High exposures to a well known stain repellent chemical have been linked to increased risk of thyroid disease in highly exposed children. The chemical is known as PFOA. Two related chemicals – PFOS and PFNA – were also linked to higher levels of a thyroid hormone called total T4 in these kids. More:
Environmental Health News

Medical students in Israel, the United States and Europe are not receiving adequate environmental health education, a study sponsored by the Haifa-based Public Health Coalition has reported. More:
The Jerusalem Post

Le sandwich au beurre de cacahouète est aux Américains ce que le jambon-beurre est au consommateur gaulois : incontournable ! Mais nos amis yankees pourraient se passer du cocktail toxique qui l’accompagne. More:
Terra eco (French)

A common flame retardant showed up in a variety of store-bought foods including meat, peanut butter and fish. The discovery of the chemical HBCD adds to growing evidence that our food supply is full of unwanted chemicals, including flame retardants. More:
Discovery News

Un estudio demuestra por primera vez con datos de campo cómo afecta el ciclo biogeoquímico de los contaminantes a su distribución global y concluye que el océano "controla" el transporte atmosférico de contaminantes orgánicos hacia el Ártico. More:
Europapress.es (Spanish)

A study of 83 North Carolina toddlers, recently published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, suggests that exposure to potentially toxic flame-retardant chemicals may be higher in nonwhite toddlers than in white toddlers. More:
Science Daily

Avec le soutien de partenaires et de 13 pays de l`Afrique francophone, la Côte d`Ivoire a mis en place un projet régional pour une gestion écologiquement rationnelle des déchets liquides polychlorobiphenyles ( Pcbs). More:
news.abidjan.net (French)

The war to bring malaria to heel has made slow but steady progress during the past decade, with the overall mortality rate dropping by more than 25% since 2000. More:
www.nature.com

The odds seem to be stacked against large-scale reform of U.S. legislation, but that doesn’t mean U.S. companies are off the hook when it comes to toxic chemicals. 
More: www.forbes.com

Europe last year saw its first drop in the number of toxic toys and skin-irritating textiles stacked on its supermarket shelves, more than half of them made in China, the EU said Tuesday.
More: www.france24.com

When scientists in a government lab touched a small flame to a pair of upholstered chairs — one with a flame retardant in the foam and one without — both were engulfed in flames within four minutes.
More: Chicago Tribune

Washington residents eat more fish than the national average – probably no surprise for a state whose borders include the Pacific Ocean and the lower Columbia River. From salmon and steelhead to walleye and lake trout, fish is a staple of many residents’ diets. Yet the state’s water quality standards are based on the assumption that Washington residents eat one 7-ounce serving of fish per month. 
More: The Spokesman-Review

La investigación hecha por las madres de puerta en puerta vinculando la exposición a agrotóxicos con efectos para la salud pública fue corroborada por un estudio hecho por el Departamento de Medicina de la Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) a pedido del Ministerio de Salud Pública de la Nación.
More: www.proteger.org.ar (Spanish)

Rome - Twelve countries in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia have agreed to start working with the European Union (EU) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to manage their huge stocks of obsolete pesticides in a partnership that was launched at FAO's headquarters in Rome on April 12, 2012.
More: IDN

Hundreds of illegal waste dumps in Italy may be causing nearby residents to age faster than they should. An area of Italy's Campania region - between Acerra, Nola and Marigliano - has been dubbed the "triangle of death" for the high number of fatalities from cancer found there. Birth defects are also common.
More: NewScientist

L'exposition à des perturbateurs endocriniens et diverses autres substances chimiques favoriserait l'obésité et le diabète. L'obésité ne serait pas seulement liée à une alimentation trop riche, au manque d'exercice et aux prédispositions génétiques. L'exposition à certaines substances chimiques, notamment des perturbateurs endocriniens, jouerait un rôle important dans le développement de la maladie.
More: Pour la Science (French)

Los productos químicos ocupan un lugar preponderante en el proceso del desarrollo económico de Honduras. El uso de sustancias químicas se ha generalizado en todas las actividades económicas.La denominada agenda química nacional 2011-2015, consiste, entre otras iniciativas previstas, en formalizar la Comisión Nacional para la GAR de productos químicos, aprobar la Política Nacional sobre este tema, insertar metas en la Visión de País y el Plan de Nación, fortalecer el marco regulatorio de productos químicos, educar y sensibilizar a la población en riesgos ante los productos químicos.
More: La Tribuna (Spanish)

Chemicals used for more than 60 years in paper, carpet, furniture, clothing, cardboard and Teflon are showing up in the eggs of Great Lakes birds, according to a recent study. The 20 year study, published in November by Canadian Great Lakes researchers, is the first ever of the presence of poly- and perfluorinated compounds in Great Lakes wildlife.
More: Great Lakes Echo

The research, based on a review of 800 scientific studies, concludes that it is “remarkably common” for very small amounts of hormone-disrupting chemicals to have profound, adverse effects on human health.
More: Yale Environment 360

Recyclers continue to struggle with contaminants in electronic waste and in consumer plastics. A study shows that recycling companies across Europe continue to collect plastics that contain flame retardants and other worrisome substances, sometimes at concentrations above the limits of the European directive, known as the Restriction of Hazardous Substances.
More: Environmental Science and Technology