EHN Originals

Bonnie Waites remembers how Chester sounded years ago, before the incinerator came to town in 1992, bringing the seemingly endless rumble of waste trucks into this small city in southeastern Pennsylvania, just down the Delaware River from Philadelphia. Back then, she and her neighbors could hear the clear call of the church bells ringing down…

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There’s nothing more important than making sure our babies are safe and healthy — and new testing from Mamavation has uncovered one more way to do that. Partnering with EHN.org, the environmental wellness blog and community had 65 diapers and similar accessories from 40 different brands tested by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-certified lab and…

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Senior fellows Dr. Robbie Parks, Jan-Michael Archer and Marissa Chan join the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss what is means to be biracial. Parks, an assistant professor in environmental health sciences at Columbia University; Archer, a Ph.D. candidate and National Science Foundation Research Trainee at the University of Maryland School of…

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Chemical recycling — an umbrella term used to describe processes that break plastic waste down into molecular building blocks with high heat or chemicals and convert them into new products — will not help reduce plastic pollution, but rather exacerbate environmental problems, according to a new report by nonprofit environmental advocacy groups Beyond Plastics and…

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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. European researchers have found new evidence linking popular weed-killing products to cancer at levels currently considered safe. The study focused on glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide and other brands, and…

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It was a win in the battle against plastic pollution — until it wasn’t. On Oct. 8, California governor Gavin Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill 1628, which would have required plastic microfiber filters on new residential washing machines sold in the state by 2029. The bill, which passed California’s legislature on Sept. 13 , would have…

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Dr. Carlos Gould joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss his latest research on wildfire smoke’s impact on our health, and how we can protect ourselves. Gould, a senior Agents of Change fellow and assistant professor at the University of California, San Diego School of Public Health, recently published multiple wildfire…

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PITTSBURGH — “Forever chemicals” have been used in Pennsylvania fracking wells, but it’s impossible to know how widespread contamination could be, according to a new report. The report, published today by Physicians for Social Responsibility, an environmental health advocacy group, found eight documented cases of the group of chemicals known as PFAS(per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances)…

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A Philadelphia jury on Friday hit Monsanto with a $175 million verdict in favor of a cancer patient who claimed the company failed to warn about known carcinogens in its best-selling herbicide, Roundup. The verdict is part of a string of nine- and 10-figure judgments against the Bayer AG subsidiary in recent years, including 2019…

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October is breast cancer awareness month, and alongside the ubiquitous pink ribbons is the usual advice for prevention: Don’t smoke, focus on diet and exercise, and do regular exams. But there’s a major opportunity for breast cancer prevention that’s often overlooked — preventing exposure to harmful chemicals. Up to 95% of cancer cases are preventable,…

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