Health
Danger of common chemical downplayed
In a second installment of “Chemical Fallout,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporters Susanne Rust, Meg Kissinger and Cary Spivak found that the chemical industry has funded much of the science claiming that the popular chemical bisphenol A is safe. The reporters built a database of 258 scientific studies spanning 20 years of research into the chemical…
Read MoreLobbyists see ‘confidential’ list of worst nursing homes
The Des Moines Register reports that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which has refused to publicly release its full list of the nation’s worst-performing nursing homes, has shared that same information with lobbyists for the nursing home industry. Reporter Clark Kauffman writes that the federal agency has publicly identified only 54 of the…
Read MoreConsumers unknowingly exposed to potentially hazardous chemicals
Susanne Rust, Meg Kissinger and Cary Spivak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reviewed more than 250 scientific studies and examined thousands of pages of regulatory documents for their investigation detailing the failure of the federal government to regulate chemicals known as endocrine disruptors. The Environmental Protection Agency promised a decade ago to screen 15,000 chemicals,…
Read MoreHaven Healthcare riddled with problems
Lisa Chedekel and Lynne Touhy of the Hartford Courant exposed the patient care issues and financial troubles at Haven Healthcare, one of Connecticut’s largest nursing home chains. The reporters utilized Medicare data and Connecticut Department of Public Health data to uncover patient care problems. The investigation also revealed that the chain’s CEO funneled corporate resources…
Read MoreDeath rates rise at Kabul maternity hospital supported by U.S. training
Maternal and infant death rates spiked at a major Kabul maternity hospital that was promoted as a model of U.S. medical training in Afghanistan. Alison Young of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reveals that “the rate of normal-sized babies dying in labor and delivery at Rabia Balkhi jumped 67 percent last year.” The statistics, including death rates…
Read MoreEnergy devices sell snake oil technology
Michael Berens and Christine Willmsen examine the global behind fraudulent medical devices that “claim to cure cancer, reduce cholesterol, even eliminate AIDS. Their operators say these ‘energy medicine’ devices work by transmitting radio frequencies or electromagnetic waves through the body, identifying problems, then ‘zapping’ them. Their claims are a fraud. The Seattle Timeshas found that…
Read MoreThe Mercury Connection
Hundreds of miles of South Carolina rivers are tainted with mercury, and the state warns people not to eat fish caught in some of these waterways. But no one had checked to see if the mercury was harming humans until The Post and Courier in Charleston had tests conducted on people who eat the fish…
Read MoreSanta Clara County soil tainted by pesticides
Amy Lynch of The San Jose Mercury News reports on environmental issues plaguing Santa Clara County. The county has more toxic cleanup sites involving old orchard pesticides than any county in California, as well as a significant number of other sites contaminated by other types of farming or pesticide handling, according to a Mercury News…
Read MoreAthletes’ weight gain can lead to major problems
Garry Lenton of the Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa., reports on the increased average size of high school football players. The newspaper used high school football rosters from 1988 and 2006, calculating the body mass index of 800 players total and finding that “Eighteen percent of 2006 players had a body mass index of 30 or…
Read MoreAmerican Imports, Chinese Deaths
Over a 12-month period, investigative reporter Loretta Tofani traveled to China, examining worker conditions and “observed first-hand how Chinese workers routinely risk their health and sometimes their lives making products for export to the United States and other countries.” Her series, printed in the Salt Lake Tribune, tells of workers using dangerous, outdated machines, sometimes…
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