Latest news with #toxicchemicals
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Biden Admin accused of covering up 'cancer clusters' after major 2023 health emergency
The Biden administration has been accused of covering up the devastating reality of a potential Ohio cancer cluster. A new whistleblower report shows Biden and authorities like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) ignored and failed to publish health data after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, in February 2023. The Government Accountability Project has obtained federal emails and documents alleging the government knew there would be 'inevitable health impacts' from the incident. They also claim the Biden administration knew residents would need health checkups for at least 20 years after the spill — but failed to disclose that to the public. The chemicals released during the disaster, many of which are known carcinogens, spilled into the soil of the 5,000-person town and the nearby Ohio River. They also spread through the air in massive 'really toxic' smoke plumes,' which could increase the risk of 'cancer clusters' forming, according to the head of the watchdog group. Two years later, East Palestine residents are still exposed to a dozen chemicals linked to respiratory issues, fatigue, high blood pressure, leukemia and kidney, lung, liver and brain cancer. And a recent paper found 540,000 square miles, spanning 16 states, were exposed to traces of volatile chemicals during the disaster. Lesley Pacey, an investigator with the Government Accountability Project, told NewsNation: 'They knew that there would be the potential for cancer clusters. 'These documents confirm what East Palestine residents have feared: government officials knew about the serious health risks posed by the derailment and controlled burn but deliberately kept this information from the community.' Pacey obtained FEMA documents and emails between the agency and the White House, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Justice and the National Security council, which showed the people of East Palestine are still prone to devastating health consequences. According to Pacey, the emails noted 'the occurrence of a cancer-cluster in [East Palestine] is not zero' and urged efforts 'to identify cancer clusters.' The Government Accountability Project's report also revealed the Biden administration allegedly thought East Palestine residents would need at least 20 years of medical checks following the incident. The Project also determined the findings 'point to inevitable health impacts.' Over a dozen chemicals were in the rail cars, including several carcinogens. Vinyl chloride, for example, travels through the blood and gets broken down by the liver into even more toxic chemicals. When breathed in over many years, it can cause liver and nerve damage and leave people with a weakened immune system. Exposure to the gas is also associated with a heightened risk of a rare form of liver cancer (hepatic angiosarcoma), as well as primary liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma), brain and lung cancers, lymphoma and leukemia. When burned, vinyl chloride creates hydrogen chloride and phosgene — a highly toxic, colorless gas with a strong odor that can cause vomiting and breathing trouble and was used as a chemical weapon in World War I. Trichloroethylene, meanwhile, is a clear liquid used as a solvent in for rubbers, fats, oils, waxes and resins. It's also a known carcinogen that has been linked to kidney and liver cancer, as well as non-Hodgkin lymphoma. And colorless liquid butyl acrylate has been linked to irritation in the eyes, including redness and tearing up, a scratchy throat, issues with breathing and redness and cracking of the skin. Continued exposure over months and years can cause the skin to itch and affected areas to ooze. Sil Caggiano, a hazardous materials specialist and former fire department chief, told WKBN 27 First News in 2023: 'We basically nuked a town with chemicals so we could get a railroad open.'
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Pfas detected in US beers in new study, raising safety concerns
All but one of 23 beers sampled for toxic Pfas 'forever chemicals' contained the compounds, new research finds, raising safety questions about one of the world's most popular beverages. The researchers checked craft beer from multiple states, major domestic brands, and several international labels. When possible, they compared the measurements to Pfas levels in the county water supply where each was bottled, revealing a 'strong correlation' that suggests contaminated water is driving most of the problem. The levels were often above some drinking water limits for Pfas. The study isn't meant to scare people away from drinking beer, the authors wrote, but 'inform brewers, consumers, and policymakers in making data-driven decisions about beer consumption and addressing risks'. 'If you want to still enjoy happy hour, then I think you should, but I hope our findings help future happy hours be relatively healthier,' lead author Jennifer Hoponick Redmon, a senior environmental health scientist for the RTI International non-profit, told the Guardian. Pfas are a class of about 15,000 compounds most frequently used to make products water-, stain- and grease-resistant. They have been linked to cancer, birth defects, decreased immunity, high cholesterol, kidney disease and a range of other serious health problems. They are dubbed 'forever chemicals' because they do not naturally break down in the environment. The levels detected in the beer were as high as 40 parts per trillion (ppt). Drinking water limits for several common Pfas compounds are between four and 10 ppt, though drinking water is more of a risk because people generally consume more of it. The highest levels were detected in beer brewed in the Cape Fear River Basin in North Carolina, where the environment has been thoroughly contaminated by Pfas largely stemming from a Chemours chemical plant in Fayetteville. Beer produced there showed some chemicals made at the Chemours plant, and generally contained a wider variety of Pfas compounds. The levels in Cape Fear regions in which public water utilities have installed new filtration systems in response to Chemours' pollution showed lower levels than those in areas that have not. The highest levels of PFOA, a chemical for which federal regulators have said no level of exposure in drinking water is safe, were detected in beer made in Michigan's Kalamazoo county, which also had high levels of the compound in its water. The study also found a correlation between firefighting foam pollution hot spots and Pfas levels in the beer. Firefighting foam contains high concentrations of Pfas and is used by the military, airports and other sources, and is among the leading causes of water pollution. Two of the international brands – from Mexico and the Netherlands – showed no or low levels of the chemicals. Some of the Pfas could stem from other sources, such as wheat or barley contaminated from the use of tainted fertilizers, pesticides or water. Hoses and tubing are sometimes made with Pfas, as are some plastics and packaging. The study did not check those variables. Hoponick Redmon said brewers interested in reducing Pfas levels should install granular activated carbon or reverse osmosis filtration systems, which are the most effective for Pfas removal. Beer drinkers can protect themselves by checking for Pfas levels in the areas in which beer is bottled, and asking brewers if they use the filtration systems.
Globe and Mail
6 days ago
- Health
- Globe and Mail
PEI only province openly following Health Canada guidelines for toxic ‘forever chemicals'
The old landfill 150 metres from Doug Jenkins's front door in Hazelbrook, PEI, has been closed for a few years now, its contents concealed under a stubble of grass and trees. But he and his neighbours had long wondered what lies beneath that tranquil surface, where layers of construction and demolition debris rot alongside the groundwater flowing to local taps. Recently, a provincial testing program – the only one of its kind in Canada – confirmed Mr. Jenkins's worst fears: His water contains 20 times the level of toxic 'forever chemicals' than is recommended by Health Canada. He and several neighbouring households in this rural municipality, located 10 kilometres east of Charlottetown, are now consuming and cooking with bottled water supplied by the province. They join a growing list of Islanders finding out their drinking water no longer meets federal standards for a family of synthetic compounds known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are found in myriad consumer products. 'For us, this is catastrophic event,' Mr. Jenkins said from his home on a 100-acre farm that has been in his family for at least four generations. 'It's a lost legacy. If the water is poisoned, the land is tainted.' With mounting research identifying links between the compounds and a constellation of adverse health effects, Health Canada issued new guidance last summer for PFAS in drinking water. Eight months later, The Globe asked all the provinces whether they are following it. Only PEI said yes. The province's initiative has earned praise while raising tough questions about why others have yet to follow suit. 'Everyone should be testing, all the time,' said Brian Gallant, the former mayor of Hazelbrook, whose PFAS readings came back low. 'I don't think people realize the threat this PFAS stuff can pose. We kind of just woke up when it turned up in our own backyard.' PFAS first appeared in the labs of chemical giant DuPont in the 1930s. Today there are more than 12,000 types of PFAS and they can be found in the blood of virtually every human on the planet. Prized for repelling oil, water and resisting heat, the compounds have been added to an endless list of products over the decades, including non-stick pans, stain-resistant carpets, fast-food containers, waterproof clothing and firefighting foam. At the heart of PFAS is one of strongest bonds in organic chemistry, the carbon-flourine bond. The hardy chemistry is ideal for commercial applications, but its resistance to environmental breakdown also helps the compounds accumulate in living things. Research has linked PFAS to developmental delays in children, hormonal interference, immune suppression and some cancers. The fallout has led to billions in U.S. lawsuit settlements against manufacturers such as DuPont and 3M. Toxic 'forever chemicals' found in PEI community's drinking water Mr. Jenkins didn't know much about the compounds when the province asked whether they could test his water late last year. On Jan. 14, he received a letter stating that for every litre of water coming out of his taps, technicians had found 606.6 nanograms of PFAS. That level of contamination is vanishingly small – equivalent to roughly 30 raindrops in an Olympic-sized swimming pool. And until August of last year, it would have fallen within existing guidelines. Last summer, however, Health Canada introduced a new approach. Instead of setting limits on individual PFAS, it set a total limit – 30 nanograms per litre (ng/L) – for 25 of the most common. But the new federal benchmark has one giant caveat. Health Canada calls it an 'objective value,' meaning it's a goal, not an enforceable limit. When the Globe queried the provinces about the guidance, neither Alberta nor Nova Scotia sent a response. Of the rest, most say they're still reviewing the new standards. Some have tested municipal systems for PFAS, but not as widely or transparently as PEI. Manitoba, for example, won't release its results, calling them proprietary. In Ontario, the Ministry of Environment has maintained its own PFAS drinking water threshold of 70 ng/L since 2017. A spokesman cited cost as a barrier to more widespread testing. Quebec, which has sampled water in more than 40 municipalities, suffered some embarrassment in 2023 when Sébastien Sauvé, an environmental chemistry professor at Université de Montréal, turned up elevated PFAS contamination in several communities. One of them was La Baie, situated next to CFB Bagotville, where PFAS-laden firefighting foams were used extensively. He suggests more widespread government testing is needed. 'Why is it a chemistry professor's work that identifies a drinking water system contaminated by a military base?' he said in an interview. PEI's drinking water comes entirely from underground sources, where natural filtration means little treatment is needed. Last year, Charlottetown earned the American Water Works Association's trophy for best-tasting water, beating out jurisdictions from all over North America. 'Islanders are very passionate about their drinking water, and they're very proud of it,' said Morley Foy, PEI's manager of drinking water and waste water management. Canadian scientists have found a way to trap 'forever chemicals' Mr. Foy said that pride is why the province moved so quickly on PFAS. Health Canada alerted the provinces and territories of its imminent guidance change in 2023. Before the year was up, PEI had launched an ambitious testing program, starting with municipal water systems, expanding to schools, seniors homes, selected residential sites, airports, firefighting schools, landfills and demolition sites. The approach carried huge financial risks. After Sauvé's discovery in La Baie, Ottawa pledged $15.5-million for a temporary fix. The price tag for a permanent solution has been pegged at up to $100-million. Still, PEI persisted. Since 2023, it has conducted roughly 4,500 analyses at around 100 sites and posted the results online – a level of transparency rare in Canada. Outside of a few anomalies (Hazelbrook and a former Canadian Forces base called Slemon Park among them), the island's water sources show low – and in many cases, undetectable – levels of PFAS. Ottawa to designate 'forever chemicals,' linked to cancer, liver damage, as toxic Elsewhere in the country, some water experts argue the cost-benefit calculus behind Health Canada's guidance doesn't add up. 'When I look at the justifications that were provided by Health Canada for us doing this, they weren't very compelling,' said Steve Hrudey, professor emeritus of the University of Alberta's medicine faculty, who has served on numerous expert panels on drinking water quality, including the 2000 Walkerton inquiry in Ontario. Curbing PFAS use and production has yielded far more promising results for limiting human exposure, he said. Health Canada has found that blood concentrations of two common PFAS – PFOA and PFOS – declined by more than 50 per cent between 2009 and 2019, owing largely to restrictions on their use. 'Clearly there's evidence to have some concern,' he said. 'But if you're trying to limit population exposure to these chemicals, is regulation of drinking water your best bet? I would say no.' PEI is undeterred. The province is looking for more sites to test and working closely with contaminated communities on options for cleaning the water. 'When people become aware of this issue, they become very passionate about,' Mr. Foy said. 'It's important to be pro-active and share the results – it's their water.'
Fox News
26-05-2025
- Health
- Fox News
Military veterans of US' 'toxic soup' Uzbekistan base fighting for proper care 20 years after its shutter
Print Close By Morgan Phillips Published May 26, 2025 At the former Soviet base-turned-CIA black site and U.S. military base in Uzbekistan, researchers knew early on danger lingered not just from the enemy but from the ground itself. Karshi-Khanabad Air Base, known as K2, was a launchpad for U.S. operations into Afghanistan after 9/11. But for thousands of American troops who served there, it may have been a death sentence. Matthew "Nick" Nicholls, an Army environmental technician and preventive medicine specialist, was part of an early team that assessed the environmental hazards at K2. "It is probably the most toxic soup of chemicals that any service member has ever been exposed to," Nicholls told Fox News Digital. Yellowcake uranium oozed from the ground. Jet fuel and volatile chemicals from decaying Soviet rocket bunkers polluted the soil and air. Dangerous fumes hung over the base like the fog of forgotten war. Nicholls and his team warned commanders, providing recommendations like laying down gravel to suppress toxic dust and restrictions on how long personnel could work in high-risk zones. Some precautions were taken, others weren't. "People that I am friends with are actively dying from cancer right now," Nicholls said. "These are weird ontologies that are striking down people who are very young, people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, in the prime of their life." K2 veterans have reported a disturbing trend of rare and aggressive cancers, reproductive organ diseases, osteoarthritis and sudden, unexplained deaths. VICTIM SPEAKS OUT AFTER NAVY DENIES FUEL-CONTAMINATED WATER CAUSED INJURIES: 'AFFECTED IN NEARLY EVERY WAY' "These are not the cancers that young people normally get," Nicholls said. "Their stories are not really able to be told. That's the tragedy of it." "These people went there right after 9/11 to avenge the deaths of those who were murdered," Nicholls said. "Yet we had this launching pad in Uzbekistan that was left in such derelict condition by the Soviets." Between 2001 and 2005, more than 15,000 U.S. service members passed through K2. Thousands more served as contractors. Many now find themselves struggling to get adequate medical care or recognition from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The VA recognizes such veterans "may have encountered several hazardous exposures," and the Department of Defense conducted an initial study to look at cancer outcomes. But that study was based only on a few cases of each type of cancer and should not be viewed as "definitive evidence of an association with service at K-2," the VA says. But a spokesperson for Rep. Mark Green said he does not believe these studies were enough, that they did not take the full extent of contamination into account and did not appropriately inform occupants of the base of their exposure risk or account for the full range of diseases that can result from toxic exposures. "That is why Rep. Green's NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) amendment calls for a new, fully rigorous epidemiological study to cover these blind spots," the spokesperson said. "There are too many unknowns to call it a case closed." Fox News Digital has reached out to the VA for comment. Green, R-Tenn., and Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., introduced a provision in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act requiring the Pentagon to complete a study on K2 exposure within 180 days. Four years later, that study remains unfinished. "This is unjust," Green told Fox News Digital. "There were repeated warnings that service members were being exposed to toxins, and yet their health and safety were ignored by Pentagon leadership of that day." In a letter first obtained by Fox News Digital that went out late Friday, Green is pressing the Pentagon to complete the long-overdue study, a step he argues is essential to ensure K2 veterans receive the care they deserve. "Because this study has yet to be completed (as far as Congress is aware), many K2 veterans are still waiting to receive much needed care," he wrote. "This is unjust. There were repeated warnings at Camp Stronghold Freedom that servicemembers (sic) were being exposed to toxins, and yet their health and safety were ignored by the Pentagon leadership of that day." The Pentagon told Fox News Digital it would respond to Green privately. 'LIKE A CAR CRASH': NAVY FIGHTER PILOT DESCRIBES BRAIN INJURY PHENOMENON NOW AT CENTER OF CONGRESSIONAL PROBE In 2024, the VA moved to expand access to disability for K2 veterans and lower the burden of proof for the veterans to link their illnesses to their service. But advocates say it wasn't enough. "The VA is dragging its feet," Green said. "I think it really purely comes down to cost. I get that the VA wants to be judicious, but my God, the numbers here are so convincing. This is long past due." Green has also introduced new legislation requiring the VA to formally recognize links between K2 toxic exposure and diseases like cancer, ensuring affected veterans qualify for care and benefits. Toxins at K2 included petrochemicals, volatile organic compounds, depleted uranium, burn pits and tetrachlorethylene, all chemicals associated with long-term health risks. But K2 veterans are not specifically named in the PACT Act, which expanded coverage for other toxic exposures like Agent Orange and burn pits. Green, a physician and Army veteran, sees disturbing echoes of past delays. CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "Bureaucrats come and go, and bureaucrats have their own agendas," he said. "I want to make sure that it's written in stone and that these guys are not forgotten." Print Close URL
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Republicans' pro-pollution agenda exposes the fraudulent MAHA movement
As Republicans peddle propaganda about their purported desire to 'Make America Healthy Again,' they're pursuing a literally toxic agenda, one that's rolling back anti-pollution measures and putting Americans at risk. For me, this came to mind last week, when the Trump administration announced that it was rolling back guidelines meant to prevent the spread of 'forever chemicals,' which have been linked to cancer and heart disease. This week, Donald Trump's Environmental Protection Agency chief, Lee Zeldin, launched what I'd describe as a vocal defense of some forever chemicals, claiming that research is inconclusive and framing the Biden administration's regulations as too onerous for corporations. In an interview with Fox News, Zeldin said entities that provide water to the masses deserve 'more flexibility to be able to come into compliance,' which sounds like bureaucratic jargon that effectively means companies should have more leeway and not be forced to meet strict standards. As the saying goes, 'the devil doesn't need an advocate.' And I don't think cancer-causing chemicals do either. And keep in mind: This move is coming from the same administration whose health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has spread conspiracy theories about fluoridated water. In addition, House Republicans approved a measure early Thursday that would roll back the Biden administration's guidelines meant to prevent air pollution. The GOP-led Senate approved a similar measure last month, and the House version is headed to Trump's desk to be signed into law. As The Hill reported: The House early Thursday morning voted to eliminate a Biden-era rule that sought to crack down on toxic air pollution, sending the resolution to President Trump's desk. The vote was 216-212, and Trump is expected to sign the measure. The vote took place overnight as the House debated the GOP's megabill of Trump's priorities. The Biden-era policy required polluters that had once been considered 'major' emitters of seven types of pollution to continue to follow strict pollution control and reporting requirements. Senate Republicans also bypassed the filibuster this week in order to kill California's air pollution standards that regulate vehicles' emissions. California Gov. Gavin Newsom hit the nail on the head while vowing to fight the move, saying the GOP's legislation stands to 'make America smoggy again.' The past week has highlighted the ruse undergirding the GOP's Make America Healthy Again rhetoric. As Trump, Kennedy and others in the MAGA movement portray themselves as faithful stewards of Americans' health, this administration and its allies in Congress appear to be doing everything in their power to make it easier for dangerous toxins to reach the masses. This article was originally published on
