The Biden administration said Thursday that it was strengthening requirements for homes and child-care facilities to remove lead-based paint dust, a move that could better protect more than 300,000 children a year from the toxic metal. Under the new rules, any detectable level of lead dust in the building would …
Read More »Bruce Ames, 95, Dies; Biochemist Discovered Test for Toxic Chemicals
Bruce Nathan Ames, a biochemist who discovered a revolutionary method of detecting potential carcinogens, paving the way for the banning of many commonly used chemicals, died on Oct. 5 in Berkeley, Calif. He was 95. His wife, Giovanna Ferro-Luzzi Ames, said his death, in a hospital, was from complications after …
Read More »Bumblebee Queens Prefer to Live in a Toxic Home
North-facing, sloping ground with loose, sandy soil — if you’re a bumblebee queen on the market for a winter home, these features will have you racing to make an offer. But scientists were recently stunned to find there’s something else these monarchs like in a place to hibernate: pesticides. In …
Read More »These Scientists Tested Dolphin Breath. They Found Plastic.
Scientists have found plastic pollution almost everywhere they have looked. In clouds. On Mount Everest. In Arctic snow. Now, for the first time, tiny plastic particles have been detected in the breath of dolphins. The findings, published on Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One, point to the ubiquitousness of …
Read More »How Can I Get ‘Forever Chemicals’ Out of My Life?
“Forever chemicals,” also known as PFAS, are everywhere. They’re in our water, our soil and in everyday items like cookware, mascara or waterproof clothing. And there’s mounting evidence that this family of thousands of synthetic chemicals can increase the risk of some types of cancer, developmental and fertility issues, and …
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