Health Hazards

A controversial, estrogen-like chemical in plastic could be harming the development of children's brains and reproductive organs, a federal health agency concluded in a report released Tuesday. The National Toxicology Program, part of the National Institutes of Health, concluded that there was "some concern" that fetuses, babies and children were in danger because bisphenol A, or BPA, harmed animals at low levels found in nearly all human bodies.

The fastest-growing county in California rejected a massive, mountaintop rock quarry Thursday that supporters called an essential source of the ingredients that fed the region's economic ascent. In the end, however, neighborhood objections to increased traffic, possible health hazards and environmental destruction won out, a rare outcome in the pro-development frontier of the Inland Empire. Fierce opposition in Temecula, a city known for its vineyard-covered valley and rock-ribbed conservative politics, persuaded the Riverside County Board of Supervisors to vote down the proposed rock mine by a 3-2 vote, despite the promise of hundreds of new blue-collar jobs to the recession-flattened region.

Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the country -- an estimated 25 million Americans smoked it within the last year and close to 100 million have smoked it at least once in their life, according to the most recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Rates and severity of marijuana addiction pale in comparison to that of legal addictive drugs, alcohol and nicotine, according to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, a panel of independent experts advising the British government, in a rare head-to-head, scientific comparison.

After an increase in reported complications, the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday released an advisory saying a surgical mesh implanted to strengthen vaginal tissue can become weakened, especially after childbirth. In its report, which updates an earlier advisory, the FDA says a review of industry literature and patient reports has shown little evidence that the device improves pelvic organ prolapse, in which a woman's uterus, bladder or rectum can slip out of place. The mesh can be implanted vaginally or abdominally.

Widespread overuse of CT scans and variations in radiation doses caused by different machines -- operated by technicians following an array of procedures -- are subjecting patients to high radiation doses that will ultimately lead to tens of thousands of new cancer cases and deaths, researchers reported today. Several recent studies have suggested that patients have been unnecessarily exposed to radiation from CTs or have received excessive amounts, but two new studies published Tuesday in the Archives of Internal Medicine are the first to quantify the extent of exposure and the related risks.

A new medication arriving in pharmacies this month is raising the possibility of widespread hormone replacement therapy for men--much like for post-menopausal women--even as it raises fears about misuse. The product, a gel form of testosterone called AndroGel, is approved for use in men with abnormally low levels of testosterone. Currently, only about 150,000 to 200,000 men are being treated for low testosterone, although the advent of AngroGel could boost that number to 5 million.

Watching television for hour upon hour obviously isn't the best way to spend leisure time -- inactivity has been linked to obesity and heart disease. But a new study quantifies TV viewing's effect on risk of death. Researchers found that each hour a day spent watching TV was linked with an 18% greater risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, an 11% greater risk of all causes of death, and a 9% increased risk of death from cancer. The study, released Monday in Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Assn.

The Food and Drug Administration will take steps to remove Seldane, a prescription antihistamine popular among allergy sufferers, from the market because it has been linked to potentially fatal heart problems when taken with certain other drugs, the agency said Monday.

Gregory Howard found his calling in an infectious disease ward in Newark. He'd gone into detox to withdraw from a decade on drugs. Suddenly, he'd begun losing weight and his lymph nodes had swollen. His skin crawled as though infested with bugs. Lying there, he heard the doctors talking about a new disease. It was killing men who injected drugs and who had sex with other men. Howard had done both. He called his parents and told them he was dying.

American doctors who treat people with insomnia say they are perplexed by the British government's decision last week to withdraw the popular sleeping drug Halcion from the market, citing a high risk of potentially dangerous side effects. According to several veteran sleep-disorder experts, the tales of violent behavior and paranoia that some patients have blamed on Halcion are not supported by American doctors' extensive experience in prescribing the drug or by clinical studies.

By the hundreds of thousands each year, they sail to Avalon by ferry and cruise ship for diving trips, glass-bottom boat tours and to lounge on the beach in the Catalina Island town 26 miles off the Southern California coast. Yet the same crystal-clear water that draws tourists also harbors an embarrassing hazard. For most of the last decade, Avalon Harbor Beach has ranked among the most polluted in the state, tainted with human sewage that puts swimmers at risk. Even though the city of 4,000 has spent $3.5 million testing and rehabilitating sewer lines, the water is no cleaner.

As engineers have fought to avert a meltdown at the earthquake- and tsunami-crippled Fukushima No. 1 (Daiichi) power plant, nuclear authorities have reported that spikes of radiation have escaped from the facility at levels that can be dangerous to human health. Authorities have evacuated more than 170,000 people within 12 miles of the plant and have warned those within 20 miles to stay indoors and close off ventilation systems. They have also issued iodine tablets to those who have remained in the area and those at evacuation centers.

There is disagreement on the potential health hazards of the spilled oil polluting the Gulf of Mexico. Some scientists predict medical problems among workers involved in the cleanup and even the general public. Others expect safety precautions ordered by the federal government to protect cleanup workers and the public from harm. Concerns over the health effects of the spill grew this week as more workers and residents of the coastal areas reported symptoms such as headaches and breathing problems.

The massive billow of dust from an Icelandic volcano is pretty much a run-of-the-mill ash cloud that is a concern primarily because of its location and the prevailing winds, which are forcing it into transatlantic air lanes and over European airports, experts said Thursday. Except for the immediate vicinity of the volcano, the eruption is unlikely to produce long-term climatic or health effects unless there is a sharp change in the amount of material emitted, researchers said. Volcanic eruptions "are such a complicated natural phenomenon that almost every one is unique . . . and the amount of ash produced during a given eruption or the length of the eruption is really something that we can't predict," said Earth scientist Olivier Bachmann of the University of Washington.

She grew up in a dusty West Bengal village, where no one had access to toilets. Most of the female villagers headed to a particular field. But it was a bit of a walk and often required asking another woman to help shield you from lecherous men. Boko, a 35-year-old woman with a yellow sari and a big smile, now sweeps floors at a truck stop with toilets. It's a big improvement, says the woman, who identified herself only by her first name. A United Nations report released March 15 says that despite progress in the last two decades, 2.4 billion people around the world still lack access to basic sanitary facilities -- including an estimated 638 million in India alone.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched an internal investigation into its permitting and oversight in a San Joaquin Valley farming community dominated by a hazardous-waste facility, agricultural pesticide spraying and truck exhaust that may be contributing to health problems including severe birth defects. EPA regional administrator Jared Blumenfeld said the internal investigation would run concurrently with a broader inquiry in which state and local agencies will examine health and environmental issues facing Kettleman City, a town of 1,500 mostly poor, Spanish-speaking farmworkers.

With at least two flus and plenty of colds, coughs and sore throats circulating this season, some Americans are turning to zinc to ward off viruses. Lozenges, supplements and nasal sprays that contain the mineral claim to boost immunity, and there is some evidence that they might do so. In an effort to stay well, though, we might be making ourselves sick. Consistently taking excessive FOR THE RECORD: Dietitian's name: An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of dietitian Ruth Frechman as Frenchman.

Two controversial diet drugs were removed from the market Monday after new evidence linked them to potentially serious heart valve problems, effectively ending the commonly known fen-phen combination that had been popular among those seeking to shed pounds. The Food and Drug Administration requested the withdrawal of the drugs fenfluramine, sold as Pondimin, and dexfenfluramine, sold as Redux.

The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that the safety of a controversial chemical found in some baby bottles, children's drinking cups and other food containers merited further study but did not warrant immediate restrictions on its use. The FDA, the Department of Health and Human Services and other health agencies have committed $30 million to studying the health effects of bisphenol A, or BPA, and expect results in 18 to 24 months....

Hepatitis B and C remain serious threats to public health, but many healthcare providers fail to screen at-risk patients and don't know how to treat those infected with the viral diseases, which can cause liver failure and cancer, according to a report released Monday by the National Academy of Sciences. The long-awaited assessment calls for a campaign to educate the public, doctors and lawmakers about the diseases, an approach similar to HIV/AIDS outreach. Researchers found that even though chronic viral hepatitis infections are three to five times more frequent than HIV in the United States, many doctors and nurses do not understand the extent of the problem.