News

April 14, 2025

US butterfly population in peril, declined 22% in two decades

By Olivia Cohen, The Gazette

As coordinator of the Iowa Butterfly Monitoring Network, Nathan Brockman was not surprised at recent headlines showing butterfly population numbers across the country in steep decline.

From 2000 to 2020, butterfly populations fell by 22% across about 554 species, a group of 33 authors from nonprofits, universities, and state and federal agencies recently reported. Habitat loss, a warming climate and chemical use in agriculture are among the factors.

Brockman, who was not involved in the study, estimates that the number of butterfly species found in Iowa today is around 110, down from about 125 when he counted two decades prior.

“Decline in insects is something we’ve known for a while,” he said. “That’s what I’ve seen, without even sitting down looking at the data.”

Although the researchers found that at the species level some butterfly populations increased, 13 times more species declined than increased in population between 2000 and 2020. The research also found that two-thirds of the species examined showed declines of 10% or more. Abundance of some species shrunk by up to 95%.

The researchers pulled data from more than 76,000 surveys, using 12.6 million records of individual butterflies from different monitoring programs across the country.

“I think that widespread declines are really concerning and probably indicative that other things besides butterflies are also declining,” said Elise Zipkin, director of the Ecology, Evolution and Behavior program at Michigan State University.

April 10, 2025

Thousands of US water systems show dangerous levels of cancer-causing chemicals

By Carey Gillam

Millions of people across the United States could be drinking water contaminated with dangerous levels of substances created when utilities disinfect water tainted with animal manure and other pollutants, according to a report released Thursday.

An analysis of testing results from community water systems in 49 states found that nearly 6,000 such systems serving 122 million people recorded an unsafe level of chemicals known as trihalomethanes at least once during testing from 2019 to 2023.

The chemicals are byproducts created when chlorine or other disinfectants used by water systems interact with organic matter, such as decaying leaves, vegetation, human or animal waste and other substances. One or more of these chemicals – chloroform, bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane, and bromoform – have been linked to various human health risks, including cancers. As a result, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set a maximum allowable annual average level of 80 parts per billion (ppb) for what the agency calls “total trihalomethanes” or TTHMs. The rule, which applies to public water systems, has been in place for more than two decades.

Texas water systems had the highest prevalence of water systems with unsafe levels of TTHMs, with more than 700 such systems serving over 8.6 million people reporting the contaminants above the EPA’s 80 ppb, according to the report issued April 10 by the Environmental Working Group (EWG).

New York, Oklahoma, California and Illinois followed Texas with hundreds of water systems in each of those states showing higher-than-allowed levels of TTHMs during the testing period, the EWG report found. More than 64.5 million people are served by 3,170 systems in the ten states that had the most violations.

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

Amid EPA upheaval, states fear losing strong federal limits on PFAS in drinking water

By Shannon Kelleher

With the looming possibility that the Trump administration could reduce federal limits on toxic PFAS chemicals in drinking water, public health advocates are warning that people across the country would suffer.

Concerns for the future of the federal limits come amid ongoing litigation over the federal limits on six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water. A 60-day stay on the litigation granted in February ends Tuesday, after which the Trump administration could seek to make changes to the standards, which were put into place a year ago under the Biden administration.

The Biden-era rule requires public water systems to complete initial monitoring for the PFAS chemicals by 2027, and to implement technologies for reducing PFAS in their water by 2029 if levels exceed the limit.

The nation’s first legally enforceable limits for PFAS in drinking water include limits of 4 parts per trillion (ppt) for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). PFOA has been classified as carcinogenic and PFOS has been classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans by an international cancer research group.

The rule has drawn widespread opposition from public utilities, which could face substantial costs for implementing new technologies, and penalties for failing to do so.

The American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) sued the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last June contending that the EPA broke the law when it established the limits.

The groups argue that the agency violated the Safe Drinking Water Act by cutting the rulemaking process short and failed to consider critical data.

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 31, 2025

PFAS found in household dust near North Carolina chemical plant

By Shannon Kelleher

Residues of harmful industrial chemicals, including some phased out of production 20 years ago, have been found in household dust in research that shows exposure risks go beyond contaminated food and water, according to a study published Monday.

The study analyzed kitchen dust collected in 2019 from 65 households in an area of North Carolina near a plant owned by DuPont spin-off company Chemours, looking for 48 types of toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The researchers identified at least one type of PFAS in every sample, with higher concentrations of the chemicals in homes located closer to the facility.

Twelve of the PFAS chemicals the researchers detected were per- and polyfluoroalkyl ether acids [PFEAs], a subset of PFAS chemicals had previously been found in the plant’s air emissions or wastewater. All were detected at least once in the dust samples, with seven found in more than three-quarters of all samples. The researchers also found high levels of PFAS chemicals not necessarily linked to the plant in over 90% of samples.

“The detection of PFEAs [per- and polyfluoroalkyl ether acids, a subset of PFAS chemicals] in residential dust is important considering growing evidence of PFEA toxicity,” the authors wrote in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. “Our findings demonstrate the need for more rigorous exposure monitoring of dust in homes in PFAS impacted communities and more work to identify sources of ultrashort chain PFAS.”

Out of the 65 households, nine reported having at least one participant who had ever worked at the nearby chemical plant, the researchers said.

March 30, 2025

Federal hearing to take up hotly debated issue of wetlands protections

By Shannon Kelleher

In a court hearing that could have implications for the fate of federal protections for US wetlands, lawyers for an Iowa farmland owner will face off on Monday against the federal government and environmental advocates over the constitutionality of the Farm Bill’s hotly debated “Swampbuster” law.

The hearing in the case pits CTM Holdings LLC against the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and several organizations that intervened in the case in support of USDA, and addresses a provision of the US Farm Bill dealing with wetlands management.

First introduced by Congress in 1985 after more than half of all US wetlands had been drained or filled, the provision prohibits farmers from using designated wetlands on their property if they want to be eligible for crop insurance subsidies, farm loans and other federal benefits.

The measures aims to prevent farmers from draining, filling in or otherwise altering wetlands, which provide critical habitats for fish and waterfowl, help mitigate flooding and sequester carbon. The provision currently protects about three-quarters of remaining wetlands in the contiguous US – at least 78 million acres.

CTM and supporting organizations are challenging Swampbuster, arguing that the provision violates farmers’ Fifth Amendment rights because it amounts to a taking of private property without just compensation and exceeds the federal government’s authority.

CTM owns a 71-acre parcel of land that includes 9 acres deemed wetlands by the government, but argues that the land in question is dry and not connected to any water source. Regardless, CTM is not allowed to farm the land in question without putting USDA benefits at risk, the plaintiffs argue.

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.