Feature Channels: Environmental Health

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Contamination of rice with arsenic is a major problem in some regions of the world with high rice consumption.

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The use of animals to test the toxicity of chemicals may one day become outdated thanks to a low-cost, high-speed algorithm developed by researchers at Rutgers and other universities.

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ROCHESTER, Minn. — A national organization focused on reducing health care's impact on the environment has recognized Mayo Clinic campuses in Arizona, Florida and Rochester, as well as Mayo Clinic Health System sites in Wisconsin, for their environmental sustainability efforts.

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DHS S&T today announced a new 18-month, $2.9 million contract award to ENSCO, Inc. for continued work on SenseNet, an effort to develop a low-cost integrated sensor system that can detect biological health hazards in buildings and other high-occupancy indoor facilities.

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Air pollution from diesel engines may worsen allergy-induced lung impairment more when tiny particles are filtered from the exhaust than when they are not, according to new research published online in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

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Clarkson University and the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) have been recently designated to launch New York state’s new Center of Excellence (CoE) in Healthy Water Solutions.

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Clarkson University and SUNY ESF will launch New York State's new Center of Excellence in Healthy Water Solutions.

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A series of tests conducted over several years by UC San Diego scientists has shown for the first time that the pesticide Sivanto could pose a range of threats to honey bees depending on seasonality, bee age and use in combination with common chemicals such as fungicides.

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The dust that settles throughout our homes and offices almost always contains bits of chemicals that can cause problems for the human endocrine system, scientists say. But a new study indicates that the microbes we track into buildings can help break those chemicals down.

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As the days get warmer and more people head outdoors to garden or do yard work, dermatologists from the American Academy of Dermatology are reminding the public to take a few precautions. Although gardening can be an enjoyable activity for many, they say, it can take a turn for the worse if you injure yourself, come into contact with a poisonous plant or have an allergic reaction.

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Antioxidants such as vitamin C could help reduce harmful effects from hexavalent chromium, according to a new study performed with human cells. The contaminant, which is often produced by industrial processes, was featured in the biographical movie Erin Brockovich.

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Measurements of hazardous air pollutant concentrations near operational sites have generally failed to capture levels above standard health benchmarks; yet, the majority of studies continue to find poor health outcomes increasing as distance from these operations decreases.

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Sandia National Laboratories ecologist Jennifer Payne is one of two Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioners in New Mexico, a title held by only 150 people in the country. With an eye for vegetation, she helps protect lands and upholds labs commitments to protecting the environment.

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Lead leaching from pipes into the water supply is a serious public health concern. If water sources or treatments are changed, the new chemistry can cause previously safe water distribution systems to begin releasing lead, as the crisis in Flint, Michigan, demonstrated.

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Hundreds of everyday items contain organophosphate ester (OPE) flame retardants and plasticizers. Some of these compounds make their way into the air, onto surfaces and even inside our bodies, with uncertain health effects.

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A new study finds that Medicare costs tend to be lower in counties with more forests and shrublands than in counties dominated by other types of land cover. The relationship persists even when accounting for economic, geographic or other factors that might independently influence health care costs, researchers report.

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Information to minimize risk from soil contaminants

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Dietary intake of two fatty acids, omega-3 and omega-6, may have opposite effects on the severity of asthma in children and may also play opposite roles in modifying their response to indoor air pollution, according to new research published online in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

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As many as a billion people could be newly exposed to disease-carrying mosquitoes by the end of the century because of global warming, says a new study that examines temperature changes on a monthly basis across the world.

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The diverse team at the WastePD Energy Frontier Research Center is learning the secrets of storage materials to contain Cold War leftovers.

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Forty years after the 1979 near-meltdown at Three Mile Island, thyroid cancer is on the upswing. Is radiation the culprit? Dr. David Goldenberg discusses his research and how to cure the disease.

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Media note: Video of these experts answering FAQs is available on YouTube. Additional interview footage and b-roll of ticks can be downloaded here.

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Billions worldwide are infected with tropical worms. Unsurprisingly, most of these people live in poor countries, kept poor by the effects of worm-related malnourishment.

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A fungicide commonly used by the agricultural industry to protect grains, fruit and vegetables from mold damage seems to kill fungi by a previously uncharacterized mechanism that delivers a metabolic shock to cells, new research at the University of Wisconsin–Madison finds.

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Exposure to tiny air pollution particles may lead to reduced sperm production, suggests new research in mice to be presented Monday, March 25 at ENDO 2019, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in New Orleans, La.

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Endocrine-disrupting chemicals present in household dust promote the development of fat cells in a cell model and could contribute to increased growth in children relative to their age, according to research to be presented Monday, March 25 at ENDO 2019, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in New Orleans, La.

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When you flush the toilet, you probably don’t think about the traces of the medicine and personal care products in your body that are winding up in sewage treatment plants, streams, rivers, lakes, bays and the ocean. But Rutgers scientists have found that bacteria in sewage treatment plants may be creating new contaminants that have not been evaluated for potential risks and may affect aquatic environments, according to a study in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.

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A new center at West Virginia University is working with communities across the region to address many of West Virginia’s most complex challenges.

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An $800,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation to the University of Georgia New Materials Institute will help researchers understand how multilayer plastic packaging biodegrades and also help manufacturers in their attempts to design and select more sustainable materials.

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Maureen Lichtveld, MD, MPH, professor and chair of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Tulane University, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, joins the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing (JHSON) Advisory Board. Through her more than 35 years of experience in environmental public health, she will help support the school’s mission and contribute diverse perspectives to JHSON’s local and global work.

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A recent study conducted by University of Georgia researchers reports amphibians can develop a tolerance to toxic environmental contaminants.

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The exposure to glyphosate-based herbicides has been linked to endocrine and developmental effects by a new scientific pilot study.

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More ambitious worldwide action is urgently needed to protect health and the environment against adverse impacts of chemicals. This is the conclusion of the second United Nations Global Chemicals Outlook, presented during the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi this week.

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Flight attendants with past exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) have preclinical signs of accelerated vascular aging, reports a study in the February Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

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Texas A&M AgriLife's ecopark in Dallas will welcome visitors for tours and lessons in "green" development beginning late 2019.

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Microscopic particles in air pollution inhaled by pregnant women may damage fetal cardiovascular development, according to a study by Rutgers researchers.

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A new study shows urban children with poorly controlled asthma, particularly those who are ethnic minorities, suffer academically. Kids who are kept home due to asthma symptoms often aren’t able to do as well in the classroom.

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The Endocrine Society applauded the reintroduction of a Senate bill that would give government regulators needed authority to protect consumers from exposure to hazardous endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in cosmetics and other personal care products.

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The products of wastewater treatment have been found to contain trace amounts of antibiotic resistant DNA. These products are often reintroduced to the environment and water supply, potentially resulting in the spread of antibiotic resistance.

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Monika Hartl from the European Spallation Source is using neutron scattering at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source to understand how plastic materials interact with the filters used to remove them from water. Through understanding these interactions, scientists can develop improved water filters that are better at purifying water and reducing water contaminants.

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New research by scientists at the University of Nottingham suggests that environmental contaminants found in the home and diet have the same adverse effects on male fertility in both humans and in domestic dogs.

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Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory have developed a new software model that can help analyze the dynamics in the cylinders of spark-ignition engines during operation.

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Planting Kura clover, a pasture legume, with prairie cordgrass can improve microbial activity in the soil, thus reducing the amount of fertilizer needed to produce the potential biofuels crop.

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Blair Wylie, MD, MPH, Director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at BIDMC, provides answers to commonly asked questions about potentially harmful exposures that might impact a pregnancy.

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Research offers evidence that microbes and organic matter raise toxin levels, potentially helping improve mercury monitoring.

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While fossil fuel emissions in New Delhi account for 80 percent of the air pollution plume during the summer, emissions from biomass burning (such as crop residue burning) in neighboring regions rival those from fossil fuels during the fall and winter.