Earth

  1. 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.

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  2. 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.

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  3. 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.

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  4. 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.

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  5. 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.

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  6. Earth

    New PCBs?

    New studies have begun linking toxic risks with a ubiquitous family of flame retardants.

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  7. 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.

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  8. 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.

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  9. 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.

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  10. 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.

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  11. 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.

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  12. 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 […]

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