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by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - agency of WHO

Lyon, France -- After a week-long meeting of international experts, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is part of the World Health Organization (WHO), today classified diesel engine exhaust as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1), based on sufficient evidence that exposure is associated with an increased risk for lung cancer.
 

Background - In 1988, IARC classified diesel exhaust as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A). An Advisory Group which reviews and recommends future priorities for the IARC Monographs Program had recommended diesel exhaust as a high priority for re-evaluation since 1998.
 

There has been mounting concern about the cancer-causing potential of diesel exhaust, particularly based on findings in epidemiological studies of workers exposed in various settings.  

 [For full press release No. 213, click on title ]

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A groundbreaking settlement between California's Attorney General and manufacturers of Brazilian Blowout hair smoothing products that reportedly contains a cancer-causing chemical will help protect salon workers and consumers, according to the California Department of Public Health's Occupational Health Branch. 
 

The settlement with the manufacturer of Brazilian Blowout products requires the company to warn consumers and hair stylists that two of its hair smoothing products emit formaldehyde gas, which is known to cause cancer in humans. The company must also cease deceptive advertising; pay...  

by the Associated Press

Inspection reports from Oregon school districts show that some schools have persistent problems meeting health and safety standards in their cafeterias while a few don't meet federal standards for twice-a-year inspections.
 

The Salem Statesman Journal investigation found that about a third of the state's 196 school districts can't or won't produce a report they are required to make public. The paper also said most districts post the inspections in kitchens, out of public view.  

 [For full news story, click on title ]

by Tom Corwin, Staff Writer | The Augusta Chronicle

The heavy recent rains could mean mold, a potential health hazard, will pop up in Augusta homes, experts said.
 

The rain could hit clogged gutters and back up under the eaves and drip into the home, said Dr. Dennis Ownby, chief of allergy and immunology at Georgia Health Sciences University.
 

"If people have had a small leak in a roof that they haven't gotten around to fixing or don't know about, with all of this extra rain, suddenly a very tiny problem may become a significant problem because of the amount of water getting into the house," he said.
 

Or it could be structural, Ownby said.
 

"So many of our homes here in the South are built on crawl spaces," he said. "If water gets under the crawl space and sits, that creates a huge amount of humidity and mold in the house. That's a potential big problem, especially when we go for days with very humid weather and a lot of rain."