US: HCWH and 200 Other Organizations Deliver Support For EPA's Mercury Rule to Reduce Emissions
HCWH – HCWH and more than 200 health, environmental, and social justice organizations have lobbied the US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure that the proposed mercury safeguards remain strong enough to protect the health of children and mothers. These organisations also support the EPA's draft rules to significantly curb mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants. The agency is expected to finalize new mercury rules by mid-November that would cut emissions of the toxic metal from coal-fired plants by 91%, as well as cut other toxic pollution that affects health and the environment.  more

Nepal: Bir Hospital Sets Example in Medical Waste Management
Kathmandu Post – Bir Hospital, in a bid to set an example in medical waste management by managing highly infected waste piled up inside hospital premises, and in cooperation with Health Care Foundation-Nepal launched the medical waste management programme which helps maintaining cleanliness and hygiene.  more

Vietnam: Dangers of Plastic Worry Experts
Vietnam News – Reducing the use of plastic furniture is one way of reducing exposure to di-ethylhexyl phthalates, a carcinogenic additive used to make plastic more flexible and softer, health experts told a conference held in HCM City. Prof Chu Pham Ngoc Son, deputy chairman of the city Public Health Association, said that DEHP easily leached into humans from daily-use plastic objects. Prof Nguyen Chan Hung, chairman of the City Cancer Association, said it was dangerous when DEHP enters the digestive tract through the mouth because it was rapidly transformed into mono (2-ethyhexyl) phthalate (MEHP) which was toxic to the male reproductive system.  more

Tel Aviv: Environmental Pollutants Lurk Long After They 'Disappear'
Science Daily – The health implications of polluting the environment weigh increasingly on our public consciousness, and pharmaceutical wastes continue to be a main culprit. Now a Tel Aviv University researcher says that current testing for these dangerous contaminants isn't going far enough.  more

US: Study Links cs to Thyroid Irregularities
CMM Online – The US Environmental Protection Agency has proposed that companies be required to report new uses of 14 chemicals known as glymes, according a press release. The EPA is saying that additional uses of glymes could lead to harmful reproductive and developmental health effects. According to the release, the proposed regulatory procedure is called a significant new use rule, under the Toxic Substances Control Act.  more

Botswana: Experts Link Climate Change to Rising Health Threats
Global Press Institute – As Botswana studies its growing vulnerability to climate change, health risks associated with a changing climate have come to the forefront. Higher temperatures and less frequent and predictable rain have hurt crops and nutrition, which is essential for strengthening the immune system against HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. Meanwhile, higher carbon dioxide levels are enabling the rapid spread of malaria to mostly women and girls.  more

China: E-Waste Concerns
IPS News – Despite new government regulations, China, for decades the dumping ground for the world’s electronic waste, still struggles to treat and process millions of tonnes of e-waste, prompting health and environmental concerns.  more

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