Environmental Health

"Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, are industrial chemicals so toxic that Congress banned them 40 years ago. Research has shown that they can cause a range of health concerns, including cancer and neurological problems such as decreased IQ. And yet, because they were commonly used in building materials for decades, they continue to contaminate classrooms in between 13,000 and 26,000 schools nationwide, according to Harvard researchers."

"Inuit hunters downstream from a massive $8 billion 'clean' energy project in Labrador fear it will poison their food supply with methylmercury when flooding begins later this month."

"A Cape Breton community in the midst of a water crisis has been promised that the problem will be fixed, but it may be as long as three years before clean water is flowing through the taps."

"For Nayesa Walker, the clock started ticking just over a month ago. On Sept. 1, she was given 60 days to find a new home after East Chicago Mayor Anthony Copeland abruptly announced that the public housing complex where she and her three children live would be demolished. The land is contaminated with lead and arsenic."

"The nation’s top health officials on Monday laid out their plans for spending $1.1 billion in newly appropriated federal funds to combat the threat posed by the Zika virus."

"CBC's map detailing the federal buildings across the country containing asbestos has been updated with hundreds of new entries to reflect the newly released National Asbestos Inventory from Public Services and Procurement Canada."

"Florida health officials who have been testing thousands of residents for Zika virus said Wednesday they found another infection: dengue virus."

"Some 92% of the population live in places where air pollution exceeds WHO limits, which can contribute to lung cancer, heart disease, and strokes."

"TYLER, Ala. — The hard clay soil in this rural Southern county has twice cursed Dorothy Rudolph. It is good for growing cotton and cucumbers, the crops she worked as a child and hated. And it is bad for burying things — in particular, septic tanks."