Le Comité de revue de la Convention de Stockholm sur les polluants organiques persistants (POPs) a indiqué vendredi qu'il recommandait l'élimination de l'ignifugeant HBCD, un produit utilisé principalement dans la fabrication de mousses de polystyrène.
More: Daily-Bourse (French)

Organochlorine pesticides, a class of older chemicals used mostly to kill bugs—including the now banned and notoriously toxic DDT—have been linked to all sorts of health problems over the years, including cancer, birth defects, and neurological problems. A new studied published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives discovered a link between organochlorine pesticides and developmental problems, as well. More: 

• Serum Concentrations of Organochlorine Pesticides and Growth among Russian Boys (Research article)

Fifty years ago the modern environmental movement was sparked into the mainstream media when Rachel Carson finished her groundbreaking book, “Silent Spring.”
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The people of Kasaragod were active participants in the worldwide crusade against the killer pesticide. Reports, pictures and videos of victims of the pesticide and the environmental hazards it had caused in Kasaragod had worked as a great inspiration for those who had successfully campaigned for its ban at the Geneva meet on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in April last.
More: www.dailypioneer.com

New studies have underscored the potentially harmful health effects of the most widely used flame retardants, found in everything from baby blankets to carpets. Health experts are now calling for more aggressive action to limit these chemicals, including cutting back on highly flammable, petroleum-based materials used in many consumer products.
More: Yale Environment 360

DDT, the pesticide that was banned almost thirty years ago, is still widely found in human bodies, says Professor Tze Wai Wong, an environmental epidemiologist and public health and occupational physician of The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
More: Asian Scientist

SYDNEY: Despite an international treaty banning its use, the pesticide DDT is still turning up in humans, confirming a continued presence in our food chain, new research suggests.
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Les pesticides organochlorés, des perturbateurs endocriniens encore présents dans l’alimentation, pourraient diminuer la fertilité chez les femmes en agissant dès le stade de l’implantation, selon une étude publiée dans la revue Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP). 
More: Journal de l'environnement (French)

The EPA and independent researchers can't possibly test the huge range of chemicals found in products we use. But now a tireless, efficient bot will take on the task.
More: Discover magazine

(Reuters Health) -  People with relatively high levels of certain pesticides in their blood may have an increased risk of type 2 diabetes -- particularly if they are overweight, a new study suggests.
More: www.reuters.com

For years, the explanation for weight gain was straightforward: it was all about energy balance, or calories-in versus calories-out. Environmental scientists have long suggested that there were likely external factors at work, but until recently, the traditional obesity-research community rejected such claims. Now it seems that the tide is turning in the light of the accumulating body of research linking the environment with obesity.
More: Nutrition Digest - American Nutrition Association

Many agricultural pesticides used in Europe could disrupt male hormones and lead to infertility problems, according to laboratory tests. Biomonitoring studies to investigate the actual behaviour of pesticides in the human body are now urgently needed to clarify the link between pesticide exposure and male reproductive health.
More: Science for Environment Policy - European Commission

AFP - "Dirty Dozen" chemicals, including the notoriously toxic DDT, are being freed from Arctic sea ice and snow through global warming, a study published on Sunday suggested.
More: The Independent | Environment

Unknown amount of trapped persistent organic pollutants poses threat to marine life and humans as temperatures rise. The warming of the Arctic is releasing a new wave of banned toxic chemicals that had been trapped in the ice and cold water, scientists have discovered.
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Une étude menée en Chine montre que l'exposition à des polluants organiques comme les PCB augmente le risque de malformation fœtale.
More: www.sciencesetavenir.fr (French)

Babies who were exposed to certain organic pollutants in the womb are at a highly increased risk of neural tube defects leading to conditions such as spina bifida, according to researchers in China.
More: Nature News

In a study of 31 Boston offices, polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants now banned internationally by the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants were detected in every office tested.
More: Occupational Health and Safety magazine

(Boston) Researchers studied over two dozen offices in Boston and discovered that dangerous flame retardant chemicals - polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) - banned by an international treaty are contaminating every office.
More: www.toxicfreefiresafety.org

Every week, it seems, a new study identifies potentially harmful chemicals in the food we eat, the makeup we wear, the toys and bottles used by our children. Next up: the recycled foam padding installed under wall-to-wall carpeting.
More: The New York Times

Bottlenose dolphins and beluga whales, two marine species at or near the top of their respective food webs, accumulate more chemical pollutants in their bodies when they live and feed in waters near urbanized areas.
More: Science Daily