Matthew Richmond is a researcher-reporter for FairWarning.
A once massive criminal case charging a conspiracy to deny workers compensation benefits to employees of a packaging plant in Salinas, Calif., ended Thursday on a decidedly minor note when two former managers were sentenced to 30 days in jail.
Two separate team of scientists have calculated a new estimate of the oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico since April 20, and even their most conservative estimate makes it the largest spill in U.S. history. According to their findings, between 504,000 and more than 1 million gallons of oil [...]
For years, safety officials have focused on E. coli; the bacteria has killed hundreds of people and caused the recall of millions of pounds of hamburger meat, spinach and other foods. But officials have typically zeroed in on one particular strain -- E. coli O157:H7. Now, health experts are starting [...]
Citing lax enforcement of clean air standards, the Environmental Protection Agency may take over air quality regulation in Texas, setting the stage for a battle over federal and state rights. The move comes a day after the EPA announced that it will issue the operating permit for an oil refinery in Corpus Christi [...]
Two popular weight loss pills will soon include warnings about possible severe liver damage. Alli, sold over-the-counter by GlaxoSmithKline, and the prescription version Xenical, manufactured by Roche, both use the same active ingredient, orlistat. The cases of liver damage are extremely rare. The Food and Drug Administration found 13 cases [...]
Under an auto safety bill passed by a House committee, automakers will have to take steps to prevent sudden acceleration and face a tougher National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The bill, created in response to Toyota's recall of more that 8.5 million vehicles, will also require black boxes in new [...]
The Food and Drug Administration is warning people who use a popular type of heartburn medicine that long-term use increases the risk of broken hips, wrists and spines. The medications, known as proton pump inhibitors, include the popular brands Prilosec, Prevacid and Nexium. They will now carry warning labels advising [...]
The death of a 19-year-old worker at an electronics plant in China on Tuesday has led to questions about the company's labor practices. This week's death, already ruled a suicide, makes a total of nine suicides this year at one of two factories owned by Foxconn Technology. The company has [...]
Evidence of negligence before the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig continues to surface in advance of Wednesday's House Energy and Commerce hearing about the cause of the blast. A worker for the rig's owner, Transocean, told Coast Guard investigators: "I overheard upper management talking saying that BP [...]
With a food safety bill likely to be introduced in Congress next month, a new report on herbal supplements is adding to the debate about regulation of this growing industry. The report, released Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office, found that almost all the herbal dietary supplements tested contained trace [...]
Public health officials are concerned about the new blood-borne pathogens making their way into the U.S. and onto the shelves at blood banks across the country. A parasite called babesiosis has been linked to 10 deaths from blood transfusions since 2006, and there is no way to test for it. [...]
After failing for more than a month to stop the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, BP is almost ready to try its next strategy. The company described on Tuesday a plan to plug the well with a mixture of heavy drilling liquids. The strategy, known as "top kill," [...]
A new study by British researchers has found that a dangerous bacterium can travel through the air, posing a new problem for medical personnel fighting hospital-acquired infections. The germ, Clostridium difficile, can cause fever, abdominal pain, nausea, severe diarrhea and sometimes a serious inflammation of the intestines. Researchers tested the [...]
The American Academy of Pediatrics is urging the federal government to require labeling on foods that are known choking hazards, similar to the labeling already required on toys, The New York Times reports. You have a SuperBall that by government regulation has to carry warnings telling people it’s a risk [...]
A study of gun-related deaths among kids found an equal rate of death between urban and rural youth. The analysis, published in the journal Pediatrics, found that gun murders were higher among urban youth but that a higher rate of accidental gun deaths in rural areas made up for the [...]