Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Rising Temperatures Are Making Pollen Season Longer, Worse
The Washington Post: Climate Change Is Making Pollen Season Longer And More Intense Across The Country
Across the country, pollen season is starting earlier and intensifying because of rising global temperatures and carbon dioxide concentrations. Previous research showed that pollen season lengthened by 20 days over the past three decades across North America, while pollen concentrations increased by 21 percent. The most affected places were the U.S. Southeast and Midwest. (Patel, 3/29)
In news about air pollution —
Houston Chronicle: Switch To EVs Could Mean Huge Cut In Asthma, Billions In Health Benefits For Houston, Study Finds
Electrifying every vehicle on Houston-area roads and powering them with renewable sources would avoid 3,000 premature deaths and reap billions in health benefits, a new analysis by the American Lung Association has concluded. Released late Tuesday, the report, Zeroing in on Healthy Air, advocates for more aggressive movement toward zero-emission vehicles, especially heavy trucks, public transit and delivery vans. Researchers based their estimates on all passenger vehicles sold by 2035, and all medium- and heavy-duty trucks sold by 2040, being zero emission, as well as all electricity generated by renewable means. They also factored for reductions, but not a total elimination of petrochemical refining. (Begley, 3/29)
Press Association: Dyson Unveils Zone Noise-Canceling Headphones And Air-Purifying Visor
Dyson has created headphones that include a purifying visor designed to help people avoid polluted air in cities. Called the Dyson Zone, the wearable device combines noise-cancelling over-ear headphones with a visor that sits just in front of the nose and mouth, delivering filtered air. The British technology firm said the headphones have been created in response to growing concerns about air and sound pollution in urban areas. It cited World Health Organisation (WHO) figures estimating nine in 10 people globally breathe air that exceeds its guidelines on pollutant limits, while around 100 million people in Europe are said to be exposed to long-term noise exposure above its recommended level. (Landi, 3/30)
In news about drinking water —
USA Today: Attorney Who Sued DuPont Over Tainted Water Takes His Case Nationwide
The movie “Erin Brockovich” told the real-life story of a California town whose residents went to court and won big after being exposed to a toxic chemical. While Cincinnati-based attorney Robert Bilott doesn’t have the same name recognition, he too has a movie dramatizing his courtroom battles. And now he may be on to something even bigger: a fight over a contaminated nation. In the 2000s, Bilott sued the chemical company DuPont after discovering it contaminated the drinking water of communities along the Ohio-West Virginia border with a chemical called perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). The litigation took a novel approach by creating an independent panel of scientists who studied residents there for years and found “probable links” to six health effects, including kidney and testicular cancer. (Bagenstose, 3/29)
KCUR: Missouri House Bill Would Cut Down On Poisonous Lead In School Drinking Water
Missouri children would be better protected from lead poisoning under a state legislative bill to require schools to nearly rid their drinking water of the dangerous toxin. The bill, heard Monday by the House Conservation and Natural Resources Committee, would require schools to test drinking water, remove old coolers and filter water where lead is found. The goal is drinking water with a lead concentration of less than one part per billion. The state’s current action level for drinking water is 15 times that. (Savage and Kite, 3/29)
