Public Health/Safety

Why Cancer's Gaining on Us

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:29:19 -0400

by Rita Arditti

For all the pink ribbons, breast-cancer awareness events, fund-raisers, and celebrations of "survivorship," the facts remain grim. In this country, a woman's lifetime risk of breast cancer is one in eight. In 1975, the risk was about one in 11.

A Rescue Package for Working Women

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:18:44 -0400

by Ellen Bravo

Wall Street tycoons behave irresponsibly, bring the country to financial brink, hold out their hands for an eleven-figure bailout -- and lobbyists applaud that as a rescue.

Women achieve daily miracles fulfilling responsibilities to their employers and their families, ask for modest protections so they won't be fired for having a sick kid -- and lobbyists denounce that as mandates.

What's wrong with this picture?

Chemical Industry Wrote FDA’s Glowing Assessment of BPA

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:15:53 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 23, 2008

Environmental Working Group (EWG)

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported today that internal documents from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) show that an agency task force assessment of the toxic plastics chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) "was written largely by the plastics industry and others with a financial stake in the controversial chemical."

New Study Shows Washington, DC, Murder Rate Is a Public Health Threat

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:11:47 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 23, 2008

Public Citizen

Violent deaths among blacks in the nation's capital have become a public health epidemic, with murder ranking as the leading cause of years of potential life lost for black men in Washington, D.C., according to a study released today by Public Citizen.

Predatory Scapegoating

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:05:17 -0400

by Patricia J. Williams

Some three weeks before New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was forced to resign his office in disgrace (sex! scandal! floozies!), he published an op-ed in the Washington Post. Titled "Predatory Lenders' Partner in Crime: How the Bush Administration Stopped the States From Stepping In to Help Consumers," the piece expressed Spitzer's concern that for several years there had been a marked increase in predatory lending practices, including distortion of terms, surprise balloon payments, hidden fees and deceptive "teaser" rates.

Brits Get Treats, Americans Get Tricks From Food Companies, Says Nutrition Action Healthletter

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:00:04 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 22, 2008

Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)

British consumers enjoy products made by General Mills, Kellogg, Kraft and McDonald's that are free of synthetic food dyes, but American customers lack such royal treatment, according to the October issue of Nutrition Action Healthletter. Despite evidence linking food dyes to hyperactivity and other behavior problems in children, companies continue to use the controversial dyes in American product lines while substi

Groups Head to Court to Seek Protection From PVC Plant Pollution

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:35:33 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 22, 2008

Earthjustice

Citizens in communities affected by cancer-causing air pollution from vinyl manufacturers went to court today to ask the federal government to regulate the host of toxins released from these plants.

The nonprofit public interest law firm Earthjustice filed the lawsuit today in federal district court in Washington, DC, on behalf of the Sierra Club and two community groups in Louisiana -- Mossville Environmental Action Now (MEAN) and Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN).

Dairy Product with Unsafe Melamine Levels Found on US Shelves, FDA Has Yet to Issue Recall

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:05:07 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 16, 2008

Food and Water Watch

Just two weeks after the Food and Drug Administration set "acceptable" levels for melamine in food instead of issuing a complete ban on Chinese milk-containing products, the Alabama Department of Agriculture announced that Koala's March brand cookies have tested positive for melamine with levels that exceed FDA's safe levels of exposure. FDA has not issued a recall for the product, and despite assurances from the agency that the parent company, Lotte USA, was removing the product from the marketplace, Koala's March cookies are still present on U.S. shelves.

New EPA Lead Standard Significantly Improved to Protect Kids’ Health

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:04:08 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 16, 2008

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken a significant step to protect the health of children by strengthening the nation's air quality standard for lead today, according to Environmental Defense Fund.

US Falling Behind In Infant Mortality

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:45:03 -0400

Compared to other developed nations the United States appears to be falling behind in infant mortality, that is the percentage of babies that die before reaching their first birthday.

According to new figures from the National Center for Health Statistics of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published on 15th October, the US ranked 29th in infant mortality in 2004, the most recent year for which figures are available from all countries, 27th in 2000, 23rd in 1990 and 12th in 1960.