According to new research, there was no substantial change from 2000 to 2009 in the global use of the insecticide DDT to control diseases such as malaria. Pyrethroids, another type of insecticide, are also widely used, but there are concerns that insects are developing resistance and insecticidal nets containing pyrethroids are becoming less effective. More:
Science for Environment Policy

In past decades, scientific knowledge and feasible technologies were unavailable, but now there is enough expertise to pursue discontinuation of hazardous and toxic reagents. More:
Chemistry International

As the postmarket research continues, one wonders: Who, exactly, decides on the replacements for toxic chemicals, and on the basis of what criteria? And why does finding truly safer alternatives seem so difficult? More:
Environmental Health Perspectives

There are differences in the assessment and restriction of chemicals exempt from the EU’s regulatory instrument REACH. A new study has analysed the differences between several regulatory frameworks that govern these chemicals and recommended greater harmonisation in assessment criteria and regulatory follow-up. More:
Science for Environment Policy

Rattled in Europe by the REACH regulation and carbon dioxide emission curbs, international chemical companies are at the Rio Earth Summit determined to push for a global approach to environmental policy – but with a light regulatory touch. Speaking ahead of the Rio summit, international chemical firms were keen to convey the message that environmental standards are better if they are implemented globally. More:
EurActiv.com

Over the past several decades, U.S. industries have injected more than 30 trillion gallons of toxic liquid deep into the earth, using broad expanses of the nation's geology as an invisible dumping ground. Federal rules divide wells into six classes based on the material they hold and the industry that produced it. More:
ProPublica

In the fall of 1982, Warren County, one of the poorest counties in North Carolina, drew national attention when civil rights figures, religious leaders and others joined local residents trying to stop construction of a toxic waste landfill. Although the effort ultimately failed, and more than 6,000 truckloads of soil laden with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were deposited there, the protest marked the birth of America’s environmental justice movement. More:
Environmental Health News

SACRAMENTO, Calif./California Newswire - In an effort to protect public safety by reducing the use of toxic flame retardants, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. has directed state agencies to revise flammability standards for upholstered furniture sold in the state. More:
Fire Engineering

To detoxify the stock of endosulfan kept in corroded barrels at three godowns of the Plantation Corporation of Kerala (PCK), the deadly pesticide will be transferred to fresh barrels from Sunday. More:
The Hindu
See also: Endosulfan gets a ‘makeover’ at PCK estate - The Hindu

High exposures to a well known stain repellent chemical have been linked to increased risk of thyroid disease in highly exposed children. The chemical is known as PFOA. Two related chemicals – PFOS and PFNA – were also linked to higher levels of a thyroid hormone called total T4 in these kids. More:
Environmental Health News

Medical students in Israel, the United States and Europe are not receiving adequate environmental health education, a study sponsored by the Haifa-based Public Health Coalition has reported. More:
The Jerusalem Post

Le sandwich au beurre de cacahouète est aux Américains ce que le jambon-beurre est au consommateur gaulois : incontournable ! Mais nos amis yankees pourraient se passer du cocktail toxique qui l’accompagne. More:
Terra eco (French)

A common flame retardant showed up in a variety of store-bought foods including meat, peanut butter and fish. The discovery of the chemical HBCD adds to growing evidence that our food supply is full of unwanted chemicals, including flame retardants. More:
Discovery News

Un estudio demuestra por primera vez con datos de campo cómo afecta el ciclo biogeoquímico de los contaminantes a su distribución global y concluye que el océano "controla" el transporte atmosférico de contaminantes orgánicos hacia el Ártico. More:
Europapress.es (Spanish)

A study of 83 North Carolina toddlers, recently published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, suggests that exposure to potentially toxic flame-retardant chemicals may be higher in nonwhite toddlers than in white toddlers. More:
Science Daily

Avec le soutien de partenaires et de 13 pays de l`Afrique francophone, la Côte d`Ivoire a mis en place un projet régional pour une gestion écologiquement rationnelle des déchets liquides polychlorobiphenyles ( Pcbs). More:
news.abidjan.net (French)

The war to bring malaria to heel has made slow but steady progress during the past decade, with the overall mortality rate dropping by more than 25% since 2000. More:
www.nature.com

The odds seem to be stacked against large-scale reform of U.S. legislation, but that doesn’t mean U.S. companies are off the hook when it comes to toxic chemicals. 
More: www.forbes.com

Europe last year saw its first drop in the number of toxic toys and skin-irritating textiles stacked on its supermarket shelves, more than half of them made in China, the EU said Tuesday.
More: www.france24.com

When scientists in a government lab touched a small flame to a pair of upholstered chairs — one with a flame retardant in the foam and one without — both were engulfed in flames within four minutes.
More: Chicago Tribune