Articles Tagged with ''public health''

Two months after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, residents of the U.S. territory are still being told to boil water from rivers and streams before using it to drink, bathe, wash or cook with. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said that if it’s not possible to boil water – for at least a minute - water may be disinfected with bleach. That warning is part of an EPA update on Hurricane Maria’s effects on Puerto Rico.

New research conducted at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health finds exposure to arsenic in drinking water was significantly reduced among Americans using public water systems following a 2006 EPA regulation on maximum levels of arsenic. Compliance with the regulation led to a decline of 17 percent in levels of urinary arsenic, equivalent to an estimated reduction of more than 200 cases of lung and bladder disease every year.

In what the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is calling “a major victory for public health,” the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted 3-2 last week, to ban several harmful phthalate chemicals from plastic used in children’s toys and child care articles. Phthalates are commonly used as a plastic softener in children’s toys and child care articles, such as teething rings.

On the heels of a new report from Government Accountability Office (GAO) noting that climate change is costing the federal government billions, the EPA this week canceled speeches by three agency scientists, who were scheduled to discuss climate change at a conference in Providence, Rhode Island.

Hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, wildfires. Food and water safety may not be the first things people think about when they’re trying to put their lives and homes back together after a disaster, but the two should be near the top of their priority list.

EPA chief Scott Pruitt announced Monday that he will sign the paperwork to repeal the Clean Power Plan, an Obama administration rule to combat climate change rule by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from coal and natural gas power plants.

The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSH) is investigating last week’s explosion at an Eastman Chemical in Kingsport, Tennessee that released potentially toxic chemicals into the air.

The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) says Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has missed the statutory deadline to report to the American people which U.S. counties exceed the national health standard for ground-level ozone, or smog.

If constant news reports about the shooting in Las Vegas are causing you stress and anxiety – and leaving you with questions about the causes of and solutions to gun violence – the American Psychological Association (APA) can help. The group has posted resources on its website to help the public deal with issues related to gun violence.