skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina s congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Myorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

IU Research: Flame Retardant Chemicals Need More Study

play audio
Play

Tuesday, March 22, 2016   

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Flame retardants save lives by preventing fires, especially in the home, but scientists at Indiana University say more study needs to be done on what kinds of damage they're doing to the environment, and possibly to humans.

Researchers collected hair, toenails and fingernails from volunteers to see the extent to which the chemicals would show up. The answer: every single person who donated samples tested positive.

Amina Salamova, lead researcher and assistant research scientist at Indiana University, says the chemicals are in the air, dust and water.

She says some have been shown to affect the thyroid and have been linked to neurotoxicity, reproductive toxicity and obesity.

Salamova says it doesn't mean they should be banned, it means people need to be very careful.

"Of course flame retardants are needed to prevent fires," she says. "We need to be careful which chemicals we use so that they don't end up in the environment."

This is the first study to be done on human fingernails and toenails. Until now, researchers depended on samples of human milk, blood and urine, and those samples are more difficult to obtain than hair and nails.

Salamova says nails are the perfect test focus.

"They are slowly growing tissue so you can look at the larger window of exposure," she says. "Which means you can look at the present and past exposure."

Salamova says they found women's nails tend to have higher concentrations of common flame retardants than men's, and they speculate that's a result of nail polishes that contain these chemicals.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021