Earth
- Earth
Flaming Out? Days may be numbered for two fire retardants
The maker of two controversial flame-retardant chemicals has voluntarily initiated negotiations with the federal government to end their production.
By Janet Raloff - Earth
California acts on plastic additive
Korean engineers have developed a replacement for a plasticizer used in polyvinyl chloride that California has just ruled is a known reproductive toxicant.
By Janet Raloff - Earth
Chicken Little? Study cites arsenic in poultry
Most chicken eaten in the United States contains 3 to 4 times as much arsenic as is present in other kinds of meat and poultry.
By Ben Harder - Earth
Gulf War vets face elevated ALS risk
Two studies suggest that veterans of the 1991 Gulf War are at elevated risk of developing the fatal neurodegenerative condition amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) compared with other military personnel and with the general population.
By Ben Harder - Earth
Flame retardants take a vacation
The lifetime in blood of flame- retarding diphenyl ethers, now-ubiquitous pollutants, ranges from 2 weeks to 2 years, Swedish researchers find.
By Janet Raloff - Earth
New PCBs?
New studies have begun linking toxic risks with a ubiquitous family of flame retardants.
By Janet Raloff - Earth
Smog chemicals found even in rural western plains
Analyses of the atmosphere over the south-central United States show that gases emitted from the region's oil and natural gas industries contribute to air pollution—even over remote Kansas cornfields—that can surpass the noxious mix found in urban areas.
By Sid Perkins - Earth
Toxic Controversy: Perchlorate found in milk, but risk is debated
Researchers in Texas have detected the chemical perchlorate in milk, crops, and a significant portion of the state's groundwater.
By Ben Harder - Earth
When Genes Escape
The focus of the debate over transgenic crops has changed from whether genes will escape to what difference it will make when they do.
By Susan Milius - Earth
Scrutinized chemicals linger in atmosphere
The newly determined longevity in the atmosphere of certain perfluorinated chemicals indicates that they may disperse environmental contamination far and wide.
By Ben Harder - Earth
Weekend weather really is different
Analyses of more than 40 years of weather data from around the world reveal that in some regions the difference between daily high and low temperatures on weekend days varies significantly from that measured on weekdays.
By Sid Perkins - Agriculture
Calling All Cows
Last May, tissues from the carcass of a North American cow turned up positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy–the ailment responsible for mad cow disease. Within hours, the Canadian government traced the animal to the Alberta farm where it had been raised for its 8 years of life. In short order, other members of its herd […]
By Janet Raloff