April 2011

Monday

Debate Over Fluoridating the Water Supply Washes Away Usual Alliances

May 20, 2013 |

Voters in liberal Portland, Ore., are divided over fluoridation. As Portlanders prepare to go to the polls Tuesday to decide the issue, liberals concerned about the dental health of low-income children are pitted against liberals averse to putting anything unnecessary in the water. Added to the mix are libertarians who say fluoridation violates an individual’s right to consent to medicine. Portland is the largest U.S. city that has yet to approve fluoridation to combat tooth decay. The City Council in September unanimously decided to add the mineral to the water supply, which serves about 900,000 people, but opponents quickly gathered thousands of signatures to force Portlanders to vote on the issue for the fifth time since 1956. The Associated Press 

Pennsylvania regulators find cases of drilling harming water supplies. An analysis of state documents found that Pennsylvania environmental regulators determined that oil and gas development damaged the water supplies for at least 161 Pennsylvania homes, farms, churches and businesses between 2008 and the fall of 2012. One in six inspections spurred by complaints over the nearly five-year period found that oil and gas activity disrupted water supplies either temporarily or seriously enough to require companies to replace the spoiled source. The documents confirming contamination or water loss provide what is likely the best tally of the impact of drilling on water supplies in Pennsylvania. The Scranton Times Tribune

Health of immigrants declines after they move to the U.S. A growing body  of research shows that immigrants have worse rates of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes the longer they live in this country. And while their American-born children may have more money, they tend to live shorter lives than the parents. “There’s something about life in the United States that is not conducive to good health across generations,” a demographer said. For Hispanics, the nation’s largest immigrant group, the foreign-born live about three years longer than their U.S.-born counterparts, several studies indicate. The cause appears to be the adoption of American behaviors — smoking, drinking, high-calorie diets and sedentary lifestyles. The New York Times

Lung tissue study provides new evidence of a resurgence of black lung disease. A research team evaluated lung tissue from seven victims of the 2010 Upper Big Branch mine disaster in West Virginia whose families granted permission for the study. The experts found that six of those seven victims bore telltale scarring that indicates black lung. One of the samples showed a “fairly advanced form of the disease.” The lead researcher said the tissue analysis, even though it assessed only seven of the disaster’s 29 victims, “adds supportive information” after various studies documenting a resurgence of black lung in parts of Appalachia, onset of the disease among younger miners and more rapid progression to advanced stages of disease. NPR

Texas sues over Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Texas, the fifth state to file claims over the 2010 blowout that took 11 lives and spilled millions of gallons of oil, called it the “worst environmental disaster” in U.S. history. The suit named as defendants British oil giant BP, rig owner Transocean Ltd. and Halliburton, the cement contractor on the project.  Last month Florida and Mississippi sued BP over the disaster. Louisiana and Alabama sued earlier and are participating in a federal trial in New Orleans to determine liability. Texas officials expect their suit to be consolidated with that case. The state accused the defendants of violating Texas environmental laws and is seeking damages for economic loss. Bloomberg, The Associated Press

Compiled by Stuart Silverstein

Friday

New Crash Test Highlights Safety Flaws in Small SUVs

May 17, 2013 |

Only 2 of 13 small SUVs do well on new test simulating  deadly type of collision. The small-overlap crash test models collisions occurring when a vehicle hits a hard barrier with just a quarter of its bumper, which concentrates force in a small area unprotected by strong safety structures built into most new vehicles. Such crashes cause 25 percent of ...

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