health
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Dentist the Menace
Here’s one more reason to dread your dentist: Many dental offices flush old fillings down the drain, washing the mercury inside them into the nation’s waterways. That makes dentists the single largest discharger of the toxic metal, according to a national study entitled “Dentist the Menace?” and published by a collection of health and environmental […]
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How secure are U.S. nuclear power plants?
Roughly 40 miles from the rubble of the World Trade Center, U.S. Navy cutters patrol the chilly waters of the Hudson River. Military planes circle overhead. On the ground, members of the National Guard stand ready. The Indian Point nuclear power station, which churns out electricity to nearly 2 million homes around New York City, […]
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On Bjorn Lomborg and environmental hazards to human health
You know what they say about people who become statisticians? They lacked the personality to become accountants.
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The Throng Song
Throngs of environmental activists are protesting a shipment of nuclear waste making its way by train from France to Germany, and at least 100 have been detained by the police. The six containers of radioactive waste originated at a reprocessing plant in La Hague, in northern France, and will be stored in Gorleben, Germany, 375 […]
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The Persistence of Mercury
Anyone who’s ever broken an old-style thermometer knows it’s tough to clean up mercury, but the state of Washington is undeterred. The state’s Ecology Department has created the nation’s only program to battle persistent bioaccumulative toxins, or PBTs, and mercury will be the first target. Found in substances ranging from eye makeup to industrial waste […]