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Elderly and suffer from hoarding disorder? Support groups fight stigma, isolation

Clutter creates physical risks. A cramped and disorderly home is especially dangerous for older adults because the risk of falling and breaking a bone increases with age. And having too many things in one space can be a fire hazard.

A dozen people seated around folding tables clap heartily for a beaming woman: She’s donated two 13-gallon garbage bags full of clothes, including several Christmas sweaters and a couple of pantsuits, to a Presbyterian church.A closet cleanout might not seem a significant accomplishment. But as the people in this Sunday-night class can attest, getting rid of stuff is agonizing for those with hoarding disorder.People with the diagnosis accumulate an excessive volume of things such as household goods, craft supplies, even pets. In extreme cases, their homes become so crammed that moving between rooms is possible only via narrow pathways.These unsafe conditions can also lead to strained relationships.“I’ve had a few relatives and friends that have condemned me, and it doesn’t help,” said Bernadette, a Pennsylvania woman in her early 70s who has struggled with hoarding since retiring and no longer allows guests in her home.This article is from a partnership that includes Spotlight PA, NPR, and KFF Health News. People who hoard are often stigmatized as lazy or dirty. NPR, Spotlight PA and KFF Health News agreed to use only the first names of people with hoarding disorder interviewed for this article because they fear personal and professional repercussions if their condition is made public.As Baby Boomers age into the group most affected by hoarding disorder, the psychiatric condition is a growing public health concern. Effective treatments are scarce. And because hoarding can require expensive interventions that drain municipal resources, more funding and expertise is needed to support those with the diagnosis before the issue grows into a crisis.For Bernadette, the 16-week course is helping her turn over a new leaf.The program doubles as a support group and is provided through Fight the Blight. The Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, organization started offering the course at a local Masonic temple after founder Matt Williams realized the area lacked hoarding-specific mental health services.Fight the Blight uses a curriculum based on cognitive behavioral therapy to help participants build awareness of what fuels their hoarding. People learn to be more thoughtful about what they purchase and save, and they create strategies so that decluttering doesn’t become overwhelming.Perhaps more important, attendees say they’ve formed a community knitted together through the shared experience of a psychiatric illness that comes with high rates of social isolation and depression.“You get friendship,” said Sanford, a classmate of Bernadette’s.After a lifetime of judgment, these friendships have become an integral part of the changes that might help participants eventually clear out the clutter.Clutter catches up to Baby BoomersStudies have estimated that hoarding disorder affects around 2.5% of the general population — a higher rate than schizophrenia.The mental illness was previously considered a subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder, but in 2013 it was given its own diagnostic criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the DSM-5.The biological and environmental factors that may drive hoarding are not well understood. Symptoms usually appear during the teenage years and tend to be more severe among older adults with the disorder. That’s partly because they have had more time to acquire things, said Kiara Timpano, a University of Miami psychology professor.“All of a sudden you have to downsize this huge home with all the stuff and so it puts pressures on individuals,” she said. In Bernadette’s case, her clutter includes a collection of VHS tapes, and spices in her kitchen that she said date back to the Clinton administration.But it’s more than just having decades to stockpile possessions; the urge to accumulate strengthens with age, according to Catherine Ayers, a psychiatry professor at the University of California-San Diego.Researchers are working to discern why. Ayers and Timpano theorize that age-related cognitive changes — particularly in the frontal lobe, which regulates impulsivity and problem-solving — might exacerbate the disorder.“It is the only mental health disorder, besides dementia, that increases in prevalence and severity with age,” Ayers said.Tristen Williams helps remove clutter from the home of someone with hoarding disorder in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. The homeowner asked for help with the cleanout after attending a course and support group offered by the nonprofit Fight the Blight, founded by Williams' father. (Matt Williams/Fight the Blight)Matt Williams/Fight the BlightAs the U.S. population ages, hoarding presents a growing public health concern: Some 1 in 5 U.S. residents are Baby Boomers, all of whom will be 65 or older by 2030.This population shift will require the federal government to address hoarding disorder, among other age-related issues that it has not previously prioritized, according to a July report by the Democratic staff of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, chaired then by former Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa..Health hazards of hoardingClutter creates physical risks. A cramped and disorderly home is especially dangerous for older adults because the risk of falling and breaking a bone increases with age. And having too many things in one space can be a fire hazard.Last year, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation wrote to the Senate committee’s leadership that “hoarding conditions are among the most dangerous conditions the fire service can encounter.” The group also said that cluttered homes delay emergency care and increase the likelihood of a first responder being injured on a call.The Bucks County Board of Commissioners in Pennsylvania told Casey that hoarding-related mold and insects can spread to adjacent households, endangering the health of neighbors.Due to these safety concerns, it might be tempting for a family member or public health agency to quickly empty someone’s home in one fell swoop.That can backfire, Timpano said, as it fails to address people’s underlying issues and can be traumatic.“It can really disrupt the trust and make it even less likely that the individual is willing to seek help in the future,” she said.It’s more effective, Timpano said, to help people build internal motivation to change and help them identify goals to manage their hoarding.For example, at the Fight the Blight class, a woman named Diane told the group she wanted a cleaner home so she could invite people over and not feel embarrassed.Sanford said he is learning to keep his documents and record collection more organized.Bernadette wants to declutter her bedroom so she can start sleeping in it again. Also, she’s glad she cleared enough space on the first floor for her cat to play.“Because now he’s got all this room,” she said, “he goes after his tail like a crazy person.”Ultimately, the home of someone with hoarding disorder might always be a bit cluttered, and that’s OK. The goal of treatment is to make the space healthy and safe, Timpano said, not to earn Marie Kondo’s approval.Lack of treatment leaves few optionsA 2020 study found that hoarding correlates with homelessness, and those with the disorder are more likely to be evicted.Housing advocates argue that under the Fair Housing Act, tenants with the diagnosis are entitled to reasonable accommodation. This might include allowing someone time to declutter a home and seek therapy before forcing them to leave their home.But as outlined in the Senate aging committee’s report, a lack of resources limits efforts to carry out these accommodations.Hoarding is difficult to treat. In a 2018 study led by Ayers, the UCSD psychiatrist, researchers found that people coping with hoarding need to be highly motivated and often require substantial support to remain engaged with their therapy.The challenge of sticking with a treatment plan is exacerbated by a shortage of clinicians with necessary expertise, said Janet Spinelli, the co-chair of Rhode Island’s hoarding task force.Could changes to federal policy help?Casey, the former Pennsylvania senator, advocated for more education and technical assistance for hoarding disorder.In September, he called for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to develop training, assistance, and guidance for communities and clinicians. He also said the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services should explore ways to cover evidence-based treatments and services for hoarding.This might include increased Medicare funding for mobile crisis services to go to people’s homes, which is one way to connect someone to therapy, Spinelli said.Another strategy would involve allowing Medicaid and Medicare to reimburse community health workers who assist patients with light cleaning and organizing; research has found that many who hoard struggle with categorization tasks.Williams, of Fight the Blight, agrees that in addition to more mental health support, taxpayer-funded services are needed to help people address their clutter.When someone in the group reaches a point of wanting to declutter their home, Fight the Blight helps them start the process of cleaning, removing, and organizing.The service is free to those earning less than 150% of the federal poverty level. People making above that threshold can pay for assistance on a sliding scale; the cost varies also depending on the size of a property and severity of the hoarding.Also, Spinelli thinks Medicaid and Medicare should fund more peer-support specialists for hoarding disorder. These mental health workers draw on their own life experiences to help people with similar diagnoses. For example, peer counselors could lead classes like Fight the Blight’s.Bernadette and Sanford say courses like the one they enrolled in should be available all over the U.S.To those just starting to address their own hoarding, Sanford advises patience and persistence.“Even if it’s a little job here, a little job there,” he said, “that all adds up.”This article is from a partnership that includes Spotlight PA, NPR, and KFF Health News.Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for its free newsletters.

L.A. fires put new drinking-water safety measures to the test

When scientists found a carcinogen in Santa Rosa's drinking water after the Tubbs fire, it triggered a race to develop measures to keep residents safe. The L.A. fires put them to the test.

A month after the 2017 Tubbs fire, a Santa Rosa resident finally returned home to one of the handful of houses still standing amid a field of destruction. They turned on their kitchen faucet and smelled gasoline.It was an immediate red flag for Santa Rosa Water, which quickly sent over technicians to test the tap. In the water, they found benzene, a known carcinogen — a discovery that sent shockwaves through the scientific and water safety world.In Santa Rosa, the contamination investigation would expand from a single household to the entire burn area. The neighborhood of Coffey Park is leveled in October 2017 after the Tubbs fire swept through Santa Rosa. (Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press) As devastating urban wildfires continued to increase in frequency in the American West, the problem would reappear — in Paradise, Calif.; in Colorado; in Hawaii; and finally in L.A.’s Pacific Palisades and Altadena. All the while, scientists, regulators and local utilities raced to figure out what was happening and how to keep residents safe.By the time the Eaton and Palisades fires broke out, scientists and the state could hand the affected utilities a playbook on how to restore safe water for their customers. The lessons learned helped the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which serves the Pacific Palisades, restore safe drinking water to all its customers just two months after the fires erupted — compared to an entire year in Santa Rosa.Yet, the Altadena utilities are still fighting to restore safe water. And, as with the Tubbs fire, the recovery has still been tinged with persisting scientific debates and uncomfortable unknowns.“We are in a sort of brave new world as we shift into this reality of increasingly more urban wildfires,” said Edith de Guzman, who researches water equity and climate adaptation policy at UCLA. “We have impacts that we’re not really even sure how to measure or monitor.”Benzene wasn’t the only contaminant in Santa Rosa’s and L.A.’s postfire water. Scientists are still debating which chemicals utilities ought to test for and which, given the costly and timely process of analyzing for dozens of chemicals, can go unchecked.And, while scientists have studied the danger of long-term exposure to trace amounts of contaminants like benzene in drinking water, less is known about the short-term risks of high exposures through day-to-day activities like showering and running the dish washer.The dangers of benzeneAfter the smoke settled in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades, the local water utilities quickly issued “do not drink” and “do not boil” orders, under the advice of the state regulator — the State Water Resources Control Board’s Division of Drinking Water. Workers with the U.S Army Corps of Engineers clear debris from a house in Altadena after the Eaton fire. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) The orders are designed to limit dangerous exposures to benzene, found in everything from plastic to treated construction wood to wildfire smoke. Over decades, drinking or breathing it in can increase the risk of developing leukemia and other blood cancers.While boiling water can kill off the typical non-fire contamination suspects, pathogens, it doesn’t work for benzene. And, with a lower boiling point than water, benzene can easily enter the air when water is heated up.Consequently, the state has developed best practices to keep residents safe, including not only avoiding drinking or boiling the water, but also avoiding hot showers, hot tubs and clothes dryers.However, scientists warn that these recommendations are not yet based on any comprehensive science. Reams of research link long-term small exposures of the contaminant to cancer risk. Few studies explore the potentials of short, intense household exposures.“Right now, there’s no chemical modeling, mathematical modeling or any exposure assessments that have been conducted to determine the answers to [these] questions,” said Andrew Whelton, a professor of civil environmental engineering at Purdue University and a leading researcher in the field of postfire water safety.In California, while the maximum allowed level of benzene in drinking water is 1 part per billion, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment says the concentration needs to be as low as 0.15 ppb to confidently say there will be no long-term chronic health effects. For the short-term, the Environmental Protection Agency deems exposure to over 200 ppb for longer than one day dangerous.In the aftermath of the recent fires, utilities in L.A. County have found levels as high as 190 ppb in Altadena and 71.3 ppb in the Palisades. However, after the Tubbs fire, Santa Rosa found levels as high as 40,000 ppb.After Santa Rosa Water first tested its customer’s kitchen faucet, the utility, along with the Division of Drinking Water and the EPA, launched a full investigation into the contamination of the drinking water of the affected area, and the results were unlike anything that had been seen before. A fire hose lies abandonded in Santa Rosa after the Tubbs fire in October 2017. (Jonathan Copper / Associated Press) “We did a lot of research in the start to see if any other agency had experienced this,” said Jennifer Burke, director of Santa Rosa Water. “We did not find anything anywhere.”What Santa Rosa Water found — not in the literature, but in its own backyard — was that a whole range of potentially dangerous chemicals lurked in the water. The discovery has helped guide post-wildfire recovery since.The other toxinsSanta Rosa Water first tried to figure out how a contaminant like benzene could’ve entered the water. The utility looked into whether nearby underground gasoline storage facilities could’ve been compromised, or if benzene was present in the soil, but found no compelling evidence. Then, a hypothesis emerged that would later be borne out in the lab and testing data from water systems postfire across the West.Parts of Santa Rosa’s water system had lost pressure during the blaze as firefighters tapped into hydrants, residents ran hoses to protect their properties and damaged connections spewed water into the street. As the water level dropped, leaving higher elevations dry, it created a void in the system. To fill the pressure void, experts theorized, the open connections began to suck toxic ash, soot and smoke into the pipes.It meant the contamination had the potential to quickly spread far beyond one home. And wildfire smoke carries much more than just benzene. In it is every household toxic chemical that could’ve burned. It’s a reality that poses a daunting task for scientists and utilities.“We’re chasing after a growing and an increasingly complex reality of living in the modern world, where we’re creating all of these new chemicals all the time,” de Guzman said.Among the complex sea of chemicals scattered through postfire burn areas, water safety experts have settled on a few groups of the most concerning contaminants based on their risks to humans and their presence in the Tubbs and Camp fires in California, the Marshall fire in Colorado and the Maui fires in Hawaii. The remains of a home destroyed by the Marshall fire in Louisville, Colo., in 2022. (Jack Dempsey / Associated Press) During previous fires, some experts argued testing for benzene alone is sufficient, saying the chemical, which time and time again has exceeded safe levels most often in postfire systems, acts as a good “indicator” for whether other chemicals may be present.However, with mounting evidence of other contaminants lurking in water systems postfire, even without benzene present, it’s an increasingly rare position.Most now argue that utilities ought to test not only for benzene, but at least the rest of its immediate family, called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. Others say they should also test for VOCs’ less-aggressive cousins, semi-volatile organic compounds, or SVOCs.With higher boiling points than VOCs, SVOCs are less likely to evaporate, but still pose an inhalation and ingestion risk. SVOCs are not necessarily less toxic to humans.Some VOCs and SVOCs — like the chemical responsible for the smell of pine in trees and car fresheners — are essentially harmless. Others, like benzene, are toxic to humans.“I don’t think [benzene] should be viewed as a perfect, comprehensive indicator, but it’s very much a good start,” said Chad Seidel, an environmental engineering research affiliate at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and president of Corona Environmental Consulting, which assisted in the Marshall fire recovery. “I will say this: It is dramatically better than what the responses have been, say, not that long ago — maybe more than five years ago, where nobody was doing any of this.” Homes are left in ruins by the Camp fire in Paradise, Calif., in 2018. (Noah Berger / Associated Press) In practice, many postfire water safety experts argue that to confidently say the water is safe for customers, utilities cannot rely on benzene alone.“There is no evidence that benzene is an indicator of contamination. … It simply isn’t,” Whelton said. “Unfortunately, that misinformation has traveled and continues to travel into decision-makers’ opinions.”In 2023, the California state Legislature codified postfire testing for benzene into law. While only benzene testing is required, the state’s Division of Drinking Water recommends that utilities test for the full range of VOCs — and the state, at times, has called benzene an “indicator” for other contaminants.For the Paradise Irrigation District, although testing for the full suite of VOCs can take slightly longer and cost a fair bit more, it was a pretty obvious choice (even amid pushback from the Division of Drinking Water and the EPA, at the time).“We decided to go above and beyond,” said Kevin Phillips, district manager with the Paradise Irrigation District, “because we wanted to give … our customers the utmost confidence that there were no other VOCs present in there.”Yet, many customers, living with cold showers and bottled water for months on end, remain frustrated with the lengthy process and uncertain if their water is safe. It’s why many water safety experts and utilities that have experienced postfire recovery have urged the L.A. utilities to remain as transparent as possible.“The last thing any water system wants is … to create some urban myth that the water in this certain water system is not safe,” said Kurt Kowar, director of public works for Louisville, Colo., which was devastated by the Marshall fire. “That can always stick with you, and if you can’t be transparent and generate trust through recovery, I think that would be a disservice to the community — if they don’t trust their water provided for the rest of their life.”The Paradise Irrigation District created an interactive online map of its entire system and the location of every test taken. And the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power created an online dashboard a month and a half after the fires listing the number of VOC detections in each of its zones in the Palisades fire burn area and the levels detected.Meanwhile, the smaller Altadena utilities, with limited personnel and resources, have been regularly posting joint updates to their websites outlining their recent testing, affected streets and the highest benzene levels found.But none of the L.A. utilities have posted the full testing data with exact locations. Part of the communication problem is a lack of guidance and assistance from the state, said Gregory Pierce, director of the UCLA Water Resources Group.That said, thanks to their much better understanding of the water contamination problem than in previous fires, the L.A. utilities have been optimistic about returning service far faster than they would have been a decade ago.How water systems recoverOnce Santa Rosa Water understood the problem it had on its hands, it started by aggressively flushing its system — opening up hydrants and valves to purge water through the entire network of pipes, hoping the released water would take the contaminants with it. While it worked for many areas within the burn area, the hardest-hit region proved difficult. By the time the city had gotten to flushing, benzene had bound itself to the pipes.Santa Rosa was forced to replace not only service lines to individual homes, but some of the main lines along the street as well. State water engineers are shown damaged equipment in Altadena on Feb. 12. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) The L.A. utilities have been betting on flushing alone. It’s a strategy that seems to have worked — in part because they knew what steps to take earlier than utility companies in previous wildfires.In the Palisades, full service has already been restored. The Altadena utilities have made significant progress and remain hopeful they’ll be able to restore safe water much faster than the year it took Santa Rosa and the eight months it took Paradise.On the one-month anniversary of the fires, LADWP hesitantly and optimistically said it hoped to restore safe drinking water to the Palisades by the end of February. It succeeded in doing so on the two-month anniversary — only one week later than the estimate.“How you can get your customers back to their homes with the utilities they need? It is a heroic effort to pull those things off,” Seidel said. “I applaud those people that are willing to step up and pull off what it takes to do those things. It’s not easy.”

Newsom stymies implementation of landmark California plastic law, orders more talks

Gov. Gavin Newsom this week stymied implementation of landmark state environmental legislation that would have limited the amount of single-use plastics sold and distributed in California.

Gov. Gavin Newsom this week stymied implementation of landmark state environmental legislation that would have limited the amount of single-use plastics sold and distributed in California — drawing outrage from environmentalists.The law, known as SB 54, was signed by Newsom in 2022. Since then, dozens of regulators, lawmakers, environmentalists and industry groups have worked together to write the rules and regulations that would guide its implementation. On Friday — the deadline to finalize those rules — Newsom told the negotiators to start over.“The Governor is directing CalRecycle to restart these regulations to ensure California’s bold recycling law can achieve its goal of cutting plastic pollution and is implemented fairly,” Daniel Villaseñor, Newsom’s deputy director of communications, said in a statement. But some environmentalists and lawmakers were incensed at the move. In a statement, representatives of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Ocean Conservancy and Oceana said Newsom’s decision “puts the interests of the plastics and fossil fuel industry above the wallets and welfare of Californians and the environment.” They cited his prior enthusiasm for the law, which his office once referred to as “the most significant overhaul of California’s plastics and packaging recycling policy in history.”“The only thing that has changed since these regulations were finalized six months ago is that Gavin Newsom is now running for president,” said one disgruntled environmentalist who had been working on the regulations since 2022, and who asked to remain anonymous because they continue to negotiate with the governor’s office on several legislative and regulatory items. SB 54 called for plastic and packaging companies to reduce single-use plastic packaging by 25% and ensure that 65% of that material is recyclable and 100% either recyclable or compostable — all by 2032. The law also required packaging producers to bear the costs of their products’ end-life (whether via recycling, composting, landfill or export) and figure out how to make it happen — removing that costly burden from consumers and state and local governments.According to one state analysis, 2.9 million tons of single-use plastic and 171.4 billion single-use plastic components were sold, offered for sale, or distributed during 2023 in California.Single-use plastics and plastic waste more broadly are considered a growing environmental and health problem. In recent decades, the accumulation of plastic waste has overwhelmed waterways and oceans, sickening marine life and threatening human health.Villaseñor, Newsom’s spokesman, cited the program’s cost as a deterrent. A state analysis showed the law, once enacted, would have cost the state $36 billion and each Californian households about $300. However, the analysis then noted those costs were “likely to be mitigated by an estimated increase in personal income amounting to $19.2 billion, coupled with additional health and environmental benefits totaling $40.3 billion.”Indeed, the analysis suggested most Californians were likely to see an increase in personal income as a result of the law, ranging from a $3 per person bump during the first year and $131 by 2032.“The law has always been about affordability,” said state Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica), the architect of SB 54. “It’s been increasingly difficult for our cities and counties to handle the endless influx of plastics into our waste stream and they have been forced to increase rates on regular folks over and over again.”But others, including Nick Lapis, director of advocacy at Californians Against Waste, wondered if maybe it is time to bring the issue back to the voters.In 2022, a ballot measure that would have put an end to most single-use packaging and foodware in the state was pulled after industry representatives and lawmakers promised to write legislation that would essentially do the same thing, via SB 54. The only difference was that the law would allow the industry a major role in its oversight, development and management.Dropping the ballot measure was considered a mistake at the time by several environmentalists, who foresaw the industry delaying, derailing or killing it.“Suffice it to say that we just don’t have confidence that an industry so prone to deceiving the public for so long about the impacts of its products on our communities and our planet will now take the starring role in its own demise voluntarily,” wrote a coalition of environmentalists in a 2022 letter condemning the removal of the ballot initiative in favor of the law. Concerns about the governor’s commitment to the law began in December, when members of the Circular Action Alliance — a coalition that was formed to represent the plastic and packaging industry — began to complain about the regulations to Newsom.Rachel Wagoner, an executive director of the industry coalition was, until March 2024, the director of the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, or CalRecycle. Newsom appointed Wagoner to the CalRecycle position in 2020, and it was under her leadership that the majority of the law’s regulations were written and agreed upon. Larine Urbina, a spokeswoman for the Circular Action Alliance, said in a statement that her organization appreciated Newsom’s “commitment to the effective and efficient implementation of SB 54,” and that the alliance’s goal “is to ensure the legislation meets its significant ambitions and to help create a circular economy.”As lawmakers and environmentalists now scramble to pick up the pieces of the SB 54, they noted the bill was signed into law — and therefore the law of the land. “The Governor and legislators ... must continue to insist that the law’s goals and timelines are met,” wrote the representatives of Oceana, Ocean Conservancy and Monterey Bay Aquarium. Allen, the state senator, agreed with that sentiment.“We’re hopeful the administration and agency can move swiftly this go-around ... and come out with revised regulation that get us on track toward swift implementation of the law,” he said. “When that happens, it’ll be a win for both our environment and ratepayers.”

Trump Administration Likely to Drop Chloroprene Lawsuit. Here’s What That Means

Trump could drop a federal lawsuit against a petrochemical plant that emits chloroprene. Here’s a look at the cancer-causing chemical

What Is Chloroprene, the Cancer-Causing Chemical at the Center of a Federal Lawsuit?Trump could drop a federal lawsuit against a petrochemical plant that emits chloroprene. Here’s a look at the cancer-causing chemicalBy Stephanie Pappas edited by Jeanna BrynerYoga mats can be made out of the synthetic rubber neoprene, natural rubber and other materials. The Trump administration may soon drop a federal lawsuit against a Louisiana petrochemical plant to reduce its emissions of chloroprene, a cancer-causing chemical that has been at the heart of a roughly decade-long environmental justice battle.Chloroprene is a volatile liquid made of chlorine and carbon atoms. When its molecules are linked together to form chains in a process called polymerization, they form polychloroprene—better known as neoprene, a common synthetic rubber that is widely used in wetsuits and other protective gear. Neoprene is relatively inert and resists degradation, and it is used in clothing, masks and accessories. But during neoprene’s production, the crucial ingredient chloroprene can enter the air because of its volatility. An early reported occurrence of high occupational exposure to chloroprene occurred in 1973, when airborne concentrations of the chemical reached up to 24,470 micrograms per cubic meter (24,470 µg/m3) within one manufacturing plant that was monitored by scientists.Chloroprene’s carcinogenic risk was first noted in the 1970s, when exposed workers started turning up with high rates of cancer. A 1978 study on 234 male neoprene plant workers in the U.S. found 12 deaths from cancer over a 15-year period, three deaths more than would be expected compared to the rate among the company’s workers as a whole. The rate of cancer of the urinary organs in particular raised red flags: Five of the exposed men died of such cancers over 15 years, far higher than the expected rate of one death every 30 years for a similar population that was not exposed to chloroprene. Research on exposed workers in shoe manufacturing factories in Russia linked chloroprene exposure to liver cancer, kidney cancer and leukemia.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Animal studies have also shown that either ingesting or inhaling chloroprene can cause cancer. In 2010 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency identified the chemical as a likely human carcinogen. According to the studies the EPA reviewed in that analysis, chloroprene is probably a mutagen—an agent that can damage DNA or trigger genetic mutations.The EPA set a maximum allowed chloroprene exposure level at 0.2 µg/m3 over 70 years in an attempt to keep the additional cancer risk from exposure below 100 cases per every million people. In 2023 the agency filed a lawsuit against the only plant that emits chloroprene in the U.S.: a former DuPont site that is now owned by the Japanese company Denka in Reserve, La. According to the lawsuit, monitoring found that this Denka Performance Elastomer plant consistently released up to 14 times the maximum allowed amount of chloroprene in the surrounding community. Now the New York Times has reported that the Department of Justice is likely to withdraw that lawsuit as part of its move to axe environmental justice programs. Census Tract 708, where the plant is located, is about 91 percent Black.“I’m upset, and I just cannot sleep at night,” says Robert Taylor, who was born in Reserve in 1940. Taylor is the founder of Concerned Citizens of St. John, an advocacy group he started in 2016 after learning about the health dangers of chloroprene. “I remember the suffering of my mother with the cancer. My wife got the cancer; my sister got the cancer; my brother [did]. I look around me, at my neighbors. It is a nightmare.”Reserve sits in “Cancer Alley,” a corridor of petrochemical plants where cancer rates are particularly high. While some advocates for industry blame residents’ health behaviors for these high rates, a 2022 study in the journal Environmental Research Letters found that after controlling for occupation, smoking and obesity, cancer incidence was higher in census tracts with more exposure to toxic compounds in air pollution. And these highly exposed populations were more likely to be predominantly Black.The U.S. national cancer rate is about 440 cases each year per 100,000 people in the same age range as Louisiana’s population, says Kimberly Terrell, the study’s lead author and a research scientist at the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic. Louisiana averages higher than that, Terrell says— around 480 cases per 100,000 people per year. In Cancer Alley, though, the numbers look even worse.“The most polluted census tracts that we looked at had an average overall rate above 500,” Terrell says.There is also evidence tying the Denka plant, in particular, to cancer risk. In 2021 a study published in the journal Environmental Justice found higher cancer incidence closer to the plant. The study researchers surveyed households within a 1.5-kilometer radius of the plant and those located between 1.5 and 2.5 km from it. They then compared the reported cancer numbers in these zones with national averages of Americans, matched to age, race and sex. They found an unusually high cancer rate within the entire study area—9.7 percent of residents reported a cancer diagnosis within the past 23 years—and the rate worsened with closer proximity to the plant. “The levels of cancer in Zone 1 [near the plant] are much more unusual, compared to national cancer statistics, than the levels in Zone 2,” says Ruhan Nagra, an associate professor of law at the University of Utah, who led the study.Denka has argued that the EPA has set its limit for chloroprene exposure too low. A 2020 study partially funded by the company asserted that mice (which were used in the animal studies of the chemical) are more susceptible to cancer from chloroprene than humans and that the exposure limit should be more than 100 times higher than 0.2 µg/m3. (The lead author of that study did not respond to an interview request). In 2022 the EPA declined to change its exposure limit after an independent peer review of Denka’s toxicology claims, with reviewers finding that the company’s methodology did not support it assertions of reduced cancer risk.A lawyer for Denka declined to comment on the possible withdrawal of the lawsuit. Taylor says he and his fellow advocates have felt overwhelmed by the developments. “This country has abandoned us to the vagaries of the petrochemical industry,” he says.“Who decided to sacrifice us and to whom?” Taylor adds. “Who are the beneficiaries of my three-year-old great-grandson, who, at 2.5 years old, had already exceeded the 70-year level of exposure to these chemicals? ... Me and my board of directors, we’re in emergency mode. We know we have to come together and come up with some plans. We cannot lay down for this.”

America's Butterflies Are Disappearing At 'Catastrophic' Rate, Study Says

The number of the winged beauties down 22% since 2000, according to new research.

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s butterflies are disappearing because of insecticides, climate change and habitat loss, with the number of the winged beauties down 22% since 2000, a new study finds.The first countrywide systematic analysis of butterfly abundance found that the number of butterflies in the Lower 48 states has been falling on average 1.3% a year since the turn of the century, with 114 species showing significant declines and only nine increasing, according to a study in Thursday’s journal Science.“Butterflies have been declining the last 20 years,” said study co-author Nick Haddad, an entomologist at Michigan State University. “And we don’t see any sign that that’s going to end.”A team of scientists combined 76,957 surveys from 35 monitoring programs and blended them for an apples-to-apples comparison and ended up counting 12.6 million butterflies over the decades. Last month an annual survey that looked just at monarch butterflies, which federal officials plan to put on the threatened species list, counted a nearly all-time low of fewer than 10,000, down from 1.2 million in 1997.Many of the species in decline fell by 40% or more.David Wagner, a University of Connecticut entomologist who wasn’t part of the study, praised its scope. And he said while the annual rate of decline may not sound significant, it is “catastrophic and saddening” when compounded over time.“In just 30 or 40 years we are talking about losing half the butterflies (and other insect life) over a continent!” Wagner said in an email. “The tree of life is being denuded at unprecedented rates.”The United States has 650 butterfly species, but 96 species were so sparse they didn’t show up in the data and another 212 species weren’t found in sufficient number to calculate trends, said study lead author Collin Edwards, an ecologist and data scientist at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.“I’m probably most worried about the species that couldn’t even be included in the analyses” because they were so rare, said University of Wisconsin-Madison entomologist Karen Oberhauser, who wasn’t part of the research. Haddad, who specializes in rare butterflies, said in recent years he has seen just two endangered St. Francis Satyr butterflies — which only live on a bomb range at Fort Bragg in North Carolina — “so it could be extinct.” Some well-known species had large drops. The red admiral, which is so calm it lands on people, is down 44% and the American lady butterfly, with two large eyespots on its back wings, decreased by 58%, Edwards said. Even the invasive white cabbage butterfly, “a species that is well adapted to invade the world,” according to Haddad, fell by 50%. “How can that be?” Haddad wondered.Cornell University butterfly expert Anurag Agrawal said he worries most about the future of a different species: Humans.“The loss of butterflies, parrots and porpoises is undoubtedly a bad sign for us, the ecosystems we need and the nature we enjoy,” Agrawal, who wasn’t part of the study, said in an email. “They are telling us that our continent’s health is not doing so well ... Butterflies are an ambassador for nature’s beauty, fragility and the interdependence of species. They have something to teach us.”Oberhauser said butterflies connect people with nature and that “calms us down, makes us healthier and happier and promotes learning.”What’s happening to butterflies in the United States is probably happening to other, less-studied insects across the continent and world, Wagner said. He said not only is this the most comprehensive butterfly study, but the most data-rich for any insect.Butterflies are also pollinators, though not as prominent as bees, and are a major source of pollination of the Texas cotton crop, Haddad said.The biggest decrease in butterflies was in the Southwest — Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma — where the number of butterflies dropped by more than half in the 20 years.“It looks like the butterflies that are in dry and warm areas are doing particularly poorly,” Edwards said. “And that kind of captures a lot of the Southwest.”Edwards said when they looked at butterfly species that lived both in the hotter South and cooler North, the ones that did better were in the cooler areas.Climate change, habitat loss and insecticides tend to work together to weaken butterfly populations, Edwards and Haddad said. Of the three, it seems that insecticides are the biggest cause, based on previous research from the U.S. Midwest, Haddad said.“It makes sense because insecticide use has changed in dramatic ways in the time since our study started,” Haddad said.Habitats can be restored and so can butterflies, so there’s hope, Haddad said.“You can make changes in your backyard and in your neighborhood and in your state,” Haddad said. “That could really improve the situation for a lot of species.”Follow Seth Borenstein on X at @borenbearsThe Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Trump administration drops suit that sought to cut toxic emissions in ‘Cancer Alley’

The Trump administration has dropped a lawsuit that sought to cut toxic emissions from a facility in a highly polluted area of Louisiana known as “Cancer Alley.” In 2023, the Biden administration filed a lawsuit against Denka Performance Elastomer in an effort to get it to cut down its emissions of chloroprene. Chloroprene is a...

The Trump administration has dropped a lawsuit that sought to cut toxic emissions from a facility in a highly polluted area of Louisiana known as “Cancer Alley.” In 2023, the Biden administration filed a lawsuit against Denka Performance Elastomer in an effort to get it to cut down its emissions of chloroprene. Chloroprene is a chemical that’s used in the production of neoprene, a material that is used to make wetsuits, hoses and adhesives. The EPA considers chloroprene to be a likely carcinogen.   When it filed the lawsuit, the EPA said that Denka’s emissions of chloroprene posed “an imminent and substantial endangerment” to public health. “The endangerment is imminent because Denka emits chloroprene at levels that are producing unacceptably high risks of cancer to the people, including children, that are regularly exposed to the Facility’s emissions,” the lawsuit said. “Hundreds of children attend school near the Facility and currently breathe the air there.” However, the Trump administration voluntarily dropped the lawsuit this week. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declined to explain why, referring The Hill to the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment. Denka, the company that was being sued, thanked the Trump administration for dropping the case in a written statement, saying it was “lacking scientific and legal merit." The company said that it is “committed to implementing the emissions reductions achieved as we turn the page from this relentless and draining attack on our business.” It also said it was “committed to working with the EPA” to change tighter pollution standards that were set last year under Biden. Environmental advocates criticized the Trump administration’s move.  “The Trump Administration's plan to dismiss this case should raise alarm bells for communities across the country and is a clear signal that the administration is not serious about enforcing the laws on the books that ensure we have access to clean and safe air and water,"  said Jen Duggan, executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project, in a written statement. "Cancer Alley" has among the highest rates of toxic air pollution in the country. People living in an area close to the facility are exposed to chloroprene at more than 14 times the level the EPA says can increase cancer risk, according to the agency's lawsuit.

Out of the Lab and Into the Streets, Researchers and Doctors Rally for Science Against Trump Cuts

Researchers, doctors, their patients and supporters are venturing out of labs, hospitals and offices across the country to stand up to what they call an attack on life-saving science by the Trump administration

WASHINGTON (AP) — Researchers, doctors, their patients and supporters ventured out of labs, hospitals and offices Friday to stand up to what they call a blitz on life-saving science by the Trump administration.In the nation's capital, several hundred people gathered at the Stand Up for Science rally. Organizers said similar rallies were planned in more than 30 U.S. cities. Politicians, scientists, musicians, doctors and their patients were expected to make the case that firings, budget and grant cuts in health, climate, science and other research government agencies in the Trump administration's first 47 days in office are endangering not just the future but the present.“Science is under attack in the United States,” said rally co-organizer Colette Delawalla, a doctoral student in clinical psychology. “We're not just going to stand here and take it.”“American scientific progress and forward movement is a public good and public good is coming to a screeching halt right now,” Delawalla said. “It's a very bad time with all the promise and momentum," said Collins. Friday's rally in Washington was at the Lincoln Memorial, in the shadow of a statue of the president who created the National Academy of Sciences in 1863. Some of the expected speakers study giant colliding galaxies, the tiny genetic blueprint of life inside humans and the warming atmosphere.Nobel Prize winning biologist Victor Ambros, Bill Nye The Science Guy, former NASA chief Bill Nelson and a host of other politicians, and patients — some with rare diseases — were expected to take the stage to talk about their work and the importance of scientific research. The rallies were organized mostly by graduate students and early career scientists. Dozens of other protests were also planned around the world, including more than 30 in France, Delawalla said.“The cuts in science funding affects the world,” she said.She said the administration’s campaign to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion have delayed and threatened her grant because the National Institutes of Health is scrubbing proposals with words such as “female” or “woman.” Her research focuses on compulsive alcohol use in people, which is different for men and women.The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Feb. 2025

IACHR Warned of Rising Femicides and Judicial Stagnation in Costa Rica

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) assessed human rights conditions in Costa Rica through a public hearing, where several organizations shared their perspectives and concerns. The event, conducted in a regional context marked by the weakening of the rule of law and democratic institutions, highlighted the challenges facing the country. During the session, civil […] The post IACHR Warned of Rising Femicides and Judicial Stagnation in Costa Rica appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) assessed human rights conditions in Costa Rica through a public hearing, where several organizations shared their perspectives and concerns. The event, conducted in a regional context marked by the weakening of the rule of law and democratic institutions, highlighted the challenges facing the country. During the session, civil society organizations presented the main challenges confronting the nation, emphasizing the differential impact on vulnerable populations such as indigenous peoples, LGBTIQ+ individuals, women, children, adolescents, and people in situations of human mobility. The issues addressed included budget cuts in key sectors, setbacks in the protection of rights, and the lack of a state response to problems such as gender violence, discrimination, and the environmental crisis. The organizations denounced that the budget of the Ministry of Public Education had been reduced from 5.25% to 4.98%, directly affecting children and adolescents. This cut limits access to quality education and perpetuates socioeconomic inequalities, especially in marginalized communities. Additionally, the reduction of resources allocated to the National Child Welfare Agency (PANI) was reported, in a context where incidents of violence against minors have increased. This situation leaves thousands of children unprotected, violating their fundamental rights and exposing them to greater risks. Regarding the judiciary, the organizations pointed out the stagnation of the judiciary’s budget, despite the expansion of its competencies. The hearing also underscored setbacks in protecting women’s rights in Costa Rica. The organizations denounced the rise in femicides and the barriers women face in accessing justice, reflecting a lack of an effective state response to gender-based violence. Furthermore, it was noted that the rights of the LGBTIQ+ population are at risk due to the elimination of key protections, the threat of repealing anti-discrimination policies, and the dismantling of educational programs that promote inclusion and respect for diversity. On the issue of human mobility, the organizations denounced Costa Rica’s role in the detention and reception of individuals expelled by the United States and the historical debts in accessing the rights of migrants and refugees, highlighting the excessive time required to obtain recognition of refugee status. In environmental matters, the organizations warned of a water crisis exacerbated by agrochemical contamination and the lack of continuous access to drinking water, particularly in areas experiencing socioeconomic inequalities. They also raised concerns about the pressure on protected areas due to illegal logging and the expansion of real estate developments in coastal regions, which adversely affect fragile ecosystems and intensify conflicts in indigenous territories. The post IACHR Warned of Rising Femicides and Judicial Stagnation in Costa Rica appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

Could Your Cup of Tea Help Remove Lead From Drinking Water?

By I. Edwards HealthDay ReporterFRIDAY, March 7, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Your daily cup of tea might do more than help you relax -- it could also...

FRIDAY, March 7, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Your daily cup of tea might do more than help you relax -- it could also help remove harmful heavy metals from your drinking water, new research suggests.A Northwestern University study found that tea leaves can naturally pull lead and other dangerous metals out of water as tea steeps.About 5 billion cups of tea are consumed each day worldwide, according to one estimate.“You can see the implications,” said Vinayak Dravid, a materials scientist at Northwestern and an author of the study. “How often do we touch billions of people?”Heavy metal contamination -- especially lead -- is a growing concern, especially in areas with aging pipes.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that about 9 million U.S. homes get their water through pipes that contain lead, The New York Times reported. Those pipes can allow the toxic metal to leach into drinking water.Even small amounts of lead exposure can be dangerous, especially for children, potentially leading to developmental delays and behavioral problems.In the study, David and his team tested a variety of teas -- including black, white, oolong, green, rooibos, herbal, loose leaf and plain Lipton -- to see how well they absorbed lead from water during various steeping times.The researchers found that black tea was the most effective at pulling lead from water.“Green tea and black tea had fairly equivalent amounts of metal absorbed,” co-author Benjamin Shindel told The Times. He worked on the study as a doctoral candidate at Northwestern.This is because compounds called catechins act like “little Velcro” hooks to which lead molecules latch, Michelle Francl, a chemist at Bryn Mawr College, explained.Francl added that tea leaves also have a rough surface with "ridges and valleys," which provides more space for metals to attach to them.White tea, which is more gently processed and has smoother leaves, absorbed far less lead.Herbal teas like chamomile, which aren’t made from actual tea leaves, were also less effective.Steeping black tea for five minutes removed about 15% of the lead from the water. And while any reduction is helpful, the EPA warns that no amount of lead exposure is safe.“With lead and other contaminants, any decrease is meaningful to some extent, especially if you have a lack of resources or infrastructure that would already remediate some of these problem materials,” said Caroline Harms, who worked on the study as an undergraduate student of Dravid's at Northwestern.While longer steeping times did pull out more lead, they also made the tea more bitter.“It’s not really drinkable after 10 minutes of steeping tea, and no amount of salt is going to help that,” Francl told The Times.Some samples steeped for 24 hours removed the most metals, but they would be impossible to drink.Researchers estimated that in countries where tea drinking is common, people could be ingesting about 3% less lead from their water compared to their counterparts in countries that don’t drink tea.“Given that clean water is such a global issue,” Francl concluded, “if there was a way to take this proof of concept and tweak it to produce potable water at the end, that would be pretty good.”SOURCE: The New York Times, Feb. 28, 2025Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

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