By Jennifer Fernandez CONCORD, N.C. — In Meagan Beam’s dining room, a dozen 3D printers whir and clack away as they crank out plastic tiles with colorful raised letters, letter combinations and pictures on them. The tiles are part of a system the former teacher created as a way to teach reading to students, especially […]
Posted inEnvironmental Health
Chemours cannot keep documents sealed, federal judge rules
By Trista Talton Coastal Review Online A district court judge has ruled that Chemours and its predecessor company cannot conceal thousands of pages of documents from the public. The manufacturing giant failed to provide sufficient evidence the documents include commercially sensitive information that, if released, could competitively undermine the companies, Judge James Dever III concluded […]
Posted inCharlotte Ledger
Surprise! Your health care provider added a fee for that questionnaire you filled out
By Michelle Crouch Co-published with The Charlotte Ledger When Steve Hardman of Charlotte checked in to see a Novant Health sleep doctor earlier this year, the receptionist handed him a survey to fill out. Hardman, 66, had seen the questions before — Do you feel safe in your house? Can you afford food? He spent a […]
Posted inPublic Health
‘Game of chicken’ at NC turkey plants. Little consequence when federal inspectors find filth.
By Jane Winik Sartwell Carolina Public Press If you are having a turkey this holiday season, do you know where it was processed? If it came from certain North Carolina processing plants, it may have been processed on dirty equipment, records obtained by Carolina Public Press show. Federal inspectors found black residue on conveyor belts, accumulated waste on […]
Posted inEnvironmental Health
Hidden PFAS pollution uncovered in NC as EPA proposes reporting rollback
By Will Atwater Though the holiday season is here — with all the responsibilities it entails — some North Carolinians might consider adding one more thing to their to-do lists: weighing in on anEPA proposal that could reshape how the government collects information about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The agency is taking input […]
Posted inPrison Health
NC prisons expand addiction treatment before release to curb deadly overdose risk
By Rachel Crumpler Evan Ashkin, a family physician and director of the North Carolina Formerly Incarcerated Transition Program, has long been concerned about people who are returning to the community from prison — especially people with substance use disorders. Nearly 80 percent of people entering North Carolina state prisons need treatment for substance use disorder, […]