Last night, Congress passed a resolution introduced by Senator Capito that recognizes the incredible work of the TRANSCAER® program in helping communities prepare and respond to a potential transportation incident involving hazardous materials. While congressional resolutions can be fairly common, TRANSCAER is a truly unique program. Last year alone, the program helped more than 50,000 […]
Archive: April, 2016
What a “defective” radiation-risk standard can teach us about improving chemical risk assessments
Wall Street Journal editorial board member Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. seems to have a knack for battling bad science – especially what he perceives to be misguided reporting and alarmist stories about climate change. In his most recent piece, Jenkins laments the fact that some activists have used faulty research to overstate the risks associated […]
What makes polystyrene so different from styrene? It’s a matter of chemistry
On April 22, 2016, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) listed the substance styrene on California’s Proposition 65 list, pursuant to the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 that requires the state to publish a list of substances known to cause cancer or birth defects or other reproductive harm. […]
OEHHA P65 Warnings Website provides few answers for consumers
Without fanfare, OEHHA launched the Proposition 65 Warnings Website last Friday to further consumer understanding of warning labels required by the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, better known as Prop 65. Under that law, manufacturers and facilities are prohibited from knowingly exposing any individual to any of more than 800 listed […]
What “hulk” Mark Ruffalo doesn’t understand about trade policy
If you’ve listened to some of the discussions on trade policy during the Presidential primary season, you’d be forgiven for thinking that trade deals have had a negative impact on the U.S. economy. That’s far from the case. Indeed, it’s been a frustrating few months for those in favor of rational, evidence-based debate on U.S. […]
No shortcuts to sound science
One of the most important jobs a public health researcher can undertake is asking stimulating questions that could, through meticulous and valid research, help policymakers make informed decisions about how best to protect human health and the environment. But it is a long journey from raising initial questions, to designing and conducting robust research, to […]
