EWG
Twitter
Instagram
RFK Jr. directs CDC to stop promoting fluoridation; EPA will re-assess practice
By Douglas Main
Citing health concerns, newly appointed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said this week that he will direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to stop recommending that states add fluoride to their water, and will convene a federal taskforce of independent health experts to study the health risks presented by the practice while establishing a new “optimal” level.
Analysis raises concerns about potential misuse of atrazine weedkiller in US Midwest
By Douglas Main
Corn growers across Midwestern states appear to be flouting regulations aimed at protecting important waterways from contamination with toxic atrazine weedkiller, according to an analysis of satellite imagery and field data that comes as US regulators ponder changes to rules for use of the pesticide.
Amid EPA upheaval, states fear losing strong federal limits on PFAS in drinking water
By Shannon Kelleher
With the looming possibility that the Trump administration could reduce federal limits on toxic PFAS chemicals in drinking water, public health advocates are warning that people across the country would suffer.
“Plastics addiction” is killing us, experts say, but hope remains
By Douglas Main
Plastics are negatively impacting our health in shocking ways, with the problem growing worse over time amid lax government regulations, a group of scientists and policy experts warned on Thursday.
Postcard from California: Trump vs. the delta smelt
The most powerful man in the world is waging war on a tiny, almost extinct fish. The fish is the minnow-like delta smelt, less than three inches long with a lifespan of only a year. Its sole natural habitat is the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
PFAS found in household dust near North Carolina chemical plant
By Shannon Kelleher
Residues of harmful industrial chemicals, including some phased out of production 20 years ago, have been found in household dust in research that shows exposure risks go beyond contaminated food and water, according to a study published Monday.
Federal hearing to take up hotly debated issue of wetlands protections
By Shannon Kelleher
In a court hearing that could have implications for the fate of federal protections for US wetlands, lawyers for an Iowa farmland owner will face off on Monday against the federal government and environmental advocates over the constitutionality of the Farm Bill’s hotly debated “Swampbuster” law.
Utah becomes first state to ban water fluoridation
By Douglas Main
Utah has become the first US state to ban the decades-old practice of adding fluoride to public water supplies. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed the new law on Thursday, prohibiting fluoridation starting May 7.
Chewing gum releases microplastics into saliva, study finds
By Douglas Main
Chewing gum made from either synthetic polymers or tree-based resins sheds significant quantities of tiny plastic particles into saliva, according to a study currently undergoing peer review that was presented Tuesday at a meeting of the American Chemical Society.
As EPA shutters environmental justice offices, rural Americans at risk
By Julia Tilton / The Daily Yonder
Environmental justice efforts at the 10 US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regional offices have stopped and employees have been placed on administrative leave, per an announcement from EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin earlier this month. Former EPA employees involved with environmental justice work across the country say rural communities will suffer as a result.