Environmental Health News You Can Use– With a Woman at the Helm

Here’s some good news for women in journalism: longtime investigative environmental journalist Marla Cone, who spent nearly two decades at the Los Angeles Times, has just taken the helm as editor in chief at the online publication Environmental Health News. (I’ve spotlighted her work here, and on my own blog, Green Goddess Gazette.)

STRONG ON WOMEN’S ISSUES
Don’t be put off by the wonkish sound of EHN, which aggregates environmental health news from a variety of global sources daily. It’s fascinating and important reading—after all, just as our bodies are affected by diet and exercise, so too are they impacted by the chemicals and pollutants that surround us. And EHN maintains strong beats in women’s health and reproductive health, among other issues.

Cone’s first move as top editor was to add original reporting to the news site. The lead article the other day, by Cone herself, was of special interest to women. A link is still featured on the homepage. Here’s an excerpt:

Northeastern, West Coast women have high mercury levels
Contamination from eating fish varies in U.S.

Women in the Northeast are contaminated with the highest concentrations of mercury in the United States, with one of every five exceeding levels considered safe for fetuses, according to a new national study.

The study, led by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency scientist Kathryn R. Mahaffey, is the first regional look at mercury concentrations in women of childbearing age.

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that accumulates in fish and seafood. When babies are exposed to high concentrations of mercury in the womb, their brains may develop abnormally, impairing learning abilities and reducing IQ.

And here are a few other recent stories of interest:

* Perchlorate, pregnancy, and politics. Perchlorate is a chemical in rocket fuel that has been found in some drinking water supplies. It’s been linked to thyroid problems in pregnant women and babies. Great Lakes Radio Consortium, Michigan, September 29

* Talcum powder linked to ovarian cancer. Women have been warned to immediately stop using talcum powder around their genitals in the wake of research which suggests particles may travel to the ovaries and trigger a process of inflammation that allows cancer cells to flourish. New Zealand Press Association, Sept. 29

* 16 hormone disrupting chemicals found in teen girls. A small study has found that adolescent girls in the United States have 16 different chemicals from four chemical classes in their blood and urine that might disrupt the normal functioning of their hormonal systems. The Daily Green, September 25.

* Author sees pollution as personal cause. As it turned out, growing up in Waukegan, Ill., on the shores of Lake Michigan, provided great health risks for Nancy Nichols and her sister Sue. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 24

EXCEPTIONAL SITE FEATURES
Both ordinary folks and journalists will find Environmental Health News‘ archives very useful. One of the most searchable sites I’ve seen, it lets you scour not just by issue and date but type of article, human health condition, contamination agent, exposure pathway (e.g. air, food), ecological effects, infrastructure (e.g. sewage), solutions (e.g. law, activism), emerging science, coverage (state, country), publisher, and reporter! Plus, EHN even offers a scientist-written media criticism section, the better to help readers understand environmental health science news.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 1st, 2008 at 9:00 am and is filed under Environment, Health & Sexuality, Science. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.