EHN Originals

Worldwide, an estimated 10 million people have Parkinson’s disease– a progressive, neurological condition that can lead to slowed, rigid movements, tremors and, in some cases, cognitive decline. There is no cure for Parkinson’s, which primarily impacts those over the age of 65. While certain genetic and environmental risk factors have been identified, it remains unknown…

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Two brands of condoms and one brand of lubricant have detectable levels of organic fluorine, an indicator of the group of chemicals known as PFAS, according to a new report from Mamavation. Partnering with EHN.org, the environmental wellness blog and community had 25 condoms and four lubricants tested by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-certified lab…

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Back in the late 1960s, the term “environmental health” hadn’t yet fully entered the science lexicon. The cities and towns along the south end of San Francisco Bay may have been best known for earthquakes and aerospace. Joseph LaDou didn’t christen the place Silicon Valley. But his early work on the health risks in the…

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MATTAPAN, Mass. — A bird calls through the canopy of autumn leaves as Amenyonah Bossman walks onto Livermore Street. She’s lived just one block away for the past 20 years along with her three sons. Their neighborhood, one of the poorest in Boston, has few spaces to escape urban sprawl. This tree-lined road, nestled between…

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This story was originally published in The New Lede, a journalism project of the Environmental Working Group, and is republished here with permission. In December 2021, a small team of scientists working for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a stark report on a controversial weed killer that had been the subject of years…

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The effects of environmental hazards on children’s health are widely researched and documented. Exposure to environmental pollutants can be especially damaging to fetuses as they develop in the womb, resulting in low birth weights, congenital disorders and even stillbirths. But during pregnancy, fetuses’ bodies aren’t the only ones that develop. Pregnant people go through a…

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Azmal Hossan joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss his recent selection for the 2030 Climate Champions fellowship, an initiative from The Asia Foundation aimed at bolstering U.S. and China collaboration on climate change. Hossan, a sociology Ph.D. student and a National Research Trainee in Interdisciplinary Training, Education, and Research in…

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SAN FRANCISCO – Every day, 58-year-old Armando Monroy separates tons of trash at the Beacon Grand Hotel in San Francisco’s Union Square. The hotel basement has four recycling tanks where Monroy finds waste that is not sorted correctly, including plastic containers, paper, cans, cardboard, glass and food. “People don’t understand,” he told Environmental Health News…

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PITTSBURGH — A pair of economic impact studies that were used to justify billions of dollars in tax breaks to bring a massive petrochemical complex to Pennsylvania used flawed methods and misled lawmakers, according to a new report. Shell Polymers Monaca, the company’s first Appalachian plastics plant that sits about 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh,…

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Toxic pollution from the petrochemical industry along the Houston Ship Channel in Texas is causing “devastating harms” to local communities, according to a new report by international human rights advocacy group Amnesty International. The report underscores the climate, environmental, and human rights tolls linked to petrochemical production, adding to the ongoing controversy surrounding the practices…

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