US: Attacks on EPA Regulation of Greenhouse Gases “A Threat to Public Health"
HCWH – Attacks on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) role in protecting air quality and regulating greenhouse gases pose significant threats to the nation’s health, according to environment and health advocacy group Health Care Without Harm. Efforts to curtail the role of the EPA in regulating greenhouse gases and to prevent and roll back regulations intended to reduce air pollution are underway in the 112th Congress through new legislation introduced and being planned by House members.  more

India: Poor Medical Waste Disposal Standards Causing Health Problems
Waste-Management World – The improper disposal of bio-medical waste by several health centres, mainly dental clinics, primary health centres, community health centres and diagnostic centres poses a health hazard to the general public, sanitation workers and rag pickers in the East Godavari District of the north coastal area of Andhra Pradesh, India.  more

US: Hospital Joins Practice Green Health Project to Reduce OR Waste
Bloomberg – Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, which discards eight tons of trash a day, is working with hospitals across the country to reduce the environmental impact of operating rooms. The Lebanon hospital is one of 86 medical facilities that have joined the Greening the Operating Room Initiative being organized by Practice Greenhealth, a networking organization for health care institutions. more

Nigeria: Lead a Major Contaminant
UPI – Lead pollution in soil and drinking water and mercury contamination in the air dramatically exceed safe levels in Nigeria, a joint U.N. report found. more

China: Battery Factory Poisons 24 Children in China
Timeslive – A state-run news agency says 24 children, aged between nine months and 16 years old, have been hospitalised for lead poisoning caused by battery factories in their east China village. more

US: Massachusetts Bans BPA in Baby Bottles
Lexology – The Massachusetts Public Health Council has approved a ban on the production and sale of reusable plastic products containing bisphenol A (BPA) that are intended for children younger than age 3. Targeted mainly at baby bottles and sippy cups, the ban will reportedly take effect on January 1, 2011, for manufacturers and July 1 for retailers. more

US: The Coming Health Crisis
Skin and Allergy News – Some of the effects of climate change are beginning to appear in dermatologists' offices. Expanded geographic ranges of tick and parasite vectors due to climate change already are pushing infectious diseases into unfamiliar territory, Dr. Sigfrid A. Muller said at a dermatology seminar sponsored by Skin Disease Education Foundation.  more

US: Kaiser Permanente Starts Using Solar Power at Its Medical Centers
Bloomberg – Kaiser Permanente, the largest US non-profit health management organization, switched on photovoltaic panels at a California medical center in a plan to provide 10 percent of its hospitals’ power from solar energy.  more

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