Ocean pollution isn’t just a plastic problem. An alphabet soup of persistent organic pollutants—including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) used as flame retardants, and more—are carried by the wind and rivers into the ocean. More:

• PCBs and other organic pollutants reach the deep ocean - Chemical & Engineering News
• Depth Profiles of Persistent Organic Pollutants in the North and Tropical Atlantic Ocean (Research article)

The ASEAN-Japan Chemical Safety Database (AJCSD) contains regulatory information on chemical substances which is directly provided by the governments of Japan and ASEAN member countries. Users are able to access the current status of certain regulated chemicals in the countries and lists of the regulated chemicals under the laws of such countries. The database also stores GHS classification results and sample safety data sheets as reference. More:

• ASEAN-Japan Chemical Safety Database Officially Launched - METI Japan
• ASEAN-Japan Chemical Safety Database

During tosca’s 40-year run only a little over 200 chemicals have been assessed out of roughly 85,000 chemical substances in its inventory. Currently, a new chemical has to be shown to pose an ‘unreasonable risk’ before more information can be requested. Making a call on the risk a chemical poses is difficult to do without more information, however. More: 

• Explainer: Toxic Substances Control Act - Chemistry World
• US chemical regulations finally updated - Chemistry World

These substances identified, which are in the Great Lakes because of human activities, are: hexabromocyclododecane, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorooctane sulfonate, long-chain perfluorinated carboxylic acids, mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls and short-chain chlorinated paraffins. More:

• Priority pollutants identified in the Great Lakes - Chemistry World
• Canada and the United States Designate First Set of Chemicals of Mutual Concern - Government of Canada

Agent Orange – named after the orange stripes on the barrels used to transport it – was used extensively by the US military to remove forest cover and destroy militia crops from 1962 to 1971 during the war. The mixture used was contaminated with a highly toxic dioxin called 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin (TCDD), formed as an unintended by-product during the 2,4,5-T manufacturing process when temperatures were too high. More:
Chemistry World

There is some evidence that early-life exposures to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other persistent environmental chemicals can alter the developing immune system and may be associated with diminished effectiveness for certain vaccines. More: 

• Impeded Immunity? Reduced Tuberculosis Vaccine Response with Exposure to Environmental Chemicals - Environmental Health Perspectives
• A Birth Cohort Study of Maternal and Infant Serum PCB-153 and DDE Concentrations and Responses to Infant Tuberculosis Vaccination (Research article)

A month rarely passes by without something being declared unhealthy or carcinogenic. Often, the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is at the centre of such pronouncements and is duly rounded on to explain the consequences. More:

• When is a carcinogen not a carcinogen? - The Lancet Oncology
• Making Sense of Carcinogens: A New Method for Navigating Mechanistic Data - Environmental Health Perspectives
• Key Characteristics of Carcinogens as a Basis for Organizing Data on Mechanisms of Carcinogenesis (Research article)

PBDEs are among the most widely used flame retardants that are known to migrate out of products. They have been found in household dust, food, in animals and nearly everywhere else scientists have looked. Studies have shown PBDEs to interfere with endocrine hormones, including thyroid hormones. More:

• Flame Retardant Exposure Poses A Significant Health Risk to Women - Earth Island Journal
• PBDE flame retardants, thyroid disease, and menopausal status in U.S. women (Research article)

Based on the latest science on two chemical contaminants called PFOA and PFOS, EPA released drinking water health advisories to provide the most up-to-date information on the health risks of these chemicals. More:

• Science Guides Public Health Protection for Drinking Water - EPA Connect
• Drinking Water Health Advisories for PFOA and PFOS - US EPA
• Check This Map To See If Your Water Has Unsafe Levels Of “Fluorinated” Chemicals - BuzzFeedNews
• Is Your Drinking Water Contaminated With Toxic Non-Stick Chemicals? - Environmental Working Group

Apparent 'victories' in the fight against toxic chemicals are illusory, writes Jonathan Latham. The real problem is not one of specific 'bad actors', but the entire system that allows new, likely to be toxic compounds to pollute the environment in near-total ignorance of their impacts. More:
Ecologist

ORLANDO (Ivanhoe Newswire/WTVM) -- Firefighters face many risks during their jobs, but, ironically, the most dangerous part of running into a burning building isn’t the flames, it’s the smoke. It billows off furniture, appliances and carpets in toxic waves of cancer-causing fumes. More:
WTVM.com

People with Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS, are more likely to have been exposed to toxic pesticides or to have served in the military than similar people without the condition, according to a new study. ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a degenerative disease in which nerve cells break down over time. More:

• Pesticides, military service may be tied to ALS risk - Reuters
• Association of Environmental Toxins With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Research article)

In April 2015, Department of Defence officials arranged blood tests for 75 civilians in the Queensland town of Oakey, Australia. Defence wanted to determine their exposure to toxic perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) that leached onto their properties from the nearby Army Aviation Centre. More:
The Sydney Morning Herald

The usefulness of chlorinated paraffins (CPs) as an extreme pressure additive in metalworking and in a vast number of other applications for over 80 years is undisputed. But why is there renewed interest in CPs worldwide? It is easier to understand why, when several simple questions are answered. More:
Fuels and Lubes International

In a new study, environmental pollutants found in fish were shown to obstruct the human body’s natural defense system to expel harmful toxins. A protein found in cells of nearly all plants and animals, called P-gp, acts as the cell’s bouncer by binding to the foreign chemical and expelling it from the body. More:

• Research Highlight: Pollutants in Fish Inhibit Humans' Natural Defense System - Scripps Institution of Oceanography
• Eating Seafood May Obstruct Natural Human Defense System Mechanism, Here's Why - Science World Report
• Global marine pollutants inhibit P-glycoprotein: Environmental levels, inhibitory effects, and cocrystal structure (Research article)

Skin samples taken from 15 great whites near Dyer Island, off Gansbaai in Western Cape, contained high levels of DDT. More:
www.timeslive.co.za

Also known as C8, because of its eight-carbon molecule, PFOA has been found in drinking water in many places across the United States. Although the chemical was developed and long manufactured in the United States, it’s not just an American problem. PFOA has spread throughout the world. More:
The Intercept

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were found at elevated levels in children that lived in houses and studied in schools built during this period, before PCBs were more thoroughly regulated in the construction industry. Although food is generally a more concentrated source of these toxins, exposure through these environments should be minimised wherever possible. More: 

• Building materials used between 1950 and 1980 in Europe may contribute to PCB air pollution - Science for Environment Policy
• Associations between plasma concentrations of PCB 28 and possible indoor exposure sources in Danish school children and mothers (Research article)

Industrial pollution in people happens long before they take their first sip of water. Most of us encounter chemicals that can cause brain damage, cancer and other serious health problems in a place critical to human development - the mother's womb. More:

• 3 Toxins Found in the Cord Blood of Every One of the 10 Newborns Tested - Environmental Working Group
• Pollution in minority newborns: BPA and other cord blood pollutants (Research article)

Hundreds of residents in the Dutch city of Dordrecht have signaled an interest in getting their blood tested for a chemical used at a former DuPont Co. factory, harking back to a similar survey in the U.S. a decade ago that established a probable link to cancer. More: Bloomberg