Source: Children’s Health Defense

Scientists Call for Urgent Action on Glyphosate, Citing Strong Links to Cancer

The New Lede reported:

US and European regulators should take urgent action to more tightly regulate glyphosate, the world’s most widely used weed killer, in light of strong scientific evidence that the pesticide can cause cancer and other health problems, a group of international scientists said on Friday.

The scientists, who gathered at a “glyphosate symposium” in Seattle March 25 – 26 to examine a range of research conducted over the last decade, determined that evidence showing glyphosate herbicides can harm human health “is now so strong that no additional delays in regulation of glyphosate can be justified.” The group affirmed prior findings linking exposure to non-Hodgkin lymphoma and warned that harmful health impacts are being found at levels of exposure consistent with current use patterns.

“Agencies should act without further delay to limit their use, or eliminate them if legally required, to protect public health,” the scientists said in their statement.  Participating scientists included experts affiliated with multiple US universities, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute, as well as experts from Europe and Canada.

Some Alabama Residents Learn They Haven’t Had Fluoride in Their Water for Years

NBC News reported:

Last week, residents of Birmingham, Alabama, were informed that their drinking water would no longer contain fluoride. Then came a twist: It turned out that their water utility had, without telling the public, actually stopped adding it years ago. John Matson, a spokesperson for Central Alabama Water, which serves Birmingham and its surrounding suburbs, confirmed to NBC News that two of the utility’s four water filtration plants had temporarily stopped fluoridating in 2023, and a third had stopped in March 2024. The changes were made under prior leadership, he said, when the utility had a different name.

Matson said Central Alabama Water has found “no record” of the public being notified.

WBRC 6 News was first to report that fluoridation in Birmingham had been quietly halted as early as 2023. The revelation came just days after the utility announced that as a new policy, it would not add fluoride to Birmingham’s drinking water moving forward.

The decision was made based on “a comprehensive evaluation of safety, infrastructure and financial considerations,” Central Alabama Water said in a press release. It cited the high cost of maintaining and repairing its aging fluoridation systems, which it said would require more than $3.7 million.

Scientists Find Concerning Substance Accumulating in Bees and Their Honey

The Cool Down reported:

Scientists have found that a kind of “forever chemical” can accumulate in honey and honeybees, according to the University of New England in Australia.

What’s happening? The study found that an environmental pollutant known as perfluorooctanesulfonate, or PFOS, can build up in honey. And you don’t want this mouthful of a substance swirling around in your tea.

PFOS is a type of PFAS, which are also known as “forever chemicals.” They take a long time to break down and are linked to health issues and environmental harm. While the PFOS levels in honeybees were just below lethal levels, researchers found that chronic exposure remained harmful. PFOS altered how some key proteins involved in cellular functions in honeybees were expressed.

Oil Spill Deals Economic Blow to Fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico

AP News reported:

Every year, fish markets in the seaside Mexican city of Veracruz flood with a crush of customers in the lead up to Holy Week. This year, they were virtually empty. That’s because a huge oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico has spread more than 373 miles (600 kilometers) across the ocean and seeped into seven nature reserves. Mexicans who have worked in Veracruz’s booming fishing industry for years say they’ve been dealt a blow at one of the busiest times of the year.

Markets usually jammed with customers were desolate on Friday, with some vendors loudly promoting their products in a desperate attempt to attract customers. Fishing has declined off the coasts of the seaside states of Veracruz, Tabasco and Tamaulipas since the spill.

“This is our livelihood,” said a worried Miguel López Rojas, owner of one of the fish stalls in the popular market.

Decades After Vietnam War, Research Links Agent Orange Exposure to MDS Blood Cancer

STAT News reported:

Decades after the Vietnam War, hematologist-oncologist Mikkael Sekeres began seeing veterans in his clinic with myelodysplastic syndromes, a group of blood cancers known as MDS. Many of the vets had been exposed to Agent Orange, a blend of herbicides that the military used to peel back dense foliage during the war. This exposure has long been linked to many serious diseases, including several cancers, but not MDS — until now.

In data published this month in Blood Advances, Sekeres and his colleagues were able to provide clear evidence that Agent Orange exposure is linked to MDS and can cause earlier, more aggressive disease. “I’ve been describing this as my passion project. It’s because I treated these guys over years,” said Sekeres, who is the chief of hematology at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami. “These mostly young guys were exposed in the ’60s and ’70s, then developed MDS in the 2010s, 2020s. I had a number of vets who were exposed to Agent Orange.”

One of the herbicides in Agent Orange, produced by companies like Monsanto and Dow Chemical, became contaminated during the production process with an extremely toxic compound called dioxin. Dioxin has caused severe birth defects in children of people exposed to the toxin, and it can also significantly increase the risk of developing several different kinds of cancer.