Login
Draft of White House Report Suggests Kennedy Won’t Push Strict Pesticide Regulations
A highly anticipated White House report on the health of American children would stop short of proposing direct restrictions on ultraprocessed foods and pesticides that the health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has called major threats, according to a draft of the document that was reviewed by The New York Times.
The report, if adopted, would be good news for the food and agriculture industries, which feared far more restrictive proposals than the ones outlined in the draft. Through his “Make America Healthy Again” movement, Mr. Kennedy has sought to overhaul the nation’s diet by pushing those industries to make major changes.
The draft includes an array of policy proposals calling for research into topics as distinct as electromagnetic radiation and children’s oral health. It also recommends action on health initiatives, like efforts to increase breastfeeding rates, address infertility and educate the public on the dangers of vaping.
Syngenta Closer to Settling Thousands of US Paraquat Lawsuits
Syngenta is another step closer to potentially putting an end to thousands of lawsuits brought by people blaming the company’s paraquat weed killer for causing Parkinson’s disease.
After signing a preliminary agreement with plaintiffs’ attorneys in April, the company now has in place a signed “Master Settlement Agreement,” according to a recent court filing.
Within 60 to 90 days, the two sides plan to present plaintiffs with a payout schedule showing the range of estimated settlement amounts to be offered. Plaintiffs will then be able to opt in or out of the settlement, Khaldoun Baghdadi, one of the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs, said in a court hearing in Contra Costa County Superior Court on Wednesday.
“There is a budgeting process that is underway. We’re moving as fast as we can,” Baghdadi told the court. “There are several thousand cases at play.” In response to a question by Judge Edward Weil, Baghdadi acknowledged it is likely not all plaintiffs will agree to the settlement, and will continue to pursue taking their cases to trial.
Federal Judge Sees ‘Urgency’ in Maryland PFAS Contamination Claims
A federal judge this week said that a group of Maryland residents could proceed with a class action lawsuit against Perdue Farms that alleges the company’s soybean plant improperly discharged harmful chemicals that contaminated their well water, but dismissed claims seeking to link the contamination to residents’ existing medical ailments.
The environmental contamination is a matter “of some urgency,” U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher wrote in her opinion, filed Aug. 12 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. Gallagher denied Perdue’s request to delay the case pending an investigation by state regulators.
“Without specifying the health conditions they previously had or presently suffer from, they have neither provided Perdue adequate notice of their claims nor set forth facts plausibly establishing causation,” wrote Judge Gallagher in the opinion.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys said they welcome the decision to move the case forward. Since the ruling was issued “without prejudice,” it is possible for claims based on current health problems to be refiled as more evidence is discovered.
The Cancer Patient Who Inspired French Movement to Block Reintroduction of Pesticide
On the day French MPs gave themselves a round of applause for approving legislation to reintroduce a banned pesticide last month, a figure rose from the public gallery to shout: “You are supporters of cancer … and we will make it known.”
Fleur Breteau made it known. Her outburst and appearance — she lost her hair during chemotherapy for breast cancer — boosted a petition against the “Duplomb law” to well over 2m signatures.
On Thursday, France’s constitutional court struck down the government’s attempt to reintroduce the pesticide acetamiprid — a neonicotinoid banned in France in 2018 but still used as an insecticide in other EU countries as well as the U.K. — in a judgment that took everyone by surprise. The ruling said the legislature had undermined “the right to live in a balanced and healthy environment” enshrined in France’s environmental charter.
‘Alarmingly High’ Levels of Forever Chemicals Found at Airports in England, Investigation Reveals
“Alarmingly high” levels of toxic forever chemicals have been detected at English airports – in some cases thousands of times higher than proposed EU safe levels — with experts raising concerns over the potential impact on drinking water sources.
Seventeen airports recorded elevated levels of PFAS in the ground and surface water sample on their sites, according to unpublished Environment Agency documents, obtained exclusively by the Ends Report and the Guardian via an environmental information request.
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a family of about 10,000 chemicals which persist in the environment and have been linked to a range of serious illnesses. They are used in many consumer products, from frying pans to waterproof coats, but one of their most common uses is in firefighting foams.
