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Colorado Kids With Leukemia Are More Than Twice as Likely to Live Near Dense Oil and Gas Development
Environmental Health News reported:
A recent study found that Colorado children who’d been diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia were more than twice as likely to live near dense oil and gas development, including both conventional and fracking wells, than healthy children throughout the state.
Oil and gas wells emit chemicals that have been linked to increased risk for this type of leukemia, the most common form of childhood cancer, including benzene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, among others.
Previous research in Colorado and Pennsylvania, which are among the top 10 energy-producing states in the country, have also linked living near oil and gas wells with higher risk for childhood leukemia, but this is the first to assess whether the density of wells and the volume of oil and gas being produced leads to greater risk.
The new study, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, looked at medical records for more than 3,000 children born in Colorado between 1992 and 2019. The researchers found that children who were diagnosed with leukemia between the ages of two and nine were more than twice as likely to live within five kilometers — about three miles — of dense oil and gas development compared to healthy children.
The study also found that children who’d been diagnosed with leukemia during this time period were between 1.4 and 2.64 times more likely to live within 13 kilometers (about eight miles) of dense oil and gas development.
Toxic Truth? The Cookware Craze Redefining ‘Ceramic’ and ‘Nontoxic’
The cookware industry has entered a golden age, largely driven by the wild success of a new generation of “nontoxic” and “nonstick” designer ceramic pans backed by stars including Selena Gomez, Stanley Tucci and Oprah Winfrey.
But the pans are probably not “nontoxic,” some independent testing and research suggest. Nor are they even “ceramic” — at least not in the way the public broadly thinks of ceramics. Now, regulators are investigating some of the pan sellers’ claims.
On Instagram, TikTok and their marketing materials, the social media-savvy cookware brands promise “enchantment,” and “non-toxic materials and thoughtful design” that “prioritizes the health and safety of you and your family.”
In fact, no legal definition for “nontoxic” or “ceramic” exists, and the marketing has drawn greenwashing accusations exacerbated by the companies concealing their pans’ ingredients.
And the blockbuster sellers like Our Place’s Always Pan, Caraway and GreenPan are typically made with a material that thinly coats an aluminum substrate and is characterized in one study as “quasi-ceramic.” Meanwhile, independent testing and research suggest quasi-ceramics may contain toxins like titanium dioxide, siloxanes, lead and mercury.
Document Shows E.P.A. Plans to Loosen Limits on Mercury From Power Plants
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to weaken a Biden-era regulation that required power plants to slash pollutants, including the emissions of mercury, a neurotoxin that impairs brain development, according to an internal agency document.
Lee Zeldin, the EPA administrator, intends to announce the proposed changes within days, according to two people who have been briefed on the agency’s plans. Zeldin also will release a separate proposal to eliminate limits on greenhouse gases from power plants, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss agency plans.
Together, the changes represent a repudiation of efforts taken by the Biden administration to tackle climate change and address the disproportionate levels of air pollution faced by communities near power plants and other industrial sites. Once finalized, likely at the end of this year, both rules are expected to face legal challenges.
The moves are part of a broad strategy by the Trump administration to expand the use of fossil fuels, the burning of which is dangerously heating the planet. President Trump has taken several recent steps to try to boost the use of coal, the dirtiest of the fossil fuels.
An EPA spokeswoman would not confirm the details of either regulation or when they would be made public. But Mr. Zeldin, in a statement, said he is “opposed to shutting down clean, affordable and reliable energy for American families.”
New to the ‘Dirty Dozen’ List: Blackberries and Potatoes
More than 90% of samples of a dozen fruits and vegetables tested positive for potentially harmful pesticide residues, according to the 2025 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce.
Dubbed the “Dirty Dozen,” the list is compiled from the latest government testing data on nonorganic produce by the Environmental Working Group, or EWG, a health advocacy organization that has produced the annual report since 2004. Spinach topped the list, with more pesticide residue by weight than any other produce tested, followed by strawberries, kale (along with mustard greens and collards), grapes, peaches, cherries, nectarines, pears, apples, blackberries, blueberries and potatoes.
The annual report is not meant to discourage consumers from eating fruits and vegetables, which are key to good health, but instead to provide tools for decisions on whether to buy organic for the fruits or vegetables their families consume the most, said Alexis Temkin, EWG’s vice president of science.
California Scientists Sound Alarm on Role of Pesticides in Raising Resistance to Antifungal Drugs
The proliferation of new fungicides in the U.S. agricultural sector may be raising resistance to critical antifungal medications in humans and animals, infectious disease experts are warning. Although antifungal pesticides have become vital to combating the spread of crop disease, the ongoing development of new such fungicides may be leaving people more vulnerable to severe infections, according to new commentary published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
“Antimicrobial resistant pathogens are a constant reminder for us to use agents judiciously,” lead author George Thompson, a professor of medicine at the University of California, Davis, said in a statement. “We have learned that the widespread use of antibiotics for livestock resulted in the rapid development of resistance to antibacterials,” Thompson continued. “We have similar concerns regarding the use of antifungals in the environment.”
In the past few decades, fungi that cause severe infections in humans — such as the difficult-to-treat Candida auris — have undergone a rapid increase, the scientists noted.
Scientists Warn Against Attempts to Change Definition of ‘Forever Chemicals’
A group of 20 internationally renowned scientists have issued a strong warning against attempts to narrow the definition of “forever chemicals” in what they describe as a politically or economically motivated effort to weaken regulation of the potentially harmful chemicals.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large group of synthetic chemicals used for their oil-, water- and stain-resistant properties in a range of consumer and industrial products from waterproof clothing and non-stick cookware to firefighting foams and electronics.
Their molecular structure makes them resistant to degradation, earning them the nickname “forever chemicals”. In the last few years there has been growing awareness of the problems associated with PFAS, and a push for more stringent regulation, resulting in the banning of certain forms.
A group of scientists are now raising the alarm about efforts, including by some individuals and groups in the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, or IUpac, to narrow the current international definition of PFAS in ways that could exclude certain chemical subgroups.
