Brian Bienkowski

3 weeks ago | thenewlede.org | Brian Bienkowski

Listen to the audio version of this article (generated by AI). Researchers have long warned that tiny air pollutants — 30 times smaller than the width of a human hair — are linked to preterm births. Now they’re one step closer to knowing why: Breathing in these tiny particles — largely caused by traffic, industry, burning fossil fuels and wildfire smoke — disrupts the molecules in pregnant women’s blood, raising the risk for preterm and early births, according to a new study from Emory University.

1 month ago | thenewlede.org | Brian Bienkowski

Listen to the audio version of this article (generated by AI). Tony Spaniola’s “up north” home in Michigan is in a once pristine northeast part of the state on the shores of Lake Huron. But the community of Oscoda has been told by health officials to not eat local fish or deer, drink the water from certain community wells or touch any foam along the Lake Huron shoreline.

1 month ago | thenewlede.org | Brian Bienkowski

Listen to the audio version of this article (generated by AI). By R. Thomas ZoellerThe US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently targeted synthetic dyes in food, calling on food companies to eliminate their use. But dyes are not the only harmful petroleum-based chemicals in our food.

1 month ago | investigatemidwest.org | Brian Bienkowski

Debra Shankland was a kid when the Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire in 1969. “I saw the dead fish, I smelled it,” the retired biologist and environmental educator told a room of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) representatives on Wednesday. Shankland was one of many speakers at the latest listening session led by the EPA as the agency crafts a new definition for the long controversial language “waters of the United States” contained in the Clean Water Act.

1 month ago | principia-scientific.com | Brian Bienkowski

Written by Brian Bienkowski on May 15, 2025. Posted in Current News The only thing hazier than your favorite IPA might be the chemicals lurking in it. Many popular beers — from both small breweries to large domestic and international ones — contain types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) linked to cancer and other health problems, according to a new study published in Environmental Science and Technology that looked at PFAS in 94 samples of beer.