Cat-scratch disease, or Bartonella, has its highest incidence in the Southeast. By Thomas Goldsmith North Carolina cat owners who have a child between 5 and 9 are among groups with the highest national household risk of cat scratch disease. That was among the takeaways from a talk by Centers for Disease Control epidemiologist Christina Nelson, […]
An industry group welcomes a Duke researcher to explain the troubling legacy of chemicals intended to to make materials fire resistant By Catherine Clabby Before environmental chemist Heather Stapleton briefed a roomful of textile industry professionals about how people get exposed to potentially harmful flame retardants, she acknowledged the obvious. “I just want to thank […]
A local Wake County battle over a landfill has a familiar ring; that’s because the similar battles over landfills have played out around North Carolina for decades. By Thomas Goldsmith UPDATE: The Wake County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted Monday to refuse Shotwell Landfill’s request to expand the amount of waste it accepts annually and […]
A conversation with Sally Perreault Darney, the new head of Environmental Health Perspectives. By Gabe Rivin Sally Perreault Darney tends to say “we” when she’s talking about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She laughs when she catches herself, and admits it’s a deeply ingrained habit. That she has the habit makes sense, because for more than 30 […]
By Gabe Rivin On March 28, 1979, catastrophe loomed as Three Mile Island, a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, endured a severe meltdown in one of its nuclear reactors. The power plant’s failure released radioactive gases into the air, prompting worries across the region about the public’s exposure to dangerous radiation. Federal and state officials […]
A Duke lab uses samples sent in by members of the public to gauge the extent of chemicals in household products. By Gabe Rivin For Kerri Duntley, the saga began with a smell. Duntley, who was pregnant with her third child, was excited to furnish her new house near Charlotte, and had just picked out […]
By Gabe Rivin Pregnant women in Durham County have shown high levels of cadmium in their blood, a finding that researchers linked to low birth weights among those women’s children. The findings, laid out in a new study from researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill and the University of Michigan, also found that nonsmokers tested high for […]
The final version of the bill that would green light hydraulic fracturing in North Carolina is poised for a final vote on Thursday. By Rose Hoban In less than 24 hours, House lawmakers rushed approval of a bill that would put hydraulic fracturing on the fast track in North Carolina. Lawmakers accelerated the Energy Modernization […]
By Stephanie Soucheray Hot on the heels of the White House statement on climate change, North Carolina researchers are sharing their findings on climate change’s potential to impact North Carolinians’ health. And they’re finding that North Carolina possesses unique vulnerabilities because of its varied geography, vulnerable coastline and rural populations. Last October, researchers and scientists […]
Many people worry about the potential health effects of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” but there are few studies that quantify what risks there might be. By Gabe Rivin Depending upon whom you ask, hydraulic fracturing is either a catastrophic risk for public health in North Carolina or offers an economic boon with a proven ability […]
