• Health

Wildfire Smoke Could Lead to Premature Births

• California wildfires
• COVID-19
• public health
• wildfire smoke

By Ashira Morris, ODP Staff Writer According to a new Stanford study, breathing wildfire smoke while pregnant may increase the risk of preterm birth. As many as 7,000 additional preterm births in California between 2007 and 2012 could have resulted from exposure to smoke from the fires that have hit the state especially hard in recent years. […]

• Health

EPA Bans Pesticide Linked to Neurological Damage in Children

• chlorpyrifos
• EPA
• pesticide
• public health

By Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer   The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will at last ban the use of this common pesticide that has been linked to neurological damage in children — four years after the Trump administration chose to allow it despite the danger. Wednesday’s ruling will end the spraying of chlorpyrifos on crops. […]

• Air

Dirty Air Goes Underground

• #COVID
• air pollution
• public health
• subway
• transit

People riding American subway lines are exposed to air pollution that’s worse than a bad day in Beijing, according to new research that studied subway networks in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and D.C.  

Why this Matters: We hope Secretary Pete takes note because this is an environmental justice issue.

• Health

Heightened PFAS Levels Linked to Severe COVID-19

• coronavirus
• COVID-19
• Environmental Justice
• PFAS
• public health

by Amy Lupica, ODP Contributing Writer A new Danish study has found that elevated levels of Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of man-made chemicals linked to cancer, in the bloodstream are linked to severe COVID-19. The study observed 323 patients infected with the virus and found that those with elevated levels of the […]

• Health

Coronavirus Compounds Black Lung Disease as Coal Miners Fight for Their Health

• black lung disease
• Coal Miners
• coronavirus
• COVID-19
• public health

While we’re still learning about the long terms damage caused by the novel coronavirus, we have enough evidence to show that some of the virus’ victims experience permanent lung damage. But for America’s coal miners, there’s a lung disease that most fear far more than coronavirus: black lung disease. Not only is black lung disease […]

• Weather

East Coast Heat Won’t Let Up as Mayors Work to Save Lives

• extreme heat
• heat illness
• heat island
• public health

The month of July was a scorcher along the Eastern Seaboard. Throughout the month, heat advisories and excessive heat warnings were in effect along the I-95 corridor, and in Washington D.C., July saw the most 90-degree days of any month on record and was the first month to never fall below 71 degrees since record-keeping […]