Medical News Roundup June 2025 Part Two
The Defender’s Big Chemical NewsWatch delivers the latest headlines, from a variety of news sources, related to toxic chemicals and their effect on human health and the environment
The Plastic Pandemic: Why Are Physicians Sounding the Alarm
Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment reported:
Plastic Free July is here. As a physician, I want to share some of what I have come to understand about plastic. And it comes with a call to action to you.
Oncologists treating breast cancer in young women with no family history are questioning what environmental factors might be driving this trend.
Anesthetists in neo-natal units worry about premature babies’ exposure to plastics and the impacts on their future reproductive health. Family physicians express concern about people in fence-line communities where benzene exposure from plastics industry operations could be related to cancers and other health problems.
From plastic chemical additives to microplastics and endocrine-disrupting chemicals now found in human placentas, breast milk, and blood, the reach of plastic and its related harms is everywhere.
Our bodies have become repositories for the petrochemical industry’s profitable products and waste stream. With plastic production projected to triple by 2050, we’re not just facing an escalating environmental and public health disaster and a chain of environmental injustices. As physicians, we recognize that plastic pollution isn’t just an aesthetic problem; it’s a profound threat to human development, reproduction, and long-term health.
Pesticides vs. Your Gut: How Gut Bacteria Change After Pesticide Exposure
Where The Food Comes From reported:
While emerging evidence suggests pesticides can be toxic to the mix of microorganisms in the digestive system, a new study is the first to map changes to specific gut bacteria based on interactions between human microbes and insect-killing chemicals observed in the lab and an animal model.
The analysis showed that over a dozen pesticides influence human gut bacteria growth patterns, affect how gut microorganisms process nutrients and camp out inside some bacteria. Researchers say the resulting “atlas” of molecular mechanisms, which they have made publicly available, is a resource that can be leveraged for targeted studies on relevant diseases and potential therapeutic strategies.
Experiments in mice showed that one gut bacteria species provides some protection against pesticide toxicity, hinting at the possibility for a probiotic approach to preventing some of their damaging health effects — in this case, inflammation. “We’ve provided further understanding of how pesticides or environmental pollutants impact human health by modulating an important collection of microorganisms,” said senior author Jiangjiang Zhu, associate professor of human sciences at The Ohio State University.
Clothing Dye Raises Diabetes Risk in Pregnant Women
Pregnant women exposed to a harmful clothing dye have a higher risk for gestational diabetes when they are carrying a male fetus, according to a new study. Gestational diabetes, which afflicts roughly eight percent of pregnant women in the U.S. each year, increases the odds of a baby being born too large and suffering from low blood sugar, obesity and diabetes.
The study, published Sunday in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, is the first to link o-anisidine, an aromatic amine chemical commonly used in clothing dyes, to gestational diabetes.
“The clothes people wear shouldn’t come with this hidden risk to their health,” said Emily Lasher, lead author of the study and science associate at the University of California San Francisco’s Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment.
SC River the ‘Most Contaminated’ From Dangerous Forever Chemicals, Study Finds
When researchers completed a national study of hazardous forever chemicals recently, they found that a South Carolina river had higher levels of pollution from the toxins than any other waterway they examined across the country. It was a troubling discovery that potentially threatens public health for those who eat fish from the Pocotaligo River in Sumter and Clarendon counties, as well as rivers downstream. It also raises concerns about the Pocotaligo River if it is ever sought as a source for drinking water.
The report, by the Waterkeeper Alliance environmental organization, says the prime suspect in the pollution is an aging wastewater treatment plant that serves the city of Sumter. The plant receives wastewater from nearly a dozen industries that may be handling and releasing the chemicals, formally known as PFAS, the report said.
Those include metal coating industries, plastics businesses, chemical manufacturers and textile businesses, the report said. Other possible sources of the PFAS contamination include military installations. Shaw Air Force Base is known to have released forever chemicals that polluted groundwater at nearby mobile home parks.
Bacteria Unearthed in Italian Soil Offer Hope Against PFAS Chemicals
Innovation News Network reported:
The research offers promising new strategies to combat widespread pollution caused by these “eternal pollutants,” which are linked to serious environmental and health risks.
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are synthetic chemicals found in everyday items such as non-stick cookware, cosmetics, food packaging, and cleaning products.
Their durability and water- and oil-repellent properties have made them a staple in industrial applications since the 1940s, but also a persistent threat to ecosystems and human health.
The research, spearheaded by Professor Edoardo Puglisi from the Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences at the Catholic University, focused on PFAS-contaminated sites in the Veneto region, particularly the provinces of Vicenza and Padua.
These areas have been grappling with severe PFAS contamination, with concentrations in water sources exceeding 1,000 ng/L — likely the result of decades of industrial discharge. Working in collaboration with the University of Padua, the team isolated about 20 unique bacterial strains from affected soil. These microbes demonstrated the remarkable ability to use PFAS chemicals as their sole carbon source, essentially “feeding” on the pollutants.
Midwestern States Dominate in Use of Controversial Pesticide Tied to Weed Resistance
Environmental Health News reported:
The herbicide 2,4-D, linked to possible cancer and other health concerns, is used most heavily in Midwestern and Southern states, where glyphosate-resistant weeds have pushed farmers toward more aggressive chemical controls.
U.S. Geological Survey data shows high 2,4-D use in Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, and other major crop-producing states, driven by resistance to glyphosate.
Scientists and public health experts warn that exposure to 2,4-D may be associated with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, endocrine disruption, and fertility issues, though cancer risks remain under debate.
The pesticide, a component of Agent Orange, persists in soil and water, raising concerns about environmental drift and chronic dietary exposure, especially for vulnerable groups like farmworkers and children.
Chicago’s Plan to Replace Lead Pipes Puts It 30 Years Behind the Federal Deadline
Growing up in Chicago, Chakena D. Perry knew not to trust the water coming out of her tap. “It was just one of these unspoken truths within households like mine — low-income, Black households — that there was some sort of distrust with the water,” said Perry, who later learned that Chicago is the city with the most lead service lines in the country. “No one really talked about it, but we never used our tap for just regular drinking.”
Now, as a senior policy advocate for the Natural Resources Defense Council, Perry is part of a coalition that fought for stricter rules to force cities like Chicago to remove their toxic lead pipes faster. Last year, advocates celebrated a big win: The Biden-era U.S. Environmental Protection Agency mandated that water systems across the country replace all their lead service lines. Under the new rule, most water systems will have 10 years to complete replacements, while Chicago will likely get just over 20, starting in 2027, when that requirement kicks in.
But the city’s replacement plan, submitted to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency in April per state law and obtained through a public records request, puts it 30 years behind that timeline.
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