Consumer Safety
Problems with food safety protection are rampant
A watchdog report by Justina Wang of the Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, N.Y.) looks at how the latest salmonella contamination exposes vulnerabilities in the protection of U.S. food safety. Despite calls for stricter oversight, the system remains inadequate. The article points out that “federal officials hold little power to force recalls or oversee the daily…
Read MoreEPA allows companies to keep chemical information secret
In the latest installment of their ongoing 18-month investigation, Susanne Rust and Meg Kissinger of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel found that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency routinely allows companies to keep new information about their chemicals secret, including compounds that have been shown to cause cancer and respiratory problems. The newspaper examined more than 2,000…
Read MoreUnapproved prescription drugs covered by Medicaid
An Associated Press analysis of federal drug data shows the U.S. government has spent over $200 million since 2004 on drugs that have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. In some instances, these unapproved medications have been linked to deaths. While Medicaid is not supposed to cover unapproved drugs, the FDA does…
Read MoreBPA leached from microwave-safe products when heated
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Susanne Rust and Meg Kissinger, as part of their ongoing series Chemical Fallout, found that products labeled as “microwave safe” release toxic doses of the chemical bisphenol A when heated. The newspaper had a University of Missouri laboratory test 10 products to see if the chemical bisphenol A leached out of containers when…
Read MoreAirline regulations may misrepresent animal deaths
Alison Young of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution found that the airline regulation language protecting animal safety excludes the thousands of animals transported by breeders, farms, laboratories and pet stores. The U.S. Department of Transportation defines the word “animal” to mean one “that is being kept as a pet in a family household in the United States,”…
Read MoreHidden wells, dirty water
An investigation by Leah Beth Ward of the Yakima Herald-Republic (Yakima, Wash.) reveals that evidence of area groundwater contamination has long been ignored. “A little noticed scientific study six years ago found that one in five of 195 wells tested outside five Lower Valley communities contained levels of nitrates above federal safety limits…Responsibility for keeping…
Read MoreMissouri, Illinois lack meth clean-up laws
Christine Byers of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has found that Missouri and Illinois have some of the highest numbers of known methamphetamine labs, yet both states fail to ensure that former labs get decontaminated when properties are seized. Additionally, there are no laws mandating that new residents are notified of potential contamination before moving into the…
Read MoreAir bag fraud can lead to serious injuries, death
Liane Hansen and Jenni Bergal of NPR caution used car buyers to check their cars for signs of air bag fraud. In their investigation, they found that some car dealers and body shops either removed air bags from cars or did not replace deployed air bags. Air bag compartments were often stuffed with items such…
Read MoreWater agency failed to disclose uranium contamination
Brian Joseph of the Orange County Register reports that the nation’s largest water district has known for eight years about uranium contamination at the site of a proposed groundwater storage project, but failed to disclosed this information to key officials or the public. “The top official at the water district says the contamination is isolated…
Read MoreFederal report cites 94 percent of nursing homes for violations
Robert Pear of The New York Times reports that 94 percent of nursing homes in the United States violated federal health and safety standards in 2007 according to a recently released federal study. Although only 17 percent of nursing homes had violations that threatened the lives of residents, many were cited for abuse, neglect, confusing…
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