Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
That Store Receipt Might Contain Toxic Chemicals
CBS News: Printed Receipts At Most Major Store Chains Contain "Toxic" Chemicals Like BPA, Report Says
About 80% of receipts from 144 major chain stores in 22 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., contained bisphenols, the analysis from the Ecology Center, a nonprofit environmental health organization. BPA, a chemical used in the production of polycarbonate plastics, as well as bisphenol S, or BPS, were detected on receipts from retailers such as Walmart and restaurants including McDonald's, the study found. (Pichhi, 3/24)
In other environmental health news —
NBC News: What Causes Eczema Could Be In The Air We Breathe, New Science Suggests
Chemicals that spew from vehicle exhaust and are used to make a variety of common products — from spandex to memory foam mattresses — could cause eczema in infancy, according to research from the National Institutes of Health. (Edwards, 3/26)
The New York Times: Philadelphia Monitoring Water Supply After Spill From Chemical Plant
Philadelphia officials on Sunday evening stepped back from a suggestion earlier in the day that residents consider using bottled water rather than tap water for drinking and cooking after a chemical leaked into a tributary of the Delaware River, a source of drinking water for about 14 million people across four states. The previous advisory, issued on Sunday morning, came after a pipe ruptured at Trinseo PLC, a chemical plant, late on Friday, sending about 8,100 gallons of a water-soluble acrylic polymer solution into Otter Creek in Bucks County, north of Philadelphia, officials said. (Schmall, 3/26)
Fox News: California Sea Otters Killed By Rare Parasite That Could Also Threaten Humans
Four sea otters in California died from toxoplasmosis through a rare strain of the Toxoplasma gondii parasite, and researchers warn that the strain could pose a threat to humans. The unusual strain of Toxoplasma gondii that was studied had not been detected in California before. The findings of a study, which was conducted by scientists at California Department of Fish and Wildlife and University of California, Davis, was published in the Frontiers in Marine Science journal this week. (Vacchiano, 3/25)
