Douglas Main

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April 8, 2025

RFK Jr. directs CDC to stop promoting fluoridation; EPA will re-assess practice

By Douglas Main

Citing health concerns, newly appointed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said this week that he will direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to stop recommending that states add fluoride to their water, and will convene a federal taskforce of independent health experts to study the health risks presented by the practice while establishing a new “optimal” level.

The comments came as Kennedy spoke alongside Lee Zeldin, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), at a news conference in Utah on Monday. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox finalized a law banning water fluoridation on March 21, a move that Kennedy praised.

“In the era of fluoridated toothpaste and mouthwash, it makes no sense to have fluoride in our water,” Kennedy said at the event. “The evidence against fluoride is overwhelming.”

The EPA said in a press release that it will “expeditiously review new scientific information on potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water.” In the release, Zeldin said when the review is completed, the agency will have “an updated foundational scientific evaluation” to inform its actions on the issue.

“Secretary Kennedy has long been at the forefront of this issue,” Zeldin said in the press release. “His advocacy was instrumental in our decision to review fluoride exposure risks.”

Though more than 70% of the US population receives fluoridated public water supplies and many medical professionals support the practice, opposition has been growing following the publication of several studies suggesting fluoride may have neurotoxic effects on fetuses and young children.

As Kennedy noted, there is an apparent linear relationship between fluoride exposure and IQ loss, according to the most exhaustive meta-analysis of data on the topic, performed by government scientists and published in January in JAMA Pediatrics.

April 4, 2025

Analysis raises concerns about potential misuse of atrazine weedkiller in US Midwest

By Douglas Main

Corn growers across Midwestern states appear to be flouting regulations aimed at protecting important waterways from contamination with toxic atrazine weedkiller, according to an analysis of satellite imagery and field data that comes as US regulators ponder changes to rules for use of the pesticide.

The analysis, which was conducted by an agricultural industry consultant in Illinois and shared with The New Lede, found what could potentially be thousands of violations by farmers in Illinois and neighboring states. The analysis honed in on geographic points where farm fields planted by corn growers are seen closely abutting waterways, and assumes that farmers sprayed their crops with atrazine, a common practice in the US Midwest.

Though it could not be determined if atrazine was used on the fields, the chemical is applied to the majority of corn acres in the state, and the satellite images show clear pathways for the flow of farm chemicals off the fields and into waters. Critics say the information exposes critical problems with current regulation of atrazine, which is known to pose an array of health risks to humans and animals and is considered a dangerous water contaminant.

The images and supporting data from the analysis were submitted this week to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), which also obtained the information from the consultant, who wishes to remain anonymous.

Though the analysis identified areas of concern in multiple states, it focuses on Illinois, the nation’s No. 2 corn-producing state. In just three counties of Illinois, and along key lakes that provide drinking water for the state, the analysis shows nearly 1,000 parcels of land where farmers planted corn and soybeans right up against rivers and streams and lakes, within required buffer zones where spraying atrazine is not allowed. (Farmers in the Midwest typically rotate planting corn and soy.)

A satellite image shows surface runoff from an Illinois farm field channeling into gullies and flowing into a stream, one of the areas where it would be improper to spray atrazine.
Overall, there were more than 1,420 individual sites on the parcels of land where cropped area was less than the required 66 feet from the nexus where runoff enters streams or rivers, according to the analysis. There were more than 100 parcels with crops planted closer than the 200-foot margin required as a no-spray zone along the edges of drinking water lakes and reservoirs. These buffer zones, or setbacks, are spelled out on atrazine’s label.

April 3, 2025

“Plastics addiction” is killing us, experts say, but hope remains

By Douglas Main

Plastics are negatively impacting our health in shocking ways, with the problem growing worse over time amid lax government regulations, a group of scientists and policy experts warned on Thursday.

“We have, I think, a plastics addiction,” said Shanna Swan, a professor and epidemiologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, said in a livestreamed conference hosted by Moms Clean Air Force.

“The regulatory system is broken, in the way it fails to protect us,” Swan said.

Plastic contamination harms everybody, the panelists said: Microplastics have been found in human organs, plastics additives are linked to heart disease and death, and air pollution from manufacturing causes respiratory illness and contributes to climate change. These issues are all particularly urgent now as the Trump Administration slashes rules and agencies meant to protect people from plastic-associated air and water pollution.

US Rep. Summer Lee, a Democrat from western Pennsylvania who spoke at the event, announced the launch of an environmental justice caucus in Congress that will aim to address harms caused by plastics manufacturing and pursue solutions.

During the conference, leaders from various fields said key challenges include accurately communicating the science showing harm to the public, getting money and political influence from fossil fuel companies out of politics, and electing leaders who act in the interest of public health.

March 28, 2025

Utah becomes first state to ban water fluoridation

By Douglas Main

Utah has become the first US state to ban the decades-old practice of adding fluoride to public water supplies.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed the new law on Thursday, prohibiting fluoridation starting May 7. The move comes amid growing scrutiny of the practice, which started in the 1940s as a strategy to help people prevent cavities and reduce tooth decay.

Though more than 70% of the US population receives fluoridated public water supplies and many medical professionals support the practice, opposition has been growing due to studies suggesting fluoride may have neurotoxic effects on fetuses and young children.

Newly appointed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been calling for an end to fluoridation in public drinking water for years.

Some professional bodies remain ardent supporters of the practice, however. The American Dental Association issued a statement on Friday accusing Utah lawmakers and the governor of showing “wanton disregard for the oral health and well-being” of state residents.

March 25, 2025

Chewing gum releases microplastics into saliva, study finds

By Douglas Main

Chewing gum made from either synthetic polymers or tree-based resins sheds significant quantities of tiny plastic particles into saliva, according to a study currently undergoing peer review that was presented Tuesday at a meeting of the American Chemical Society.

Researchers found that chewing gum, on average, releases over 600 particles of microplastics per gram, with the average stick of gum weighing between two and six grams, according to the study, in which researchers chewed 10 different types of leading gum brands and then sampled their saliva at various time points.

“We need to be aware that these gums are releasing plastics into our body,” said Sanjay Mohanty, study co-author, a professor at University of California Los Angeles.

Synthetic gum is made up of plastic polymers, a fact that most people are not aware of, said study lead author Lisa Lowe, a graduate student in Mohanty’s lab. It didn’t come as a shock to the researchers, then, that gum released microplastics.

The scientists were surprised, however, that “natural” gums that use plant resins as a base had similar levels of microplastics, which must be getting there somehow during the manufacturing process, they said.

March 19, 2025

US baby formulas often contain contaminants, study finds

By Douglas Main

A new investigation that tested 41 types of powdered baby formula sold in the US found that about half of the products contained concerning levels of contaminants, including lead, arsenic, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), bisphenol A (BPA) and acrylamide.

“Millions of parents rely on infant formula during the first important months of their babies’ lives and deserve access to safe, healthy and nutritious products,” said James Rogers, director of product safety testing at Consumer Reports, the nonprofit organization that performed the investigation, in a statement.

Apparently in response to the report, the FDA announced Tuesday that the agency would be “taking steps to enhance its efforts to ensure the ongoing quality, safety, nutritional adequacy, and resilience of the domestic infant formula supply.”

“The FDA will use all resources and authorities at its disposal to make sure infant formula products are safe and wholesome for the families and children who rely on them,” said Health and Human Services secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., in the statement.

That announcement follows the Trump administration’s recent decision to disband two food safety advisory committees that provided scientific advice and recommendations to the FDA and other federal agencies. One of the committees, the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF), had been preparing to release a report prompted by a bacterial outbreak in powdered infant formula from September 2021 to February 2022, with recommendations on how to avoid future outbreaks.

Arsenic, a carcinogen, was one of the contaminants most commonly found in the products tested by Consumer Reports. The investigation found the highest inorganic arsenic level in Abbott Nutrition’s EleCare Hypoallergenic, at 19.7 parts per billion (ppb), and the second highest in Similac Alimentum at 15.1 ppb, also made by Abbott, one of the top companies in the infant formula market.

March 13, 2025

Judge orders wildlife service to do more to protect imperiled species from pesticides

By Douglas Main

A federal judge ruled late Wednesday that the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) must finish assessing the impact of five pesticides on endangered and threatened species, and that the agency had violated federal law with its “unreasonable” delay in completing the required analyses.

The five chemicals include the weed killers atrazine and simazine, and the insecticides chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and carbaryl.

The ruling ought to force the Trump administration to “protect imperiled wildlife from harms caused by pesticides,” said Jonathan Evans, environmental health legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity, which brought the suit.

“We’re glad the court found the federal government still has to follow the law,” including the Endangered Species Act (ESA), to protect imperiled wildlife, Evans said.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has completed initial evaluations for all the chemicals, finding that they present serious risks to threatened and endangered species. For example, the EPA concluded that chlorpyrifos is “likely to adversely affect” 1,778 threatened or endangered plants and animals, a whopping 97% of all protected wildlife.

The EPA likewise reported that diazinon is likely to harm 78% of these species; carbaryl, 91%; and atrazine and simazine, 56% and 55%, respectively.

March 4, 2025

Unregulated flame retardants can break down into toxic byproducts, study shows

By Douglas Main

New research shows that two unregulated and widely used flame retardants found in many electronic devices and touted by industry as non-toxic break down into harmful molecules that can pose a health risk to fish and potentially other creatures, including humans.

The chemicals in question, large molecules called polymers, have largely escaped regulation as industry has argued that the materials are unlikely to degrade or make their way into living creatures. Many are even marketed as non-hazardous or environmentally friendly.

But a study published Monday in the journal Nature Sustainability found evidence suggesting that is not true. Researchers reported finding dozens of smaller molecules caused by the breakdown of polymeric flame retardants in soil, dust, and air outside electronic waste recycling facilities in southern China. The scientists exposed zebrafish — commonly used in initial toxicity tests — to the chemicals and found that they caused metabolic dysfunction and showed the potential for development harm.

“Our study suggests polymers can act as a trojan horse for toxic chemicals,” Da Chen, senior author and scientist at Jinan University in China. “They are added to products as inert large molecules, but over time they can degrade, exposing us to their harmful breakdown products.”

In recent years, polymeric flame retardants have been used to replace smaller, toxic molecules, such as chemicals called HBCD and PBDE, which have been partially phased out due to safety concerns.

Most polymers, including all such flame retardants, are considered exempt from major regulations meant to protect humans. But the new research shows regulation is needed, said Arlene Blum, co-author of the study and a research associate at the University of California, Berkeley. Blum also serves as executive director of the Green Science Policy Institute.

February 27, 2025

Over-planting of GM corn costing farmers billions, study finds

By Douglas Main

A new study adds to evidence that farmers in the US corn belt have over-planted a type of genetically modified (GM) corn, leading to estimated losses of more than $1 billion as the pests the corn was designed to repel have grown resistant over time.

The authors of the paper, published Thursday in the journal Science, said their findings supported a move toward a “more diversified” seed supply.

Known as Bt corn because it contains up to five toxins produced by a bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis, the specialty corn is designed to express proteins that make the plant toxic to certain pests, including corn rootworm. More than 85% of corn planted in the US is the Bt variety, to which various insect pests are becoming resistant.

After examining rootworm crop damage data from 10 states over the period 2005-2016, the researchers determined that many farmers planted more GM corn than was considered necessary to address pest problems. Bt seeds typically carry a significant price premium.

The scientists found that planting Bt corn in certain eastern Corn Belt states provided “only marginal yield protection benefits,” benefits that appear to often be eclipsed by the higher costs for GM seed versus non-GM seed.

February 26, 2025

New data show widespread chemical contamination of drinking water

By Douglas Main

A newly released trove of data reveals widespread pollution of US tap water with more than 320 chemical contaminants, including industrial chemicals and farm-related pollutants.

The latest information is part of a tap water database, created by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), and incorporates information from nearly 50,000 water systems collected between 2021 and 2023.

Though few chemicals were found exceeding the federal government’s legally mandated maximum contaminant level (or MCL), almost all US water systems nation-wide contained at least one contaminant at levels that surpassed the health guidelines developed by EWG that are based on scientific research of the harms associated with the various contaminants.

“This is a wake-up call,” said Tasha Stoiber, an EWG senior scientist. “Outdated federal regulations continue to leave millions of people at risk of exposure to harmful substances.”

Among the chemicals commonly detected were per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as forever chemicals, which were found in the water of at least 143 million Americans. Nitrates, a common waste product from farming operations linked to colorectal cancer and thyroid disease, were also commonly detected as well as disinfection byproducts caused by using chlorine.

Many of these disinfection byproducts — including chemicals called trihalomethanes, chloroform, haloacetic acids, and more — showed up in tens of thousands of water systems at concentrations far above what many health scientists consider safe.