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Environmental studies show a complex mix of fuel spills, heavy metals, poisons and cancer-causing chemicals in Newfoundland and Labrador sites formerly managed by newsprint company AbitibiBowater. (CBC)
Cancers from environment 'grossly underestimated' Environmental carcinogens are responsible for a far greater number of cancers than previously believed according to the report of a presidential advisory panel. (ABC) REPORT: Reducing environmental cancer risk .pdf
Residents not told about bad air VICTORIA - The BC NDP went on the attack in Question Period Thursday wanting to know why the Liberal government has remained silent for 18 months after learning about dangerously high pollution levels in Prince George. In some areas, concentrations of formaldehyde were 20 times higher than what is considered safe in BC. (CTV)
Parking lot dust a cancer risk The substance is coal tar sealant, a waste product of steel manufacturing that is used to protect pavement and asphalt against cracking and water damage, and to impart a nice dark sheen. It is applied most heavily east of the Rockies but is used in all 50 states. (Investigate West) RELATED: Report links pollution, drinking water
SEPT-ILES - Twenty doctors have quit their practice in a remote Quebec town because of plans to build a uranium mine. (CP) PREVIOUS: Government sitting on report Thetford Mines
SHANNON - Residents of Shannon, outside Quebec City, are seeking more than $200M in damages for health problems they say were caused by water tainted with an industrial solvent used on the military base in the 1950s. (CBC)
Radioactive waste contaminating water supply OTTAWA - The report, Tritium on Tap, produced by the Sierra Club of Canada, warned that radioactive emissions from various nuclear plants across the country have more than doubled over the past decade. (CanWest) PREVIOUS: Cancer hotspots linked to industry Cancer rates linked to industrial activity Majority of stimulus projects escape environmental impact studies Chromium in well water Nuclear plant spills tritium Radon: invisible & deadly
The Russian military allegedly dumped nuclear waste into the Baltic Sea in the early 1990s, according to a report on Swedish television. (BBC)
NOVOURALSK - The Western media reported last week on how the German company Urenco shipped nuclear material to Siberia, where the highly toxic waste was stored in containers in the open air. (Spiegel) PREVIOUS: Environmentalists criticize storage Toxic legacy of the Cold War
Get phthalates out of kids’ toys OTTAWA - Conceding a decade-old voluntary ban on hormone-disrupting chemicals in children's toys hasn't worked, Health Canada announced Friday new regulations requiring toy companies to get phthalates out of soft vinyl toys. (CanWest) MORE: 'Rubber ducky' chemical ban BPA gets attention from industry spinmeisters (leaked minutes)
LONDON - Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary, ordered an investigation into two British companies (Worldwide Biorecyclables Ltd and UK Multiplas Recycling Ltd) linked to 90 shipping containers containing 1,400 tonnes of waste sent to three Brazilian ports (Times online) MORE: Big profits from a dirty business encourages corruption
VANCOUVER - With medical advances, Canadians can now learn whether they carry the genetic risk for devastating diseases. But that knowledge could come at a price, suggests a study that looked at the growth of "genetic discrimination." (CTV) |
OTTAWA - Canada's cities say the Harper government is severely underestimating the burden on Canadian taxpayers to be caused by new standards cracking down on pollution from waste-water facilities. For example, the government estimated the cost of the standards would add up to about $338M for the entire province of BC, but municipal officials in the Vancouver region estimate that two local projects designed to meet the standards in the future would add up to $1.4B. (CanWest)
Chemicals may face tighter standards WASHINGTON - Products on American store shelves now contain a whopping 89,000 chemicals, with a core group of 3,000 making up about 95% of the chemicals in use. Yet the Environmental Protection Agency, which has primary responsibility in this area, is virtually powerless to regulate these chemicals. (ABC) RELATED: 'Mountains' of e-waste
CORBY - A group of young people who blame their disabilities on their mothers’ exposure to toxic materials can seek compensation from the local council after winning a crucial first legal ruling. Corby Borough Council, which was responsible for the reclamation of a former steelworks, was found liable at London’s High Court. (Times online) MORE: Children win birth defects claim Toxic soup children win Children seek compensation How EU's discarded computers are poisoning Africa's kids
WASHINGTON - No fish can escape mercury pollution. The toxic substance was found in every fish sampled, a finding that underscores how widespread mercury pollution has become. (AP) REPORT: Mercury in stream ecosystems
VICTORIA - The 40-year-old MV Quadra Queen II has insulation containing asbestos sprayed in the space above the ceiling panels in the upstairs lounge. (Victoria Times Colonist) PREVIOUS: Supporting a toxic trade Asbestos Institute Asbestos time bomb Health Canada sat on time bomb Mining Watch: Asbestos Deadly dust
The study says 695,000 Canadians, or 2.2% of the population, were diagnosed with an invasive cancer over a 10-year period, which ended at the beginning of January 2005. (CanWest) STUDY: Cancer prevalence in the Canadian population Feds to test tap water for cancer contaminants Pollution tied to death rate Ontario to sue big tobacco for health costs Superficial study Coal causing lung cancer EPA reins in smog limit
VANCOUVER - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is expected to begin euthanizing as many as 60,000 birds on a BC turkey farm as early as Monday, over fears of an H5 avian influenza outbreak. (CTV) PREVIOUS: Avian flu in BC Farms quarantined
Radioactivity leaked unchecked KASHIWAZAKI - The nuclear power station at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant pumped radioactive particles into the air for nearly three days after Monday’s massive Niigata earthquake. (Times online) PREVIOUS: Leak bigger than thought Japanese nuclear 'quake' plant sits on faultline previously denied by officials Radiation leak at Russian plant
Cities not getting true air quality TORONTO - The federal and provincial governments are lulling Ontario residents into a false sense of security about the level of pollution they're breathing in on city streets, the province's environment watchdog warned today. REPORT: ECO 2007/2008 annual report
TORONTO - Drinking water in more than half of 100 older Toronto homes tested last summer exceeded the acceptable level of lead - a huge increase over a previous study. (Toronto Star) PREVIOUS: Lead poisoning Recall Lead, mercury and cadmium levels in Canadians 2007/08 |
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SEATTLE - A federal jury cquitted WR Grace & Co. and three of its former officials of charges that they knowingly exposed residents of Libby, Mont., to asbestos poisoning associated with a mining operation and conspired to hide it. In Libby, where an estimated 1,200 residents have died or developed cancer or lung disease, the judgment dashed hopes that someone would be held accountable for decades of suffering. (LA Times) PREVIOUS: Uncivil action: A town left to die |
MONTREAL - About 50 trucks will be required to move the uranium, thought to be the last stocks of Saddam Hussein's nuclear program, to a processing facility operated by Cameco Corp. in Blind River, Ont., a company official said yesterday. The 550 tonnes of concentrated natural uranium, also known as yellowcake, was purchased in a US brokered deal reported to be worth tens of millions of dollars. (Gazette) PREVIOUS: Stockpile arrives in Montreal 2004 report: No WMD stockpiles in Iraq |
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BUCHANS - Every resident in the small central Newfoundland community of Buchans has been told they should get a blood test to find out if they've been poisoned by lead. (CBC) |
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Common chemicals declared toxic OTTAWA - The federal government declared four chemicals widely used in paints, varnishes, stains and industrial cleaners as toxic to human health, paving the way for their possible ban in products. (CanWest) Chemical substances in batch 3 Polluting firms can be forced to pay Court orders data from mining made public |
Study finds pollutants in blood samples Chemicals pollute Ontario's political leaders Feds announce plan to manage chemicals Canada's approach on chemical substances 'Contaminated' with cancer causing poisons 10 most common environmental toxins Cancer cases 'to hit 300,000 annually Pollution blamed as surge in deformed babies |
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Air pollution deaths to skyrocket OTTAWA - This year, an estimated 20,000 Canadians will die from heart and lung illnesses brought on by breathing polluted air, the CMA said. Most of the deaths will be among people over 65, who are most vulnerable to heart disease. The costs of dirty air, in terms of treating the illnesses in hospital and visits to doctors, as well as indirect expenses for time off work, will add up to $10 billion this year. (CBC) |
Alberta embarks on toxin testing 'Horror stories' at meeting on health privacy Study links bad air to Quebecers' early deaths The environmental burden of disease in Canada Pollution 'kills thousands of Canadians' 10M people at risk from pollution |
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The journal Science has dubbed it the "revenge of the test tube." But there is a serious side to a Canadian discovery that compounds leaching out of "plasticware" can mess up lab results. The "bioactive" additives are found in plastics used in not only for research, but also medical testing labs and containers for food and drinks. (CanWest) |
Effects of nanomaterials unknown OTTAWA - Not enough is known about the potential health and environmental hazards of nanomaterials - used in everything from sunscreens and drugs to car exhaust systems - and the Canadian government should review existing criteria for assessing and approving new products that contain them, says a panel of scientific experts. (CTV) |
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OTTAWA - It’s easy to generate a junk science scare. You make stuff up, exaggerate the risks, politicize the subject and spin it into a corporate and ideological battle. And, above all, you ignore the facts. |
WASHINGTON - Terrorists are likely to use a weapon of mass destruction somewhere in the world in the next five years, a blue-ribbon panel assembled by Congress has concluded. (CNN) REPORT: World at risk |
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VANCOUVER - Edward Ilnicki, doing business as Valley Demolition and Design and Repair, is charged with failing to comply with handling, storage and management requirements for hazardous wastes under the Environmental Management Act and Hazardous Waste Regulations. (Vancouver Sun) |
Port Hope radiation tests 'alarming' PORT HOPE - New tests that show radiation contamination in a few Port Hope residents should compel the federal government to put the town under a health microscope, local advocates say. (Toronto Star) MORE: Self-funded study says residents contaminated 85,000 radioactive baby teeth |
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Failure to present merchandise GRAND FORKS - A former vaccine researcher accused of smuggling biological substances, including genes from the Ebola virus, into the US was sentenced Friday in federal court in Grand Forks. Konan Michel Yao, 42, pleaded guilty to failure to present merchandise for inspection. (Grand Forks Herald) |
Researcher cops a plea to lesser charge Ebola vials found in car trunk Bio material smuggled out of country |
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Cat parasite affects everything The parasite, toxoplasma gondii, has been transmitted indirectly from cats to roughly half the people on the planet, and it has been shown to affect human personalities in different ways. (ABC) Invasion of the brain snatchers |
Trip to outer space makes nasty bacteria nastier Space flight can increase the virulence of disease-causing microbes such as Salmonella typhimurium, the main bacterial culprit in food poisoning, say U.S. researchers. (CBC) |
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Almost 900 Canadian military personnel were exposed to radiation from nuclear weapons tests during the Cold War as well as two serious reactor accidents in Chalk River during the 1950s, according to a report produced for Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor. (Ottawa Citizen) |
First genome transplant turns one species into another ROCKVILLE, Maryland - Scientists have converted an organism into an entirely different species by performing the world's first genome transplant, a breakthrough that paves the way for the creation of synthetic forms of life. (Guardian Unlimited) Craig Venter Science |
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The secretive fight against bioterror WASHINGTON - On the grounds of a military base an hour's drive from the capital, the Bush administration is building a massive biodefense laboratory unlike any seen since biological weapons were banned 34 years ago. (Washington Post) PREVIOUS: Can billions of dollars build biodefenses? |
Herbicide test pose disease threat CFB GAGETOWN - Only individuals who had direct contact with herbicides at CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick are at risk of contracting a number of diseases associated with exposure, including various cancers, Parkinson's disease and Type 2 diabetes, according to a study. (CanWest) PREVIOUS: Report on say health risk minimal |
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Radiation alert at Chechen plant GROZNY - Prosecutors in Chechnya have opened a criminal investigation after finding "catastrophic" levels of radioactivity at a chemical factory. Investigators say the radiation - in one place reportedly 58,000 times the usual level - poses a danger to people in the region's capital, Grozny. (BBC) |
Birth ratio of 2 girls to 1 boy AAMJIWNAAG FIRST NATION, Ont. - The people of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation are painfully aware they make up a startling statistic that has raised eyebrows around the world, but the bigger concern for residents are the chemicals they fear are overwhelming their community and killing off their legacy. (CP) |
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Slacking over sewage oversight TORONTO - Billions of litres of untreated sewage are gushing into Ontario's waterways due to aging infrastructure and poor provincial oversight, says a report by environmental group Ecojustice. The report, "Flushing out the truth," compiles the amount of sewage dumped into lakes and rivers by various Ontario municipalities in 2006 and 2007. (CP) |
Consultant's $400K audit sewage plant Illness followed sludge on the fields Family files suit over treated sewage lagoon Vancouver’s sewage dumped in ocean Warming means more raw sewage in local water |
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Lead exposed kids prone to violence in adult years Young children exposed to high levels of lead 25 years ago were more likely as adults to have smaller- than-normal brain structures that regulate impulses and to commit violent crimes, studies found. (Bloomberg) |
Association of lead concentrations with criminal arrests Decreased brain volume in adults with childhood lead exposure Behavioral consequences of childhood lead exposure |
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TORONTO - Nurses, people who contracted SARS and their families cannot sue the Ontario government over the deadly 2003 outbreak that claimed 44 lives, Ontario's top court ruled. (CP) |
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Sample of killer flu virus found GENEVA - All samples of the killer influenza virus sent outside the United States have been destroyed except for one in Lebanon, the UN health agency said. (AP) |
Labs told to destroy mislabelled flu strain College of American Pathologists (CAP) |
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China warns against unsafe, maverick research into bird flu BEIJING - China has warned maverick scientists against conducting "unsafe" research into bird flu, ordering them to seek explicit approval from the authorities first. (China News) WHO reports Tamiflu-resistant flu Bird flu cull hit by 'corruption' Bush unveils $7.1-billion flu pandemic plan Wild birds with H5 flu virus found in Canada Supermarkets braced for turkey recall |
Pandemic spending and fears overblown Mystery swirls around Chinese bird flu timeline China grapples with fresh bird flu, foot & mouth Disease in Columbia caused by a laboratory Bird flu mutated in family cluster: WHO China had bird flu case two years earlier Bird flu killed 300 in China, says unofficial report Bird flu spreads to far western China Fox Series: Bird Flu: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 China says it will stop misuse of antiviral drug China in national bird flu alert |
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Cooling tower source of legionnaires' outbreak TORONTO - The source of the legionnaires disease outbreak that killed 20 residents of a Toronto nursing home has been traced to a cooling tower that was on the roof of the home. (CTV) |
Legionnaires' class action suit seeks $600M Expert warned legionnaires' test flawed TO nursing home illness ID'd as Legionnaire's Six more seniors dead from T.O. outbreak |
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HANFORD - It's costing Americans $1.4 million a day to build a facility to safely treat millions of gallons of radioactive and toxic waste stored in the Hanford Nuclear Reservation's leak-prone underground tanks. (Post-Intelligencer) |
Tank troubles at Hanford a setback for Bechtel Study: No radiation level safe Downwinders' court win seen as 'great victory' Sick DOE workers' claims languish Hanford water cleanup not working, report says |
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Russian investigators probe bio weapons link MOSCOW - An investigation is checking whether the mass outbreak of hepatitis A in the Tver region near Moscow could be linked to the biological weapons sector. At the moment 363 people are in hospital, NewsRu.Com reported Thursday. (Mosnews) |
Soviet Germ factories pose new threat ODESSA, Ukraine - For 50 years under Soviet rule, nearly everything about the Odessa Antiplague Station was a state secret, down to the names of the deadly microbes its white-coated workers collected and stored in a pair of ordinary freezers. (Washington Post) |
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Marburg virus death toll hits 180 of 205 reported cases The World Health Organization is investigating an outbreak of Marburg hemorrhagic fever in northwestern Angola. (CNN) |
Congo's Ebola town is sealed off Marburg fever death toll tops 300 in Angola WHO to warn on changing avian flu |
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