EHN Tuesday: China's coal-burning health impacts; US failures in monitoring hazardous chemicals.

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Daily links to top stories in the news about environmental health. Coal-burning shortens lives in China, new study shows. Life expectancy in northern China was 5.5 years shorter than in southern China in the 1990s, and a health risk disparity lingers today, a difference almost entirely due to heart and lung disease related to air pollution from the burning of coal, a new study shows. National Geographic News http://bit.ly/1bkpTQJ US system for flagging hazardous chemicals is widely flawed. A 27-year-old U.S. program intended to warn the public of the presence of hazardous chemicals is flawed in many states due to scant oversight and lax reporting by plant owners, a Reuters examination finds. Reuters http://reut.rs/15t43I1 Death toll in Quebec disaster now 13 with 50 missing. Officials said Monday the death toll from the weekend disaster in Lac-Mégantic, Que., is now 13, as over 100 police officers continue to investigate how a driverless 73-car train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded. Globe and Mail, Ontario. http://bit.ly/12eV35n Impure plastic? On its face, Eastman Chemical’s lawsuit against two small Texas labs that have said its plastics may be unsafe for consumption looks like a David and Goliath kind of fight. But the case is also more nuanced, with both sides potentially having a financial stake in the outcome. Inside Higher Ed http://bit.ly/182Z0hY Testing fresh ground for clean-tech development. Research and development work relating to the development of eco-cities, smart cities and clean energy by foreign companies is booming in China, due to large market demand and government policy support. China Daily http://bit.ly/1aV6maM Finding the truth about fluoride. Less than half the population of New Zealand now drink fluoridated water and more councils are being challenged to turn off the tap. Are we going to pay for it with more fillings and lost teeth? Geoff Cumming investigates the myths behind the fluoride debate. New Zealand Herald http://bit.ly/1aTlWUx In Alaska, rare earth discovery pits jobs against environment. At the foot of Bokan Mountain on the shore of Kendrick Bay lies one of the most sought-after natural resources in the world - dysprosium, which could conceivably reverse the economic fortunes in Hydaburg, Alaska. But, despite the promise of jobs, some residents say a mine will lead to pollution of their salmon fisheries. New America Media http://bit.ly/171s0Wb Toxic PCBs behind aging Kalamazoo River dams pose new risks. A long time ago, paper mills dumped toxic PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, into the Kalamazoo River. Though the Environmental Protection Agency has been working to remove them, there are still PCBs lurking behind the river’s dams... and those dams are getting too old to hold them. National Public Radio http://bit.ly/185ImSe Michigan officials step up scrutiny of Enbridge after water law violations. An oil pipeline being built across the southern part of Michigan is drawing new scrutiny from state regulators who recently cited the pipeline's operator—Canadian-owned Enbridge, Inc.—for violating laws that protect Michigan's waterways. Inside Climate News http://bit.ly/1bkFkbu Link between lead and crime rates in Anniston, Alabama. For decades, Anniston, Ala., was contaminated with lead no one even knew about — and today, the city has a higher crime rate than the state as a whole. With the cleanup of Anniston's lead sites now finished, can the city expect a decline in violent crime? Anniston Star, Alabama. http://bit.ly/12o6jeB US well sites in 2012 discharged more than Valdez. There were more than 6,000 spills and other mishaps reported at onshore U.S. oil and gas sites in 2012, according to a months-long review of state and federal data by EnergyWire. That's an average of more than 16 spills a day. And it's a significant increase since 2010. EnergyWire http://bit.ly/14ZKy81 Casualty of climate change. Smaller than a gull but larger than a robin, the shorebirds have one of the longest-distance migrations known in the animal kingdom. Each year, the ruddy-breasted birds fly to the Canadian Arctic from their winter home in Tierra del Fuego at the tip of South America. And each year, there are fewer and fewer. McClatchy Newspapers http://bit.ly/12o7AlL Firefighters lose ground to 2 big Nevada wildfires. Firefighters lost ground Monday to two large Nevada wildfires burning through parched pine forests in northern and southern Nevada, including a nearly 24-square-mile blaze in Mount Charleston outside of Pahrump, near Las Vegas, and a more than 19-square-mile fire in the Pine Nut Mountains southwest of Reno. Associated Press http://bit.ly/1aVbD2n As biotech seed falters, insecticide use surges in corn belt. Across the Midwestern corn belt, a familiar battle has resumed, hidden in the soil. On one side are tiny, white larvae of the corn rootworm. On the other side are farmers and the insect-killing arsenal of modern agriculture. Morning Edition, NPR. http://n.pr/1aVlxRp Missoula, Montana, officials detail city's use of herbicides; critics cite safety concerns. Since around the year 2000, herbicides have been an integral part of the strategy to manage public parks and trails in Missoula, even as a growing body of science suggests pesticides are damaging to the health of vulnerable populations, children in particular. Missoulian, Montana. http://bit.ly/1ddzK9g US appeals court grills BP over spill claims case. BP drew tough questions on Monday from U.S. appeals court judges hearing a complaint by the oil company objecting to the payment of certain claims for damages related to the Gulf of Mexico spill, casting doubt on BP's effort to curb the payouts. Reuters http://reut.rs/14FJvLs World's 'toughest nuclear safety standards' take effect. Japan on Monday ushered in what regulators call the world’s toughest safety standards for atomic power plants, determined to prevent another disaster like the March 2011 meltdowns at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 complex. Kyodo News, Japan. http://bit.ly/18Kgfra More news from today•>170 more stories today, including: •Climate: Ocean acidification; UK trees on the march; Hurricanes likely to get stronger & more frequent; Whatever happened to 'green jobs?' •Welcome to the platisphere: The new world of microbes living on ocean plastic •Stories from Antarctica, UK, UAE, Zambia, S Africa, Japan, China, Australia, Brazil, Bolivia, Canada •Researchers say mercury pollution can last for centuries •US stories from ME, VT, CT, NJ, PA, MD, NC, MN, TX, CO, WA, CA •Fears for non-smoking workers •Editorials: US frackers can save millions of Chinese lives; Quebec disaster highlights the danger in moving crude oil by rail; Quebec disaster shakes faith in rail safety; For lack of pipelines, the risks of rail Shortcuts to stories from today about The good news, Avian flu, Climate, Children's health, Air pollution, Cancer, Reproductive disorders, Endocrine disruption, Birth defects, Learning and developmental disabilities, Immune disorders, Environmental justice, Superfund, Water treatment/sewage, Food safety, Integrity of science, Green chemistry. 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