paulb0t's story links

The government of India announced today that it would set up an “Empowered Commission” to investigate issues and claims surrounding rehabilitation of the victims of the 1984 Bhopal pesticide plant explosion, and cleanup of the hazardous waste and environmental damage remaining in the area. The poison gas disaster killed more than 3,500 people immediately and some 15,000 total over the years since the explosion.

A coalition of U.S. public interest groups are protesting budget cuts that will kill the collection and public reporting of pesticide use by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

Used in the U.S. on tomatoes, cotton and other crops, endosulfan harms the hormone system, and low levels of exposure in the womb have been linked to autism, male reproductive harm and other birth defects. EPA’s own analysis shows that endosulfan endangers workers who handle it directly and those who work in endosulfan-treated fields. Endosulfan travels great distances, accumulates up the food chain, and poses grave risks to aquatic ecosystems. Take action!

The second circuit federal appellate court on Thursday will hear a challenge to an EPA rule that allows people to be used as guinea pigs in tests of toxic pesticides. A loophole in the new EPA rule will allow testing of pregnant women, infants and children and the agency provides no guarantee of medical coverage, providing only $300 in compensation.

On October 5, EPA approved a new fumigant pesticide -- the carcinogenic chemical methyl iodide -- ignoring concerns of over fifty eminent scientists about the risks workers and communities will face if this chemical is used. Tell EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson to immediately reverse EPA's approval of methyl iodide: don't replace one dangerous chemical with another.