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| Above the fold. News aggregated by www.EnvironmentalHealthNews.org | Read today's editorials |
| Daily links to top stories in the news about environmental health. Trainloads of oil and toxics in town. Trains rolling through Eugene, Ore., carry not only crude oil, but also tons of hazardous chemicals. The state of Oregon doesn’t want anyone to know what’s in those rail cars. Officials say if they tell you what’s in the cars, where they are going and how much hazardous material they carry, it could lead to a terrorist threat. Eugene Weekly, Oregon. Natural beauty products from Brooklyn. Much attention has been paid to the thriving music and restaurant scenes in Brooklyn. But the borough’s kitchens and warehouses are also churning out scores of beauty and grooming products. Most of the companies have a natural bent, making everything from aluminum-free deodorant to paraben-free lip gloss. New York Times [Registration Required] Tangled web of liability trails deadly oil train disaster. A litany of railways, fuel providers and insurers are now tied to the financial fallout from last month's deadly oil train derailment, in which a runaway Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway Ltd. train carrying oil careened off the tracks in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, claiming 47 lives and spilling roughly 1.5 million gallons of crude. EnergyWire Japan upgrades Fukushima leak to highest level in two years. Japan declared a radioactive water leak at the crippled Fukushima plant a level-three "serious incident" Wednesday, its highest warning in two years, as operators scrambled to seal a tank that has seeped 300 tonnes of toxic water. Agence France-Presse Forecasts turn tide on silt. When Hurricane Irene hammered the eastern United States in August 2011, floods sent a glut of silt into New York City's drinking-water system. For more than eight months afterwards, the city was forced to use an environmentally contentious chemical to rid the water of silt. Nature Secret clean-up secures weapons-grade plutonium dump. It is always good to learn that the world has become a safer place – especially when the danger was a warren of unsecured tunnels containing enough plutonium to make dozens of nuclear bombs. New Scientist Exxon pipeline rupture: Amount of oil spilled is still guesswork. Arkansas homeowners whose lives are still in limbo after thousands of gallons of oil streamed into their neighborhood from a ruptured pipeline on March 29 might never know precisely how much of the sticky black goo oil actually spilled. Inside Climate News Mosquitoes are worse this summer in parts of US. Experts say it's been a buggier-than-normal summer in many places around the U.S. because of a combination of drought, heavy rain and heat. Many communities fight back by spraying pesticides, but mosquitoes are starting to win that battle, too, developing resistance to these chemicals. Associated Press Expert brings public health into climate change. Temperatures are intensifying. Sea levels are climbing. Wildfires are spreading. None of this is news to Dr. Linda Rudolph, a Bay Area expert on climate change. What worries her most, however, are the human health disasters that global warming may end up unleashing. San Francisco Chronicle, California. Oil spill from sunken ferry in Philippines hurts coastline, fishermen. The ferry disaster in the southern Philippines that has so far left more than 60 people dead and dozens more missing is also turning into an environmental catastrophe for the surrounding area, as spilled fuel contaminates coastlines. CNN Dolphin deaths along coast investigated; 61 in New Jersey since July. Some 61 dead or dying dolphins have washed up along the Jersey Shore this summer, and hundreds more elsewhere along the East Coast in what investigators from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration classified an "unusual mortality event." Newark Star-Ledger, New Jersey. Do Oregon's clear-cut and pesticide buffers protect drinking water from creeks, rivers? After years of complaints, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is studying whether Oregon's regulation of nonindustrial sources of water pollution, including timberlands, is good enough. Portland Oregonian, Oregon. Mine safety rule for methane risk delayed again. A regulation to implement a key portion of West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin's year-old mine safety legislation won't be submitted for final legislative approval until at least 2015, officials said Tuesday. Charleston Gazette, West Virginia. PG&E records raise concerns about pipeline safety. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. used flawed documents to improperly declare two Peninsula natural-gas pipelines safe, state regulators say - raising questions about whether the company has fixed record-keeping issues that contributed to the 2010 San Bruno disaster. San Francisco Chronicle, California. Feds confirm that New Jersey meets the standards, has improved air quality. The federal government has confirmed what New Jersey had been saying for more than a year – every county, including the heavily industrialized areas near New York and Philadelphia – finally meets the federal standards for soot. Bergen County Record, New Jersey. Public aids crackdown on gas plant in western Pennsylvania. Residents have complained for years about thick black smoke and possible pollution coming from the MarkWest gas plant in Chartiers. But the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said it couldn't take action because it had no evidence. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Pennsylvania. Critics say California relies on outdated approach to fire prevention. What many firefighters believe they've learned from experience is the subject of much debate, as state officials search for a way to approach Southern California's large, unwieldy blazes. Los Angeles Times [Registration Required] Quitting smoking in pregnancy tied to benefit for baby. Women who quit smoking immediately before or after becoming pregnant gain more weight during and after pregnancy – but their babies are less likely to be born small than those born to smokers, a new study suggests. Reuters Health Nicotine exposure gives baby rats addictive personalities. Exposure to nicotine in the womb increases the production of brain cells that stimulate appetite, leading to overconsumption of nicotine, alcohol and fatty foods in later life, according to a new study in rats. Nature More news from today 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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