Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Study Links Black-Color Plastic In Toys, Kitchenware With Banned Chemicals
CNN: Black-Colored Plastic Used For Kitchen Utensils And Toys Linked To Banned Toxic Flame Retardants
Black-colored plastic used in children’s toys, takeout containers, kitchen utensils and grocery meat and produce trays may contain alarming levels of toxic flame retardants that may be leaching from electronic products during recycling, a new study found. ... “It was especially concerning that they found retardants that aren’t supposed to be used anymore,” said toxicologist Linda Birnbaum, former director of the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program. “I would recommend not using black plastic for food contact materials or buying toys with black plastic pieces,” said Birnbaum, who was not involved in the study. (LaMotte, 10/1)
The Hill: Southern California Study Shows Extensive Exposure To Toxic Airborne Plasticizers
Urban populations in Southern Californian are facing chronic exposure to toxic airborne “plasticizer” compounds — two of which have already been banned from children’s products, a new study has found. Plasticizers are commonly used chemicals that serve the purpose of making materials more flexible, appearing in a wide range of products from food containers to shower curtains to gardening equipment to textiles, the authors noted. (Udasin, 10/2)
The Boston Globe: Breast Cancer Rates Are Climbing. Are Plastics And Cosmetics To Blame?
The risk of developing breast cancer increased by about 1 percent each year between 2012 and 2021 and grew almost twice as fast for women under the age of 50 as those above it, according to a new report published Tuesday by the American Cancer Society. But the biennial report, billed as one of the most detailed snapshots of breast cancer occurrence to be published in recent years, did contain some silver linings. Deaths from the disease fell by 44 percent between 1989 and 2022, thanks to advances in screening techniques and treatments. (Piore, 10/2)
Houston Chronicle: New Technology Helps Detect Cancer In Women With Dense Breasts
Rebecca Krull has always taken charge of her health. So when The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center asked her to be part of a study that could improve early detection of breast cancer, she didn’t hesitate to say yes. The Nederland resident has been driving roughly 100 miles to be treated at MD Anderson since a radiologist told her she had dense breasts 26 years ago. Dense breasts can increase the risk of breast cancer and make it harder to detect on a mammogram, so Krull didn’t want to take any chances. (MacDonald, 10/2)
Reuters: Jury Urged To Hold Formula Makers Responsible For Premature Baby's Illness
A lawyer for a Missouri mother on Wednesday urged jurors to hold Abbott, Reckitt's Mead Johnson unit and St. Louis Children's Hospital responsible for a severe intestinal illness that she says her prematurely born son developed after the hospital fed him the companies' formulas. Tim Cronin, who represents Elizabeth Whitfield and her son Kaine, told the jurors in an opening statement at trial in St. Louis state court that the two companies have long known that feeding cow's milk-based formula to very small premature babies increases their risk of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). But, they "made no attempt to tell parents at all, and no serious legitimate attempt to communicate to hospitals or doctors about the extent of the risk," he said. (Pierson, 10/2)
KFF Health News: More Restrooms Have Adult-Size Changing Tables To Help People With Disabilities
The blue-and-white highway sign for the eastbound rest stop near here displays more than the standard icon of a person in a wheelchair, indicating facilities are accessible to people who can’t walk. The sign also shows a person standing behind a horizontal rectangle, preparing to perform a task. The second icon signals that this rest area along Interstate 80 in western Iowa has a bathroom equipped with a full-size changing table, making it an oasis for adults and older children who use diapers because of disabilities. (Leys, 10/3)
