News

January 8, 2025

Scientists issue “call to arms” to protect children’s health from chemicals causing disease

By Carey Gillam

Children are suffering and dying from diseases that emerging scientific research links to chemical exposures, findings that require urgent revamping of laws around the world, according to a new paper published on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

Authored by more than 20 leading public health researchers, including one from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and another from the United Nations, the paper lays out “a large body of evidence” linking multiple childhood diseases to synthetic chemicals, and recommends a series of aggressive actions to try to better protect children.

The paper is a “call to arms,” to forge an “actual commitment to the health of our children,” said Linda Birnbaum, former director of the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and a co-author of the paper.

In conjunction with the release of the paper, some of the study authors are helping launch an Institute for Preventive Health to support the recommendations outlined in the paper and to help fund implementation of reforms. A key player in launching the institute is Robertson Stephens Wealth Management Vice President Anne Robertson, who is a member of the family that built RJ Reynolds Tobacco.

The paper points to data showing global inventories of roughly 350,000 synthetic chemicals, chemical mixtures and plastics, most of which are derived from fossil fuels. Production has expanded 50-fold since 1950, and is currently increasing by about 3% per year – projected to triple by 2050, the paper states.

Meanwhile, noncommunicable diseases, including many that research shows can be caused by synthetic chemicals, are rising in children and have become the principal cause of death and illness for children, the authors write.

Despite the connections, which the authors say “continue to be discovered with distressing frequency,” there are very few restrictions on such chemicals and no post-market surveillance for longer-term adverse health effects.

“The evidence is so overwhelming and the effects of manufactured chemicals are so disruptive for children, that inaction is no longer an option,” said Daniele Mandrioli, a co-author of the paper and director of the Cesare Maltoni Cancer Research Center at the Ramazzini Institute in Italy. “Our article highlights the necessity for a paradigm shift in chemical testing and regulations to safeguard children’s health.”

January 6, 2025

Fluorinated drugs, a type of PFAS, widely contaminating US drinking water

By Douglas Main

New research suggests that fluorinated pharmaceuticals — a category that includes well-known medications such as Prozac and Flonase — are showing up in the water supply of millions of people. These drugs and their breakdown products are technically classified as being per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals,” which as a chemical class is the subject of worldwide health concern.

A study published January 6 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that the bulk of PFAS entering and exiting wastewater treatment plants is made up of these fluorinated drugs. Notably, the researchers determined that the pharmaceuticals were largely not removed from the water by conventional wastewater treatment practices.

This pharmaceutical material “doesn’t get treated in the wastewater treatment plant, and it doesn’t break down,” said Bridger Ruyle, study co-author and researcher at New York University. “And we know [these chemicals] can be re-entering drinking water supplies.”

The study estimates that this material contaminates the water supply of around 23 million Americans, Ruyle said.

These drugs enter wastewater after being excreted by people. About 50% of drinking water utilities are located downstream of a wastewater outflow plant and regularly use varying amounts of this water.

A slight majority of this material was made up of only four drugs and one of their metabolites: the arthritis medication Celecoxib (Celebrex); flecainide (Tambocor), prescribed for arrhythmia; maraviroc (Selzentry), and one of its metabolites, used to treat HIV; and sitaglipt (Januvia), a diabetes drug.

“We don’t know that much about what the exposures or health risks are” for those drinking small concentrations of this material, Ruyle said.

January 6, 2025

Landmark study affirms fluoride’s link to lowered IQ, adds to debate

By Douglas Main

Fluoride exposure is consistently linked with lowered IQ, according to a landmark analysis of more than 70 published studies on the subject.

The paper, published January 6 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics and authored by scientists with the National Institutes of Health, found a significant inverse relationship between measures of fluoride exposure and IQ in 64 of 74 studies.

The study, the largest meta-analysis of its kind, found that those exposed to high levels of fluoride have measurably lower IQs, equivalent to a difference of nearly 7 IQ points, compared to those in the low fluoride groups. This conclusion came from 59 studies that looked at levels higher than those used in water fluoridation.

The study found the link between fluoride and IQ loss persisted even at low levels of fluoride, as measured in human urine samples.

The meta-analysis is an offshoot of the National Toxicology Program’s investigation into fluoride’s likely impact on neurodevelopment and cognition, published in August 2024, and comes at a time of heightened scrutiny of, and debate over, the practice of fluoridation of public drinking water.

In a seven-year-long court case that wrapped up in September 2024, US District Judge Edward Chen of the Northern District of California, ordered the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take regulatory action to eliminate the “unreasonable risk” that water fluoridation presents. The fluoridation of water at 0.7 ppm “poses an unreasonable risk of reduced IQ in children,” Chen wrote in his decision.

Many researchers are sharply divided over the issue, however.

December 23, 2024

Tribunal says Mexico violated trade agreement in banning GM corn

By Douglas Main

An international tribunal set up to resolve disputes between the United States, Mexico, and Canada has ruled that Mexico violated the terms of the international trade agreement in banning the import of genetically modified (GM) corn for human consumption.

The decision, handed down by a commission set up under the auspices of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), was criticized by over a dozen civil and environmental groups, who argue that Mexico is well within its rights to restrict the import of this material for health precautions and others reasons.

Mexico has argued that it needs to ban GM corn to protect its citizens and the environment. Earlier this year, it filed a 189-page document with the tribunal outlining what it sees as the risks posed by GM corn and glyphosate.

“Mexico has legitimate concerns about the safety and innocuousness of genetically modified corn… and its indissoluble relationship with its technological package that includes glyphosate,” the Mexican government’s report states. There is “clear scientific evidence of the harmful effects of direct consumption of GM corn grain in corn flour, dough, tortilla and related products,” Mexico stated. More evidence is needed, Mexico says, to determine “whether and to what extent, such risks are transmitted to food products further downstream.”

The Mexican government said in a statement it would comply with the ruling. “The Government of Mexico does not share the panel’s determination, as it considers that the measures in question are in line with the principles of protection of public health and the rights of indigenous peoples, established in national legislation and in the international treaties to which it is a party.”

Genetically modified corn is used by most US growers; companies have engineered the crop to be toxic to certain insects and to tolerate being sprayed with certain herbicides. Corn, and products made with corn, have often been found to be contaminated with glyphosate, one of the active ingredients in Roundup weed killer, for instance, because farmers can spray the pesticide directly over the growing crop to kill surrounding weeds.

The U.S. has not done or commissioned the research necessary to really determine if GM corn has long-term effects on human health, said Chuck Benbrook, a long-time consultant and expert who worked with Friends of the Earth in defending the Mexican position. “The US government never did [an] appropriate risk assessment of GM corn, period,” he said.

December 19, 2024

Boosting LNG exports would harm people and the planet, DOE report concludes

By Shannon Kelleher

The US Department of Energy (DOE) this week released a report that concludes a rise in exports from the booming natural gas industry would lead to greater global fossil fuel emissions, expose already-vulnerable communities to more pollution and raise gas prices for consumers.

The publication “reinforces that a business as-usual approach is neither sustainable nor advisable,” said US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm in a statement.

“Unfettered” liquified natural gas (LNG) exports would increase the price of wholesale natural gas in the US by over 30%, said Granholm, impacting households, farmers and industry. The study also concluded that current US LNG exports are “already more than enough to meet global demand,” she said, and that while LNG has been suggested as an alternative to coal for some countries, the study “shows a world in which additional US LNG exports displace more renewables than coal globally.”

The report, published Dec. 17, comes after the Biden administration last January announced a pause on pending applications for facilities that export liquified natural gas (LNG) while the DOE reviewed the approval process, citing climate change considerations. In September, more than 125 scientists signed a letter addressed to Granholm and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, warning that the increase in natural gas production threatens to worsen climate change and jeopardize public health and the environment.

“Our hope is that we can now assess the future of natural gas exports based on the facts and ensure authorizations are reviewed in a manner that truly advances the public interest of all the American people,” said Granholm. “Special scrutiny needs to be applied toward very large LNG projects,” she added, noting that a project that exports 4 billion cubic feet of LNG per day would singlehandedly emit more climate-warming greenhouse gases than almost three-quarters of the world’s countries each did in 2023.

December 18, 2024

Montana Supreme Court upholds historic youth climate lawsuit win

By Dana Drugmand

The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a trial court ruling in a youth-led case against the Montana state government, affirming that the sixteen young plaintiffs have a right to a “stable climate system.” The decision marks what legal observers say is a landmark achievement in US climate litigation that is likely to inspire more lawsuits seeking to hold governments accountable for climate change harms in the US and around the world.

In the 6-1 decision, the court ruled against the state in its appeal of the August 2023 verdict in Held et al. v. State of Montana, which went to trial in June 2023. Seeley found that a pair of state laws effectively shielding fossil fuel projects from public scrutiny over their climate impacts, and from judicial review of those impacts under the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), violate the state’s constitution, including the right to a clean and healthful environment. That environmental right includes the climate system, the court determined, and every additional ton of greenhouse gases emitted from fossil fuels – including from projects like coal mine expansion authorized by Montana regulatory agencies – exacerbates climate change damages and harms to Montana’s environment and the youth plaintiffs.

“This is a monumental moment for Montana, our youth, and the future of our planet,” Nate Bellinger, lead counsel for plaintiffs and a senior attorney with the nonprofit law firm Our Children’s Trust, said in a statement. “Today, the Montana Supreme Court has affirmed the constitutional rights of youth to a safe and livable climate, confirming that the future of our children cannot be sacrificed for fossil fuel interests.”

“This ruling is a victory not just for us, but for every young person whose future is threatened by climate change,” said lead plaintiff Rikki Held.

December 18, 2024

Beware the air you breathe – more evidence links microplastics to health problems

By Carey Gillam

People diagnosed with infertility and certain cancers may have to blame the very air they breathe, according to a new report that adds to evidence that tiny plastic particles in air pollution and other environmental sources could be causing these and other diseases and illnesses.

Researchers at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) said they reviewed approximately 3,000 studies in determining that exposure to microplastics – plastic particles less than 5 millimeters – may be causing a host of health problems in people, including colon cancer; chronic pulmonary inflammation, which can increase the risk of lung cancer; and infertility issues in both men and women.

The paper was published Wednesday in the Environmental Science & Technology journal.

“We urge regulatory agencies and policy leaders to consider the growing evidence of health harms from microplastics, including colon and lung cancer,” study lead author Nicholas Chartres said in a statement. Chartres, formerly with the UCSF Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, is now with the University of Sydney.

The study expands on a 2023 collaboration between the research team and other experts aimed at informing state lawmakers.

Microplastics are increasingly drawing concerns from public and environmental health scientists as evidence builds showing they’ve become essentially ubiquitous, found in air, water, food, and within human tissues. One recent study that has not been peer reviewed found particularly concerning accumulation of microplastics in brain samples. The microplastics in air pollution can come from many sources, including tires and degrading garbage that shed tiny pieces of plastic into the air.

December 17, 2024

EPA must tighten pesticide rules to protect pollinators like bees and butterflies, petition argues

By Douglas Main

US regulators should require pesticide makers to more thoroughly tests their products for toxicity to insects before approval, according to a petition submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday by an environmental advocacy group.

Most pesticides registered for use in the US have not been rigorously tested for their impacts on insects other than honeybees, a single non-native species. Scientists and conservationists have argued for years that this system fails to protect pollinators and underestimates the toll of pesticides on these animals, which is especially relevant given the decline of many insect species worldwide.

The EPA only requires that manufacturers perform, at a minimum, three narrow tests on adult bees to study a chemical’s toxicity on insects.

“They’re not an appropriate surrogate for the other 4,000 wild species we have in North America, nor are they a surrogate for other pollinators like moths and butterflies,” said Rosemary Malfi with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

The petition was filed on behalf of Xerces by the environmental law group Earthjustice.

Many of proposed changes come directly from EPA experts or academics invited to advise the agency.

“They’re not following their own recommendations,” Malfi said.

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December 17, 2024

Regulators battle Oregon and Washington farmers over limits to farm pollution

By Keith Schneider

SUNNYSIDE, Washington – Waters from the snowpack of the Cascade Mountains support orchards, vineyards and dairies here in the Yakima Valley of eastern Washington State, boosting a flourishing farm economy and helping to stock store grocery shelves nationwide.

But as the waters flow, so do a host of dangerous farm pollutants, contaminating drinking water wells in the valley and through the adjacent Lower Umatilla Basin across the state line in Oregon.

Regulators and citizen groups have been pressing crop and livestock producers for years to document and rein in the pollution, tightening restrictions on some of the nation’s largest dairies, and bringing litigation against several seen out of compliance.

The actions put both Washington and Oregon among a growing number of US states leading a controversial national campaign to make agriculture more accountable for its mammoth wastes.

“There is a lot of new energy around this problem,” said Salini Sasidharan, assistant professor of groundwater management at Oregon State University. “A lot of investment is being made. There’s momentum here to make a real difference.”

But progress is slow and results are mixed. And farmers are fighting back, saying that they’re doing their best to balance environmental protection and business needs, and the crackdown on their business threatens not just their livelihoods, but also potentially the abundance of the country’s food supply.

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December 16, 2024

Scientists call on federal regulators to rid US agencies of corporate influence

By Shannon Kelleher

Scientists are calling for the incoming Trump administration to adopt a set of guidelines designed to ensure scientific integrity at federal agencies and loosen corporate influence on regulators charged with protecting Americans’ health.

The recommendations, published Dec. 16, state that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other agencies must eliminate financial and political conflicts of interest from environmental health research, halt industry influence on advisory boards and use the best available science to identify the health risks of toxic chemicals, which are contributing to the rise in chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes.

Conflicts of interest that undermine the scientific process have resulted in “weakened chemical regulations, increased exposure to harmful chemicals, and greater risks to the health of families, workers, and communities,” the authors concluded.

“Our recommendations will not only strengthen the scientific frameworks of regulatory agencies but also enhance their ability to identify and mitigate toxic chemical exposures, protecting the health of all people who live in the US – especially those who are most susceptible to harm,” Rashmi Joglekar, director of science and policy at the University of California San Francisco Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment (PRHE), said in a press release. PRHE issued the guidelines.

The proposal has been endorsed by at least 48 scientists and public health experts and14 health and environmental organizations. Longer recommendations will be available in early January, said a spokesperson for PRHE.

The EPA and FDA said they plan to review the guidelines.