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Is US Ignoring Military Burn Pit Harm to Middle East Civilians?

The U.S. media has failed to expose the civilian toll of recent wars by largely ignoring burn pits’ toxic effects on local people, a U.S. researcher argues in a new report, suggesting the burn pits are this generation’s Agent Orange. -- Environmental Health News

Study: Human Body Absorbs Air Pollutants Directly Through Skin

A new study reveals that the human body absorbs harmful pollutants in the air through the skin, equivalent to the levels absorbed through breathing. The absorption through the skin, called “dermal uptake,” has been found to potentially cause asthma and cancer due to prolonged period of exposure. -- International Business Times

Japan Acknowledges Possible Radiation Casualty at Fukushima

Japan has acknowledged the first possible casualty from radiation at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant, a worker who was diagnosed with cancer after the crisis broke out in 2011. The health ministry's recognition of radiation as a possible cause may set back efforts to recover from the disaster, as the government and the nuclear industry have been at pains to say that the health effects from radiation have been minimal. -- Reuters

Sunscreen Destroys Coral Reefs

The sunscreen that snorkelers, beachgoers and children romping in the waves lather on for protection is killing coral and reefs around the globe. And a new study finds that a single drop in a small area is all it takes for the chemicals in the lotion to mount an attack. -- Washington Post

Curing Cleveland's Legacy of Lead Poisoning

In the past five years, lead poisoning has set at least 10,000 Cleveland area children on a potential path to failure before they've even finished kindergarten. It's a path that experts say helps to perpetuate two of Cleveland's most pressing and bedeviling problems: poor school performance and violence. -- The Plain Dealer