A Greenpeace report is one of an emerging body of research highlighting the possible link between the chemicals in sportswear and health risks. More:
The Guardian

Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) pose significant environmental concerns due to their stability and bioaccumulation in humans and animals. Current methods for extraction and measurement of PFCs require relatively large volumes of blood samples, not suitable for frequent blood sampling and biomonitoring. A new microassay for analyzing PFCs in small volumes (less than five microliters) of blood has been developed. More:
Environmental Science and Technology

Despite cases of flaming laptops and recalls, opponents argue flame-retardant chemicals are being overused in electronics and may put health at risk. More:
The Guardian

USA - One of the few shining stars of the nation’s economy, the $812-billion chemistry business, is working with Congress to pass a law that would actually give the federal government more authority to regulate chemicals. An industry that has spent the past 40 or so years operating under a loosely defined “chemical regulatory system” in the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) has decided it’s time to bring U.S. chemical regulations into the 21st century. More:
The Philadelphia Tribune - USA

In recent decades, many common migratory songbirds have declined in population. Several factors could explain this drop-off, including habitat loss, climate change, feline predators, and wind turbines. But a new study finds that polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), toxic industrial pollutants, may share some of the blame by affecting birds’ ability to migrate. More:
Chemical and Engineering News

If you closely examine your living room couch, your favorite easy chair or your child’s car seat, the odds are strong that you will find upholstery that is filled with polyurethane foam treated with a chemical flame retardant. More:
The New York Times

Scientists and other professionals from a variety of disciplines express their concern about the production and release into the environment of an increasing number of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). More:
Environmental Health Perspectives 
See also: Fluorotechnology is critical to modern life: the FluoroCouncil counterpoint to the Madrid statement
                  Alternatives to PFASs: Perspectives on the Science

Chemicals used to make products waterproof and stain resistant are persistent, pervasive, potentially harmful to humans, and should be regulated and largely replaced, according a statement signed by more than 200 scientists. More:
Environmental Health News

A Cooper's hawk discovered near a waste transfer station in greater Vancouver, Canada, is believed to be the most polluted wild bird ever discovered. In fact, it was so contaminated with flame retardant chemicals that it was "flameproof", according to a McGill University news release. Publishing in the journal Science of the Total Environment, the researchers compared levels of PBDEs in the liver fat of 13 birds of prey across Vancouver. More:
www.sciencealert.com

GENEVA - The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and hazardous substances and wastes, Baskut Tuncak, urged the global community to do more to protect workers from exposure to hazardous substances and chemicals. More:
United Nations Human Rights - News

Greenland’s polar bears have a thyroid problem. Their endocrine systems, too, are being disrupted. Kristin Møller Gabrielsen of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and colleagues report in the journal Environmental Research that they examined the liver, muscle and kidney tissues taken from seven polar bears. They also analysed the effect of more than 50 contaminants in plasma samples from Ursus maritimus. More:
RTCC.org

Toxins are now a major contributor to, and in some cases the cause of, virtually all chronic diseases. That's what Joseph E. Pizzorno, former advisor to President Clinton on complementary and alternative medicines, says. "I have become convinced that the toxic load in modern civilisation is now probably even more important than nutritional deficiencies in terms of causing diseases in our patients," says Pizzorno. More:
The Sidney Morning Herald

Pesticides bring major benefits to modern agriculture, keeping dangerous bugs and fungi and pathogens at bay. But what about risks? Like any chemicals pesticides can be bad for human health and ecosystems. It’s often tough, however, to get a clear picture of the full array of problems a pesticide may cause. A new “meta-analysis” — a review of existing scientific studies — provides some answers, but raises even more questions in the process. More:
The Washington Post

United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and hazardous substances and wastes, Baskut Tuncak, yesterday called on the Government of Kazakhstan to step up efforts in protecting those who live in environmentally high-risk areas. More:
The Times of Central Asia

Thousands of chemicals are used in everyday products – in our water, our food and in the air we breathe. It’s the chemical soup of modern life and it’s virtually impossible to escape them. In this special edition of Catalyst, Dr Maryanne Demasi investigates the safety of these chemicals. More:
www.abc.net.au

The petition calls on the Consumer Product Safety Commission to ban these products if they contain organohalogens flame-retardants, a class of chemicals that have been linked to cancer, hormone disruption, and reproductive, developmental and immune system problems, according to the petitioners. More:
Environmental Health News

Civil and environmental engineering professors published a study that looked at the plant switchgrass (panicum virgatum) coupled with a proteobacteria known as burkholderia xenovorans LB400. The researchers concluded that the combination was effective at removing toxic PCBs — or polychlorinated biphenyls — from contaminated soils. More:
Iowa City Press-Citizen

Au moins une vingtaine de perturbateurs endocriniens (PE) – avérés ou suspectés – seraient présents dans les cheveux des femmes urbaines en âge de procréer. Sur les 64 molécules recherchées, 7 ont été retrouvées dans la totalité des échantillons : un résidu d’insecticides pyréthrinoïdes, deux d’insecticides organophosphorés et quatre de pesticides interdits depuis plusieurs années. More:
Le Monde (French)
See also: www.lequotidiendumedecin.fr (French)

More than 97% of food samples evaluated by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) contain pesticide residue levels that fall within legal limits, with just under 55% of samples free of detectable traces of these chemicals. The findings are part of EFSA’s 2013 annual report on pesticide residues in food, which includes the results for almost 81,000 food samples from 27 EU Member States, Iceland and Norway. More:
EFSA

Whale meat imported into Japan from Norway has been dumped after tests found it contained up to twice the permitted level of harmful pesticide. An official at the health ministry in Tokyo said whale meat was subject to extensive routine tests before and after import. Tests on the whale meat imported in April showed 0.2 parts per million of aldrin and dieldrin combined, in addition to 0.07 ppm of chlordane. More:
The Japan Times