Most of us would be incredulous if we were told that scientific papers on some sensitive subjects are being routinely rejected by journals for political reasons. The more informed among the readership might suggest that papers are sometimes rejected because of national security considerations, but almost never for purely political reasons. Unfortunately, our confidence in […]
Los Angeles County election officials formally certified Wednesday that Torrance City Councilman Dan Walker’s initiative to curb the use of hydrofluoric acid at the Mobil Oil refinery has qualified for the ballot. Torrance City Clerk John Bramhall said he was notified by the county registrar-recorder’s office that a random sample of 500 signatures on Walker’s […]
The debate over fluoridating public water supplies, a measure long credited with producing a dramatic drop in tooth decay in the United States, is being rekindled by new studies suggesting the decline may have more to do with other causes, including other sources of fluoride. The most exhaustive study ever conducted on the dental health […]
An analysis of national survey data collected by the National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR) concludes that children who live in areas of the U.S. where the water supplies are fluoridated have tooth decay rates nearly identical with those who live in nonfluoridated areas. The analysis was done by John A. Yiamouyiannis, a biochemist and […]
Powerine Oil Co.’s refinery in Santa Fe Springs does not have special equipment to handle a leak of highly corrosive hydrofluoric acid, according to a report presented Friday to the board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District. And, based on information contained in the report, the special water spray safety systems at another […]
HELICOPTERS began dropping two tons of seeds this week on Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, which has been reduced by land speculation, and some of the world’s worst airborne pollution, to five per cent of its size 20 years ago. The forest once covered vast tracts of eastern Brazil, and rivalled the Amazon in its unique biological […]
Safety officials say the most troubling issue at Mobil’s Torrance refinery is the use of hydrofluoric acid. It’s a chemical so toxic that the federal government labels it “acutely hazardous.” It is so dangerous that exposure to concentrations as low as 50 parts per million for 30 minutes can be fatal. A safety study on […]
Abstract Geographical and seasonal variations in the concentrations of Al, F and Fe in tap water supplying home haemodialysis units within the administrative area of the Trent Regional Health Authority, have been examined. Aluminium and fluoride were considered for their implications in bone disorders and iron for its competitive binding with aluminium to transferrin in […]
Hunchback fish no longer get their batter coating at the Tangier Street fish and chip shop. The fruits of the Irish Sea, which crashes furiously on to Whitehaven’s beaches, no longer find their way into the hot and vinegar-soaked newspaper wrapping at the fish bar across the road from the windswept harbour of the Cumbrian […]
An environmentalist and a research scientist told a legislative hearing Wednesday that use of acutely toxic hydrofluoric acid at Los Angeles-area oil refineries poses a potentially deadly threat to nearby residents. “Most of us live in blissful ignorance of the kind of hazards we are exposed to,” said Fred Millar of the Environmental Policy Institute, […]
