Ever since our early ancestors left the fertile sauna of Africa and headed North, we humans have been searching for ways to fend off sleet and snow and rain and cold. The Inuit once relied on seal and whale intestines to get the job done. Nowadays, we rely on waterproof synthetics. More:
Mother Jones

Regulatory toxicology has begun to embrace new hazard characterisation approaches which could be integrated into regulatory safety assessments. The vision is to fundamentally change the way we assess the safety of chemicals, by superseding traditional animal experiments with a predictive toxicology that is based on a comprehensive understanding of how chemicals can cause adverse effects in humans. More:
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)

97 % d’aliments contenant des résidus de pesticides ; les enfants exposés à près de 130 polluants chimiques chaque jour ; une industrie partagée entre six multinationales. More:
Le Monde

Fish in today’s oceans contain far lower levels of mercury, DDT and other toxins than at any time in the past four decades, according to a major review by scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla. More:
The San Diego Union Tribune

Polyfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) are hazardous to the environment and human health and ‘widely present’ in a range of leading outdoor brands tested by Greenpeace. More:
The Guardian
Leaving Traces - The hidden hazardous chemicals in outdoor gear (Greenpeace product test 2016 report)

Pioneers in green chemistry are warning that the development of new environmentally friendly, non-toxic chemicals is being hampered by a lack of training in toxicology and environmental mechanisms. Chemists are taught to synthesise molecules without considering their impacts on human health or the environment. More:
Chemistry World

Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and its derivatives have been found in levels exceeding EU thresholds in some outdoor textiles, leather goods and ski waxes, according to a recent analysis of everyday consumer items. Better quality control in the processing and manufacture of goods coated with the substances is among the recommendations to reduce human exposure to these toxic chemicals. More:
Science for Environment Policy

The River Po is Italy’s longest river. Some areas of the Po basin are densely populated and the river has suffered pollution from municipal wastewater discharges, stormwater runoff, sewer overflows, agricultural runoff and industrial waste discharges. More:
Science for Environment Policy

PCBs were once used in electrical gear, paints and flame retardants, but were banned from the 1970s because of their toxic effect in humans and animals. However the manmade chemicals have persisted in the environment, and are accumulating in top predators. The study finds Europe's cetaceans have levels of PCBs that are among the highest found in on the oceans. More:
BBC
PCB pollution continues to impact populations of orcas and other dolphins in European waters (Scientific report)

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned the use of three perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in food packaging. The chemicals in question are used as grease-proofing agents for pizza boxes, microwave popcorn bags and other food containers. More:
Chemistry World
Indirect Food Additives: Paper and Paperboard Components (US FDA rule)

New research supported in part by NIEHS indicates that exposure to common environmental pollutants that persist in the environment, such as DDT and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), may diminish infants’ immune response to the tuberculosis (TB) vaccine known as bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG). More: 

• Persistent pollutants linked to poor vaccine response - Environmental Factor
• A Birth Cohort Study of Maternal and Infant Serum PCB-153 and DDE Concentrations and Responses to Infant Tuberculosis Vaccination (Scientific article)

Santa’s reindeer have come and gone in their annual Christmas journey over the North, but reindeer — and many other Arctic animals and people — may face health impacts from toxic flame retardants that are banned, but still present, in Canada. More:
Nunatsiaq Online
Arctic Reindeer Poo Acts as Flame Retardant
Characterizing the distribution of selected PBDEs in soil, moss and reindeer dung at Ny-Ålesund of the Arctic (Research article)

Dr. Joseph Braun, assistant professor of epidemiology at Brown University, conducted an observational study that found that some children born in the Cincinnati area downstream from an industrial dumping site have more fat as young children if their mothers had high levels of the chemical perfluorooctanoic acid in their blood during pregnancy. More:
Public Radio International
Prenatal perfluoroalkyl substance exposure and child adiposity at 8 years of age (Research article)

A pineapple pesticide that made its way into milk in Hawaii also made its way into men's brains, and those men were more likely to develop Parkinson's disease, a study finds. It's the latest in a very long series of studies linking various pesticides to Parkinson's, which is caused by the loss of certain brain cells. More:
NBC News
Midlife milk consumption and substantia nigra neuron density at death (Research article)

The varied hormones in our bodies exert their effects by attaching to specific receptors. Once this attachment is established, a hormone initiates a unique, complex chain of events that regulate our body's development and function. Think of each hormone as a member of an orchestra that is performing a demanding, perpetual symphonic work. Hormone disrupters are chemicals that interfere with this delicate process. More:
www.timesfreepress.com

A study of men from the Faroe Islands finds that high DDT and PCB exposure during adolescence and adulthood is associated with abnormal chromosomes in sperm . More:
Environmental Health News
Sperm Aneuploidy in Faroese Men with Lifetime Exposure to Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) and Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) Pollutants (Research article)

A pesticide known as "DDT's cousin" is still being used in the United States, despite evidence of its toxic effects. The EPA acknowledged that even though it had not fully addressed all of the ecological and human health risk concerns regarding endosulfan, it had taken a number of mitigation measures to make its use safer. More:
New America Media
Endosulfan Phase-out (US EPA)

Manufacturers use fluorinated compounds in popcorn bags so the paper in the bag doesn’t quickly degrade after contacting the butter in the popcorn. Recently, Denmark's largest retailer unveiled fluorinated-free microwave popcorn. More:
Environmental Health News

PCBs, short for polychlorinated biphenyls, now seem to be a byproduct of certain pigment production. In recent years researchers have found that some paints, clothing, newspapers and magazines contain forms of the chemicals, usually a specific compound called PCB-11. More:
Environmental Health News

What if, instead of choosing between fire safety or health, you could have both? Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) published their discovery of a flame retardant that is nontoxic and won’t accumulate over time in the bodies of people who come in contact with it. More:
Newsweek
Boston Globe
Bioinspired Catecholic Flame Retardant Nanocoating for Flexible Polyurethane Foams (Research article)