Europeans live longer and healthier lives than in the past, partly due to successful environmental policies that have reduced the exposure to harmful environmental contaminants in air, water and food, according to a joint EEA/JRC report. The report shows the multiple ways in which the environment affects human health. More:
Joint Research Centre (European Commission)

With smoke and tar from faulty light fixtures leaking into New York City public school classrooms at alarming rates, the Bloomberg administration said on Tuesday that it would cut in half the time it needed to replace them. More:
The New York Times

Health experts say that women in the developing world (like women everywhere) have a special set of vulnerabilities to environmental contaminants because their bodies are more sensitive to pollutants that can cause allergies, immune disorders and reproductive and neurological problems triggered by exposure to some synthetic chemicals. More:
www.upi.com

Les représentants de 170 pays ont adopté une série de mesures pour renforcer les protections contre les produits chimiques dangereux et les déchets lors d’une conférence des Nations Unies à Genève. More:
www.actualites-news-environnement.com (French)

Les parties réunies à la conférence sur les produits chimiques et les déchets dangereux, qui s'est tenue à Genève du 28 avril au 10 mai 2013, ont décidé l'inscription de cinq produits chimiques supplémentaires dans la réglementation internationale, annonce l'International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). More:
www.actu-environnement.com (French) 

GENEVA - A summit on chemicals and hazardous wastes ended Friday with an agreement to globally phase out a widely used flame retardant and to accept stricter requirements for disclosing information about exports of four other chemicals. More:
StarTribune World

Chlordecone once used on banana crops is threatening livelihoods and public health by polluting soil and sea. After polluting the soil, the chemical is wreaking havoc out at sea, an environmental disaster that now threatens the whole economy. More:
The Guardian
Le Monde - Guadeloupe : monstre chimique (French)

Researchers found that children of mothers who had high PBDE levels during their second trimester showed cognition deficits when the children were five years old as well as higher rates of hyperactivity at ages two to five. More:
Scientific American

An Environmental Health News analysis of thousands of reports from America’s largest companies shows that toys and other children’s products contain low levels of dozens of industrial chemicals, including some unexpected ingredients that will surprise a public concerned about exposure. More:
Environmental Health News

ELLSWORTH, Maine — New research by a Blue Hill scientist shows that during a fire, firefighters are exposed to dangerous levels of toxic, cancer-causing chemicals created when commercial flame retardants burn. More:
bangordailynews.com

Un estudio realizado en Italia, España, Bélgica y Portugal evidencia la presencia de pesticidas y productos industriales en el aire interior de las viviendas, cuyos niveles llegan incluso a superar en ocasiones a los detectados en el exterior. More:
noticias.terra.es (Spanish)

The Conference of Parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, meeting in Geneva, approved non-chemical as well as chemical alternatives to endosulfan on Thursday. More:
www.thehindu.com

Le Havre, France - L'association Robin des Bois vient de réactualiser son atlas des sites pollués aux PCB. Pour la Haute-Normandie, le bilan est lourd : 17 nouveaux sites viennent noircir la carte. More:
www.76actu.fr (French)

Babies with higher PFOS exposures in the womb are born smaller and sooner, reports a new study from Taiwan. The effects were found at levels of the perfluorinated chemical similar to those measured in U.S. and Canadian babies. A persistent compound that repels stains, water and grease, it hasn't been produced in the United States since its manufacturer completed the phaseout in 2002. More:
Environmental Health News

Synthetic chemicals added to consumer products to meet federal and state flammability standards are showing up in waterways, wildlife and even human breast milk.More:
The Washington Post

Toxic chemicals are accumulating in the ecosystems of the Himalayas and the Tibetan plateau, researchers warn in the the first comprehensive study to assess levels of certain organic pollutants in that part of the world. More:
Nature

Health and environmental groups will launch a national campaign Thursday to prod 10 major retailers — including Walmart, Target and Costco — to clear store shelves of products containing hazardous chemicals. More:
USA Today

Rats exposed to the common flame retardant Firemaster 550 before birth and while nursing gained weight earlier and were obese as adults. Males were 32 percent heavier and females were 22 percent heavier when compared to unexposed adults. The two levels tested represent mid-range and high exposures in people. More studies are needed to understand the health effects of this replacement for the phased-out pentaBDE mixtures. More:
Environmental Health News

A tree’s bark provides a large surface area that takes in chemicals as both vapor and particles. Also, because a layer of bark remains on the tree for five years or so before being shed, it provides a unique record of the environment over time. More:
Voice of America

From the moment they are born, sea turtles fight to survive. Buried alive, they dig themselves out and evade hungry crabs and birds as they crawl to the ocean. One out of 1,000 will survive into adulthood. And those that do will bear a toxic burden. Scientists are discovering that sea turtles are highly contaminated with industrial chemicals and pesticides. More:
Environmental Health News