Consumer Reports finds worrisome levels of arsenic in rice products. The publication analyzed samples of roughly 60 rice products — from bulk rice to baby foods to instant cereals — and found that nearly all of them contained the inorganic form of arsenic that’s known to cause bladder, lung and skin cancers. Based on the latest findings and earlier research, Consumer Reports’ advocacy arm is calling on the Food and Drug Administration to set limits for arsenic in rice products and fruit juices. The magazine also urged consumers to limit their rice consumption. FDA testing also has found arsenic in rice, but the agency said it still is conducting its analysis and won’t issue a recommendation until late next year. Consumer Reports, FDA, The Washington Post
Japan backs off of goal to phase out nuclear power by 2040. In an abrupt turnabout, the Japanese government today stopped short of formally adopting the goal, which it announced just last week. The reversal came after intense opposition from business groups and communities that host the country’s nuclear power plants, which have warned that abandoning nuclear power will damage Japan’s economy. The result was that the cabinet endorsed only a vague promise to “engage in debate with local governments and international society and to gain public understanding” in deciding Japan’s economic future following the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Nuclear critics protested the move. The New York Times
Mexico gas pipeline explosion kills 26 workers. The blast and following fire, at a Pemex natural gas operation near the city of Reynosa in northeastern Mexico, also hurt 46 other employees. Mexican President Felipe Calderon credited emergency workers’ quick reaction with preventing the accident from being worse. He said federal prosecutors will carry out an exhaustive investigation. Pemex officials say all indications so far point to an accidental leak. It was the third blaze in about five weeks at state-run oil monopoly Pemex installations in the state of Tamaulipas, which borders Texas. Reuters, The Associated Press
Report predicts ballooning obesity rates. The report by Trust for America’s Health, an advocacy group whose research was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, projects that by 2030 more than half the people in the vast majority of states will be obese. Mississippi is expected to be the state with the worst problem, with its obesity rate rising from 35 percent now to 67 percent in 2030. Although the report didn’t calculate an overall national average, it projects that every state will have obesity rates above 44 percent by 2030. The Associated Press
Author blames “corporatization of health care” for mistakes that hurt or kill patients. That’s the view of Dr. Marty Makary, a cancer surgeon and researcher at Johns Hopkins University and author of the new book, “Unaccountable: What Hospitals Won’t Tell You and How Transparency Can Revolutionize Health Care.” In a question-and-answer interview, Makary said up to 30 percent of health care is unnecessary, and that 1 in 4 hospital patients is harmed by a mistake. He criticized financial incentives that put “increasing pressure on doctors to see more patients, prescribe more medications and do more procedures,” and noted that hospitals have fired doctors and nurses who speak up about shoddy practices. ProPublica
Recalls: Club Car golf cars and utility vehicles, H&M children’s water bottles, Fresh Selections Tender Spinach
Compiled by Stuart Silverstein
