By Dan Ross on December 14, 2017
In the early 1900s, a young dentist named Frederick McKay moved to a Colorado town where the residents’ teeth — though in some cases stained chocolate brown — had far less decay than was typical back then. He and other researchers eventually linked the phenomenon to fluoride in the town’s drinking water – a eureka moment that would usher in what is often called one of the 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century.
Posted in FairWarning Investigates | Tagged Consumer Protection, Drinking Water, Environmental Safety and Health |
By Paul Feldman on October 16, 2017
Scientists have known for decades that drinking water contaminated by fertilizer nitrates can pose a threat to infants by undermining the ability of their blood to carry oxygen. The condition, known as ‘blue baby syndrome,” led federal regulators to impose an environmental standard of no more than 10 parts per million, or ppm, for nitrates in…
Posted in FairWarning Reports | Tagged Consumer Protection, Drinking Water |
By Dan Ross on July 25, 2017
Want to know what hazards might be lurking in your local water supply? An updated online database launched today by the Environmental Working Group, a research and advocacy organization, provides some answers. The online resource is known as the EWG’s Tap Water Database. It lists contaminants as well as their levels and likely sources, and…
Posted in FairWarning Reports | Tagged Consumer Protection, Drinking Water, Environmental Safety and Health |
By Dan Ross on February 28, 2017
At toxic cleanup sites across the country, environmental agencies have allowed groundwater contamination to go untreated and slowly diminish over time—a strategy that saves money for polluters but could cost taxpayers dearly and jeopardize drinking water supplies. The strategy is called monitored natural attenuation, or MNA. With little public awareness or debate, it has come…
Posted in FairWarning Investigates | Tagged Air Pollution/Toxic Exposure, Drinking Water, Environmental Safety and Health |
By Brian Joseph on September 22, 2015
See update at bottom of story. With the threat of antibiotic-resistant germs on the rise, California Gov. Jerry Brown is poised to sign tough restrictions on administering antibiotics to livestock. Some public health experts contend that the overuse of antibiotics in cattle, pigs and other farm animals has contributed to the worldwide spread of bacteria…
Posted in FairWarning Reports | Tagged Drinking Water, Environmental Safety and Health, Pharmaceutical Industry and Drugs |
By Bridget Huber on May 30, 2013
Large livestock farms, which can generate as much waste as people in a large city, have been growing in size and number for the last 30 years. In many areas, they pose a serious threat to water supplies.
Posted in FairWarning Investigates | Tagged Drinking Water, Environmental Safety and Health |
By Bridget Huber on February 27, 2013
Chlorine is used to kill bacteria in drinking water, but with the unintended consequence of creating chemical byproducts that may raise the risk of cancer.
Posted in FairWarning Reports | Tagged Drinking Water |
on October 14, 2011
A Houston-based oil and gas drilling contractor, Integrated Production Services, has pleaded guilty to a negligent violation of the Clean Water Act and has agreed to pay penalties totaling $162,000 to federal and state agencies. The case stemmed from the spilling of 400 to 700 gallons of hydrochloric acid — a chemical used in the controversial…
Posted in Warning Wire | Tagged Drinking Water, Environmental Safety and Health |
on October 14, 2011
More communities are ending the practice of adding fluoride to the water supply, prompted by local government budget squeezes and growing skepticism about the health benefits. As The New York Times reports, Pinellas County on Florida’s west coast voted to stop its seven-year-old fluoridation program. The county joins about 200 jurisdictions from Georgia to Alaska…
Posted in Warning Wire | Tagged Drinking Water, Environmental Safety and Health |
on October 7, 2011
More than 250 doctors, nurses and environmental groups are calling for New York State officials to study the public health consequences of drilling for natural gas using the controversial technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. As ProPublica reports, the health and environnmental advocates want the state to identify the hazards and propose steps to…
Posted in Warning Wire | Tagged Drinking Water, Environmental Safety and Health |
