Toxic Substances

• Tilting At Windmills

  Michael Eyerly | October 20, 2006 7:30 PM | 1 CommentLos Angeles, CA

  Judge throws out environmental group's unfair competition challenge against alternative energy generators based on lack of standing Who owns California's natural environment: the air and water, the trees and wild animals? Nobody - at least according to a recent Alameda County Superior Court decision. Judge Bonnie Sabraw threw out a suit brought by the environmental group, Center for...

• Santa Susana Rocketdyne Facility Continues to Plague Surrounding Community

  Helen Zukin | October 09, 2006 3:00 AM | 1 CommentLos Angeles, CA

  Toxic exposures from Rocketdyne facility continue to cause concern. Radioactive release causes excess cancer deaths. A scientific panel released its long awaited report on Thursday, concluding that the 1959 nuclear reactor meltdown at the Rocketdyne facility was responsible for hundreds of excess cancer deaths. For almost fifty years, the Rocketdyne Santa Susana Field Lab conducted its nuclear...

• Debate Over Alleged Dangers of BPA Ramps Up

  Miriam Schimmel | May 02, 2008 8:07 PM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  The latest environmental hot button is the bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical contained in polycarbonate plastics. While BPA has existed since its creation in 1890 and the first evidence of toxicity...

• $7 Million Awarded to Mesothelioma Victim

  Miriam Schimmel | March 13, 2008 2:22 PM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  Asbestos manufacturer, Georgia Pacific Corp., was ordered by a San Francisco jury to pay in excess of $7 million to plaintiffs, Joan and Daniel Mahoney. Plaintiffs sued Georgia Pacific claiming that Mrs. Mahoney developed terminal cancer from exposure to asbestos fibers released during her work in a home remodeling business with her husband. Her husband testified that she was exposed to the...

• British Petroleum to be Fined for Explosion

  Lance Rubin | February 19, 2008 5:23 PM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  The 2005 explosion at British Petroleum's Texas City plant killed 15 people and injured more than 170 others. Civil suits filed by the injured people and the families of those killed have been mostly resolved, but BP is being fined for its wrongdoing. The explosion at the Texas City plant about 40 miles southeast of Houston occurred after a piece of equipment called a blowdown drum overfilled...

• CA Consumers May Sue Grocery Stores to Enforce State Labeling Laws

  Shehnaz Bhujwala | February 19, 2008 11:19 AM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  Last week, California's Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a federal food labeling law does not preclude California citizens from using state consumer laws to enforce an identical state labeling law. The High Court's ruling means consumers may sue grocery store chains to enforce a state law requiring labeling of dyes added to farm-raised salmon.Do you recall a time in the not-too distant past...

• Potential New Threat to Children?

  Miriam Schimmel | February 08, 2008 4:56 PM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  Phthalates are chemicals which are used to stabilize fragrances and make plastics flexible. They are typically found in many products including cosmetics, toys, vinyl flooring and medical supplies. A recent study suggests their presence in baby shampoos, lotions and powders may expose infants to chemicals that have been linked with possible reproductive problems. The study, which is published...

• Los Angeles to Drain Two Reservoirs Due to Cancer Risk

  Jenny Albano | December 17, 2007 3:39 PM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  Two reservoirs in Los Angeles that supply drinking water to residents had to be shut down after officials found the water to be contaminated with high levels of a cancer causing chemical, bromate.The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power intend to drain 600 million gallons of water from Elysian and Silver Lake reservoirs early next year, a process that will leave them out of action for three...

• Slow Response for Mercury Spill on Los Angeles Subway

  Shannon Weidemann | February 26, 2007 11:39 AM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  Los Angeles's subway stations are unattended and monitored only by closed circuit television cameras. In December a man spilled mercury on the platform at one of the stations and contacted the Metro Transit Authority on what he had done. It took 8 hours before anything was done to clean up the spill. In the meantime several passengers of the subway came in contact with the hazardous...

• California Schools Fail the Pesticide Test

  Paul Kiesel | January 29, 2007 3:00 AM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  Schools get an F on pesticide use. Parents, teachers and students must work to eliminate the highly dangerous presence of pesticides in our schools. Throughout the country young children are being exposed to highly toxic pesticides in their schools. The use of dangerous chemicals contained in pesticides is a serious threat to our children's health. The National Academy of Sciences has stated...