan said antibiotic resistance could bring about 'the end of modern medicine as we know it.'"