In 2009, University of Michigan researchers tested the amniotic fluid of 15 pregnant women in southeast Michigan for polybrominated diphenyl ether, or PBDEs. The chemicals were in every sample, according to the study published in Science of the Total Environment journal.
More: Great Lakes Echo

CSIRO scientists say invisible toxic pollutants are fouling the atmosphere, even in the world's cleanest air at a monitoring station in far north-west Tasmania.
More: ABC News

A study lead by the IMIM (Hospital del Mar Research Institute) and the Barcelona Public Health Agency (ASPB) has shown that the level of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in blood has dropped significantly in the inhabitants of Barcelona between the years 2002 and 2006.
More: IMIM Hospital del Mar - Press release

Los niveles sanguíneos de compuestos tóxicos persistentes (CTP) descendieron de forma significativa en los habitantes de Barcelona entre 2002 y 2006.
More: El Pais

Research suggests that PCBs, which were first linked to learning problems in children more than two decades ago, may play a role in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, too. Boys who were exposed to higher levels of PCBs in the womb scored lower on focus and concentration tests, according to a newly published study.
More: Environmental Health News

A Washington State University researcher has demonstrated that a variety of environmental toxicants can have negative effects on not just an exposed animal but the next three generations of its offspring. The study was funded by the U.S. Army to study pollutants that troops might be exposed to.
More: Science Daily

Research shows for the first time that increased levels of organochlorine chemicals PCBs and a DDT breakdown product in men are associated with an extra sex chromosome in sperm that can contribute to reproductive problems. Long-banned chemicals that still persist in people and the environment are linked to an excessive number of sex chromosomes in sperm, according to a study of men from Massachusetts.
More: Environmental Health News

A West Virginia judge approved a settlement Friday in a class-action lawsuit filed by residents who say that chemical manufacturer Monsanto Co. burned dioxin wastes left over from the production of Agent Orange.
More: www.usnews.com

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its assessment of dioxins defining how toxic they are. Lauded by environmental activists and criticized by industry, the report concluded that there are potentially serious effects at ultra-low levels of exposure. The daily level of exposure considered safe is set at 0.7 picograms of dioxins per kilogram of body weight.
More: Environmental Health News

High levels of endosulfan, a highly toxic pesticide which has been widely used in cashew nut and other cash crop plantations, have been found in the bone marrow of children suffering from blood cancers in the areas using the pesticide. The study was published in the journal Indian Pediatrics. 
More: Mail Online India

MIDLAND, Mich. -- Michigan environmental regulators said Thursday that they reached a long-sought deal with Dow Chemical Co. to clean up to 1,400 residential properties in Midland, home of its corporate headquarters and a plant that polluted the area with dioxin for much of the past century.
More: CNBC

New research, which involved 8000 pregnant women across Europe, adds to the mounting body of evidence that PCB exposure does in fact reduce birth weight.
More: Science for Environment Policy

People who spend the most time at the office have the highest levels of polyfluorinated compounds (PFC) levels in their blood, found a new study, which also showed a direct link between chemical levels in the air of a person’s workplace and the amount of PFCs in his/her blood.
More: Discovery News

A report from the Japan Dyestuff and Industrial Chemicals Association (JDICA) revealed that some organic pigments contained a trace of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) unintentionally generated in their manufacturing process.
More: Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry - Press Release

DOVER, Ohio, February 10, 2012 (ENS) - A legal settlement between a chemical manufacturer and the federal government this week ends the manufacture of short-chained chlorinated paraffins in the United States.
More: Environment News Service

For centuries, indigenous peoples throughout the world relied on hunting, farming, and fishing for their subsistence. Today, many traditional foods have become life-threatening dangers, contaminated by pollutants and pesticides.
More: Media Global News

Pesticides waste dumps and dilapidated warehouses, containing more than 1,000-1,500 tons of pesticides, inherited from the Soviet Union in Armenia, are like time bombs which have already essentially damaged the environment.
More: Armenia Now

Obesity is rising steadily around the world. Convincing evidence suggests that diet and activity level are not the only factors in this trend—chemical “obesogens” may alter human metabolism and predispose some people to gain weight.
More: Environmental Health Perspectives

Pesticides could be suppressing people's vitamin D levels, leading to deficiency and disease, say scientists. The warning follows the discovery that adults with high serum concentrations of organochlorine pesticides such as DDT have lower vitamin D levels.
More: Chemistry World

Chile - El pasado 19 de diciembre el Ministerio de Agricultura prohibió la fabricación, importación, exportación, distribución, venta, tenencia y uso de varias sustancias activas plaguicidas, como Clordecona, Alfa-HCH, Beta-HCH, Pentaclorobenceno, Endosulfán, Alacloro y Aldicarb.
More: Noticias Aliadas