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Unregulated flame retardants can break down into toxic byproducts, study shows
By Douglas Main
New research shows that two unregulated and widely used flame retardants found in many electronic devices and touted by industry as non-toxic break down into harmful molecules that can pose a health risk to fish and potentially other creatures, including humans.
The chemicals in question, large molecules called polymers, have largely escaped regulation as industry has argued that the materials are unlikely to degrade or make their way into living creatures. Many are even marketed as non-hazardous or environmentally friendly.
But a study published Monday in the journal Nature Sustainability found evidence suggesting that is not true. Researchers reported finding dozens of smaller molecules caused by the breakdown of polymeric flame retardants in soil, dust, and air outside electronic waste recycling facilities in southern China. The scientists exposed zebrafish — commonly used in initial toxicity tests — to the chemicals and found that they caused metabolic dysfunction and showed the potential for development harm.
“Our study suggests polymers can act as a trojan horse for toxic chemicals,” Da Chen, senior author and scientist at Jinan University in China. “They are added to products as inert large molecules, but over time they can degrade, exposing us to their harmful breakdown products.”
In recent years, polymeric flame retardants have been used to replace smaller, toxic molecules, such as chemicals called HBCD and PBDE, which have been partially phased out due to safety concerns.
Most polymers, including all such flame retardants, are considered exempt from major regulations meant to protect humans. But the new research shows regulation is needed, said Arlene Blum, co-author of the study and a research associate at the University of California, Berkeley. Blum also serves as executive director of the Green Science Policy Institute.
Over-planting of GM corn costing farmers billions, study finds
By Douglas Main
A new study adds to evidence that farmers in the US corn belt have over-planted a type of genetically modified (GM) corn, leading to estimated losses of more than $1 billion as the pests the corn was designed to repel have grown resistant over time.
The authors of the paper, published Thursday in the journal Science, said their findings supported a move toward a “more diversified” seed supply.
Known as Bt corn because it contains up to five toxins produced by a bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis, the specialty corn is designed to express proteins that make the plant toxic to certain pests, including corn rootworm. More than 85% of corn planted in the US is the Bt variety, to which various insect pests are becoming resistant.
After examining rootworm crop damage data from 10 states over the period 2005-2016, the researchers determined that many farmers planted more GM corn than was considered necessary to address pest problems. Bt seeds typically carry a significant price premium.
The scientists found that planting Bt corn in certain eastern Corn Belt states provided “only marginal yield protection benefits,” benefits that appear to often be eclipsed by the higher costs for GM seed versus non-GM seed.
House hearing probes Biden climate spending as Zeldin threatens clawback
By Shannon Kelleher
A Republican-led House committee on Wednesday held a hearing that scrutinized the Biden administration’s spending on energy and environmental projects, amid concerns about possible conflicts of interest and the fast pace of funds appropriated in the former president’s final months in office.
“Our concern is when you have such a large volume of money getting out the door with such tight statutory deadlines, what processes and internal controls were in place for that money going out?” Nicole Murley, Acting Inspector General for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said in the Feb. 26 House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing. “That’s always what we would call a ‘situation of risk.’”
Democrats blasted the hearing as “out of touch,” saying the real problems at hand are conflicts of interest within the Trump administration and moves to freeze federal funding and fire large numbers of government employees, including the Inspectors General of both the EPA and the US Department of Energy (DOE).
“With all the fires and chaos that Trump and Musk are intentionally starting in these agencies, it’s ridiculous that this is what Republicans are choosing to conduct oversight on today,” said US Rep. Frank Pallone, a Democrat from New Jersey. “This hearing is not about oversight or accountability. Instead, it’s another effort by Republicans to justify stealing investments from American communities in order to pay for tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations.”
The EPA and DOE each received billions of dollars through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which was signed in 2021, and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was signed in 2022. Funding made available through the laws has been appropriated for a wide range of projects, including clean energy grants, drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects, environmental cleanup programs, clean school buses, and programs to reduce air pollution.
New data show widespread chemical contamination of drinking water
By Douglas Main
A newly released trove of data reveals widespread pollution of US tap water with more than 320 chemical contaminants, including industrial chemicals and farm-related pollutants.
The latest information is part of a tap water database, created by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), and incorporates information from nearly 50,000 water systems collected between 2021 and 2023.
Though few chemicals were found exceeding the federal government’s legally mandated maximum contaminant level (or MCL), almost all US water systems nation-wide contained at least one contaminant at levels that surpassed the health guidelines developed by EWG that are based on scientific research of the harms associated with the various contaminants.
“This is a wake-up call,” said Tasha Stoiber, an EWG senior scientist. “Outdated federal regulations continue to leave millions of people at risk of exposure to harmful substances.”
Among the chemicals commonly detected were per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as forever chemicals, which were found in the water of at least 143 million Americans. Nitrates, a common waste product from farming operations linked to colorectal cancer and thyroid disease, were also commonly detected as well as disinfection byproducts caused by using chlorine.
Many of these disinfection byproducts — including chemicals called trihalomethanes, chloroform, haloacetic acids, and more — showed up in tens of thousands of water systems at concentrations far above what many health scientists consider safe.
USDA’s climate webpage purge breaks laws and hurts farmers, lawsuit alleges
By Shannon Kelleher and Carey Gillam
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) broke the law when it purged government websites of climate-related information and disabled access to key datasets, making it hard for farmers to access information on climate adaptation strategies and financial assistance, according to a lawsuit filed Monday by a coalition of advocacy groups.
The “vital resources” were stripped from various USDA websites on Jan.30, shortly after President Donald Trump took office, erasing public access to information about climate-smart agriculture, forest conservation, climate change adaptation, investment in clean energy projects and other “essential information about USDA programs and policies,” the lawsuit alleges.
The case against the agency was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Environmental Working Group.
The plaintiffs allege that the USDA broke the law by not providing legally required notice before removing the webpages, violating the Freedom of Information Act, and by not giving “reasoned decision-making” to the harm caused to farmers and others by the removal of the information.
The USDA did not respond to a request for comment, instead referring questions to the US Department of Justice, which declined to comment.
The lawsuit comes amid a flurry of actions taken by the Trump administration in the last few weeks to overhaul federal agencies and rollback or otherwise reverse many moves made by the Biden administration, including Biden-era policies aimed at mitigating harmful climate change.
States move to cement PFAS protections amid fears of federal rollbacks
By Shannon Kelleher
Concerns are growing about the fate of a Biden-era rule to limit toxic PFAS chemicals in drinking water, with some states moving to introduce laws that would lock in place PFAS protections that could survive any potential rollback by the Trump Administration.
California introduced legislation on Wednesday that would direct the State Water Resources Control Board to adopt regulations at least as protective as those in the federal rule. If California’s bill passes, it will require state regulators to set new regulations by January 1, 2026 that would mirror the Biden Administration rule that set a limit on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water.
The legislation specifically calls for adopting the requirements in place on a federal level as of the day prior to President Donald Trump’s January 20th inauguration.
“We think there’s a case here for folks to act with urgency given the developments in Washington, given the threat to public health and public safety that these chemicals pose,” Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-CA), who introduced the bill, said on a February 19 press call. “We are going to do this so we can protect our communities irrespective of what happens at the federal level.”
Lawmakers in multiple other states are making similar moves, including in Pennsylvania, Maine and Connecticut.
“It’s not unreasonable to be concerned that there would be a rollback of these policies here,” said Steve Hvozdovich, Pennsylvania Campaigns Director for the group Clean Water Action. “I think the quicker we can move the better.”
“Out of time” – Short film documents tragic saga of pesticide-poisoned Nebraska town
For decades, Mead, Nebraska, was a peaceful rural town—until toxins generated by the area ethanol plant poisoned Mead’s land, water, and air. Farm to Fuel, a short documentary, builds on investigative reporting by The New Lede, co-published with The Guardian, which exposed how the plant’s reckless disposal of pesticide-laced waste created an environmental disaster. At the heart of the crisis are neonicotinoid pesticides, still widely used across the US despite mounting evidence of their harm.
TNL’s Alex Hinton traveled to Mead, Nebraska, where he met with farmer Stan Kaiser and his family, who shared their story of environmental devastation, previously reported by The New Lede. Hinton spoke with Dr. Judy Wu-Smart of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, whose groundbreaking research has been crucial in exposing the dangers of neonicotinoid pesticides, and former State Sen. Carol Blood, who has been leading the fight for stronger regulations to prevent tragedies like this from happening again.
Mead’s fight for justice is far from over. Despite the plant’s shutdown, its toxic legacy lingers, raising urgent questions about corporate negligence, environmental responsibility, and the safety of rural communities across America.
It’s not just RFK Jr — Opposition to fluoride in drinking water grows
By Douglas Main
Opposition to the US practice of adding fluoride to drinking water supplies has been growing as more evidence accumulates linking fluoride exposure to potential harmful brain impacts in children. Now, the future of the practice could be in doubt, with Thursday’s confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as President Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Kennedy, an environmental health lawyer, has been calling for an end to fluoridation in public drinking water for years. And though it is the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that has regulatory oversight of fluoride levels in water supplies, the HHS plays a role in policy by publishing recommendations for fluoridation that many states follow.
An HHS task force currently recommends fluoridation based on “strong evidence of effectiveness in reducing tooth decay.”
But that could change. In his new role, Kennedy is widely expected to push for guidance against fluoridation.
Since Kennedy posted on X on November 2, 2024, that Donald Trump would end fluoridation if elected, it opened a floodgate of attention to the issue, said Chris Neurath, science research director with the anti-fluoridation group Fluoride Action Network.
That, combined with a high profile recent court case that ordered the EPA to re-evaluate the safety of fluoridation, and accumulating evidence of harm, have all caused a “snowball effect” of attention, according to Neurath.
“This elevation of the issue into the mainstream really is unique in the last 80 years,” Neurath said. Though evidence of harm keeps growing, he said, “the facts haven’t really changed — but the awareness of them has.”
Illnesses and deaths from food outbreaks skyrocketed in 2024, report finds
By Shannon Kelleher
Hospitalizations and deaths from foodborne illnesses more than doubled in 2024 over the prior year, with most people sickened in a small number of high-profile outbreaks involving lunch meat, eggs, cucumbers and other commonly consumed foods, according to a report published Thursday.
The report comes as some US lawmakers are pushing legislation that would bar the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) from implementing a new regulatory framework proposed under former President Joe Biden aimed at addressing Salmonella contamination in raw poultry.
A total of 1,392 were sickened from contaminated food in 2024, up from 1,1118 people in 2023, and the health impacts of the outbreaks was more severe, with 487 people hospitalized last year compared to 230 the previous year. Nineteen people died after eating contaminated food in 2024, compared to eight in 2023, according to the report.
Across 13 total outbreaks in 2024, almost all of the illnesses were caused by E. coli, Listeria, and Salmonella bacteria, including a large outbreak of illnesses tied to E. coli contaminated onions in McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burgers. A large outbreak that landed 60 people in the hospital was linked to listeria-contaminated products traced back to a now-shuttered Boar’s Head plant in Virginia. The number of food recalls because of Listeria, Salmonella or E. coli increased significantly in 2024, representing 39% of all recalls.
“This report serves as an important reminder that there cannot be any cuts to food safety funding or rollbacks in regulations,” said Brian Ronholm, the director of food policy for the nonprofit Consumer Reports who was not involved in the study. “Industry, regulators and consumers must be constantly vigilant about food safety and the data in this report shows that there is still much work to be done and improvements to be made.”
Microplastic pollution found “pervasive” in Antarctic snow
By Douglas Main
New research has found significant levels of tiny microplastics within Antarctic snow from multiple locations across the world’s most remote wilderness, findings that reinforce concerns that no part of the planet is safe from plastic pollution.
The paper, published this month in Science of the Total Environment, provides evidence that earlier studies have underestimated the extent of microplastic contamination in the region.
The first such study on the subject, published in 2022, found an average of 29 particles per liter of snow sampled. The new study, which used techniques that allow for greater detection of tiny materials, found that “microplastics were pervasive” at more than 3,000 particles per liter, with an average of around 800 particles. About 95% of these bits were under 50 microns, slightly smaller than the average width of a human hair.
Researchers now know that microplastics are essentially everywhere — the remote Amazon, inside human brains, plant roots, clouds — but to find them in such levels in the world’s most remote wilderness still came as a shock.
“It was surprising to see such high concentrations of microplastics in areas with a limited human footprint,” said study co-author Emily Rowlands, a researcher with the British Antarctic Survey.