PSR Los Angeles Executive Director Martha Arguello discusses the health care costs of toxic chemicals.

In a shift of position, the Food and Drug Administration is expressing concerns about possible health risks from bisphenol-A, or BPA, a widely used component of plastic bottles and food packaging that it declared safe in 2008.

In November, researchers released a startling finding: In pregnant women, a study found that developing babies are being exposed to toxic chemicals from consumer products even before they take their first breaths. The finding is yet another confirmation that U.S. chemical safety laws are failing to safeguard health.

An article on the EPA's new ozone standard discusses PSR's recent work exposing the dangers of coal-fired power plants.

The agency's environmental and health concerns about phthalates, PBDEs and two other chemical types marks a shift in federal policy and is sparking policy changes in advance of anticipated regulations.

A group of scientists called on the federal government Thursday to stop mountaintop removal mining, arguing dozens of existing studies on the practice prove its ecological impacts are "pervasive and irreversible."

The Environmental Protection Agency proposed limiting the allowable amount of pollution-forming ozone in the air from 75 to between 60 and 70 parts per billion for any eight-hour period, significantly tightening rules the Bush administration had set for the nation's most widespread air pollutant.

An article by PSR's Dr. John Fogarty and Dr. Michael McCally discussing the dangers of carbon capture and storage. Full article requires subscription.

A new article by PSR's Dr. John Fogarty and Dr. Michael McCally, published in JAMA, warns of the dangers of carbon capture and sequestration.

Of the 84,000 chemicals in commercial use in the United States -- from flame retardants in furniture to household cleaners -- nearly 20 percent are secret, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, their names and physical properties guarded from consumers and virtually all public officials under a little-known federal provision.

The Paradox Valley in western Colorado may soon have a new plant to process ore from hundreds of new and reopened uranium mines. The Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment that Energy Fuels Inc. had completed its application to build a uranium mill near t he town of Nucla, about 220 miles southwest of Denver. If approved, the Piñon Ridge plant would be the first uranium mill built in the United States in 25 years. The state of Colorado says reviewing the application for the plant — which would process up to 1,000 tons of uranium ore a day –- will take 12 to 14 months.

APHA along with PSR Oregon and other advocacy groups warn of health risks from recombinant bovine growth hormone (rGBH).

The newly released report has garnered substantial media coverage across the country. Utilizing a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, a briefing in the U.S. Senate, a nationwide media drive, and media outreach by PSR chapters, PSR was successful in bringing this important report to the attention of a huge audience coast to coast.

Dr. Alan Lockwood, a PSR board member, applauds the Department of Energy's decision not to fund a proposed coal plant in Jamestown, New York.

It's the right move for health reasons, too, as Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) found when it took an in-depth look at coal's impacts on human health and mortality. In a report released last month, the medical and public health group connected coal and its emissions to a number of serious health issues, including increased risk of heart disease, cancer, asthma and lowered IQ’s.

On the 10th anniversary of the Seattle globalization protests, today's actions also took place on the heels of a new study by the Physicians for Social Responsibility that coal "contributes to four of the top five causes of mortality in the U.S. and is responsible for increasing the incidence of major diseases already affecting large portions of the U.S. population."

So you thought smoking cigarettes was bad for your health? Try living next to a coal-fired power plant. That’s the diagnosis Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) relayed to the public in a comprehensive medical study released on November 18, called Coal’s Assault on Human Health. In it, the organization, comprised of physicians and public health experts, claims that coal pollutants damage every major organ in the human body and contributes to four of the top five leading causes of death in the United States.

Dr. Alan Lockwood, the lead author of PSR's new report "Coal's Assault on Human Health", discusses the health impacts of coal pollution.

Physicians for Social Responsibility is another group calling for tougher regulations on existing coal-fired power plants, said Dr. Maureen McCue of Iowa City, who is active with that group. “The health impacts of coal are direct, measurable, serious and significant,” she said.

Global warming may not be the only good reason to get away from burning coal for energy generation. According to a new report from Physicians for Social Responsibility, coal has deadly effects on human health. By studying the impact of coal pollution on major human organ systems, researchers concluded that the energy source contributes to four of the nation's top five causes of death.