human health

A growing body of evidence, showing that Canada’s most common insecticides are more dangerous to human health than previously thought, has not been fully assessed by this country’s pesticide regulator, Canada’s National Observer has found.

Environmental and health protection groups are asking the government to temporarily ban a class of toxic insecticides until an independent expert panel has determined they are safe — following a bombshell investigation by Canada's National Observer that revealed how federal officials colluded with the pesticide industry to keep three pesticides on the market.

Plastic pollution is changing the processes of the entire Earth system, exacerbating climate change, biodiversity loss, ocean acidification, and the use of freshwater and land, according to scientific analysis.

The federal pesticide regulator collaborated with an agrochemical giant to undermine research by a prominent Canadian scientist to stave off an impending ban of a class of pesticides harmful to human brains and sperm and deadly to bees, insects and birds, Canada's National Observer has found.

When UBC food safety researcher Tianxi Yang became a mother, she wondered how much microplastic her son would ingest when drinking milk out of widely available plastic containers.

Canada's pesticide regulator is years behind on a cumulative assessment of health risks posed by a group of pesticides linked to autism, hyperactivity and reduced intelligence scores in children. 

The most urgent need is drinking water, but food and personal hygiene products are also in short supply. Other Brazilian states are mobilizing trucks with donations bound for Rio Grande do Sul.

The link between human rights, human health and an unhealthy planet is clear to us as physicians. The federal government must also make these connections.

Europe is the fastest-warming continent and its temperatures are rising at roughly twice the global average, two top climate monitoring organizations reported on Monday, warning of the consequences for human health, glacier melt and economic activity.

The agency warned on Monday that over 70 per cent of the world's workforce is likely to be exposed to excessive heat during their careers. It also warned of air pollution, pesticides and other hazards that could lead to health problems including cancer.

The regulation represents a new era for public health and drinking water. The Biden administration has also proposed new rules that would force utilities to remove harmful lead pipes. It’s part of their overall goal to make tap water safer.

Bodies and minds are just as affected by climate change as sea ice and forests, says University of Alberta scientist Sherilee Harper.

B.C. could soon become the first province to partially ban a group of cancer-causing chemicals used in everything from firefighting equipment to makeup. Tabled by BC Green MLA Adam Olsen, the proposed law would ban per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals in the firefighting equipment used by the province's professional and volunteer fire crews. 

Environmentalists, Inuit and firefighters are urging the federal government to list a group of harmful chemicals as toxic under Canada's environmental protection laws because they can increase cancer risks and other health risks and linger in ecosystems for decades. 

A person picks up trash in a landfill. A new analysis finds lower-income countries pay eight times more for plastic’s social and environmental impacts.