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Environmental and chemical health hazards

Pollution, toxic chemicals, contaminated food and water, exposure risks, and public-health regulation.

4,683 stories · 37 in 30 days · Updated Sep 28, 2026

The pace of conversation

Posts per month

2020-01: 72 posts2020-02: 48 posts2020-03: 120 posts2020-04: 73 posts2020-05: 54 posts2020-06: 47 posts2020-07: 57 posts2020-08: 56 posts2020-09: 44 posts2020-10: 37 posts2020-11: 37 posts2020-12: 57 posts2021-01: 42 posts2021-02: 46 posts2021-03: 48 posts2021-04: 64 posts2021-05: 42 posts2021-06: 49 posts2021-07: 48 posts2021-08: 47 posts2021-09: 50 posts2021-10: 60 posts2021-11: 32 posts2021-12: 50 posts2022-01: 50 posts2022-02: 50 posts2022-03: 49 posts2022-04: 44 posts2022-05: 52 posts2022-06: 70 posts2022-07: 72 posts2022-08: 67 posts2022-09: 52 posts2022-10: 45 posts2022-11: 41 posts2022-12: 61 posts2023-01: 78 posts2023-02: 61 posts2023-03: 64 posts2023-04: 55 posts2023-05: 54 posts2023-06: 103 posts2023-07: 85 posts2023-08: 76 posts2023-09: 77 posts2023-10: 77 posts2023-11: 82 posts2023-12: 58 posts2024-01: 62 posts2024-02: 64 posts2024-03: 76 posts2024-04: 78 posts2024-05: 76 posts2024-06: 60 posts2024-07: 66 posts2024-08: 63 posts2024-09: 69 posts2024-10: 65 posts2024-11: 66 posts2024-12: 46 posts2025-01: 94 posts2025-02: 42 posts2025-03: 68 posts2025-04: 65 posts2025-05: 54 posts2025-06: 45 posts2025-07: 53 posts2025-08: 66 posts2025-09: 65 posts2025-10: 55 posts2025-11: 40 posts2025-12: 43 posts2026-01: 56 posts2026-02: 50 posts2026-03: 44 posts2026-04: 40 posts2026-05: 33 posts2026-06: 34 posts2026-07: 54 posts2026-08: 58 posts2026-09: 30 posts
2020-012026-09

Posts per month · first and latest months may be partial.

01 / EXPLORE THROUGH TIME

Timeline

Start with the latest. Scroll back through time, or zoom in for more.

Year by yearUp to 5 stories per year
2026399 stories
Noise infusion banned from statistical products published by Census Bureau↗ desfontain.es · HN · 604 comments · 899 points · Jun 13, 2026
EU-banned pesticides found in rice, tea and spices↗ foodwatch.org · HN · 300 comments · 522 points · Jun 08, 2026
Texas woman arrested for Facebook post about town water quality↗ reclaimthenet.org · HN · 325 comments · 803 points · May 23, 2026
Best Gas Masks↗ theverge.com · HN · 164 comments · 560 points · Jan 29, 2026
Why some clothes shrink in the wash and how to unshrink them↗ swinburne.edu.au · HN · 279 comments · 536 points · Jan 11, 2026
2025690 stories
Lead pigment in turmeric is the culprit in a global poisoning mystery (2024)↗ npr.org · HN · 214 comments · 390 points · Jul 11, 2025
It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018)↗ thephcheese.com · HN · 224 comments · 409 points · Mar 31, 2025
Utah becomes first US state to ban fluoride in its water↗ bbc.com · HN · 1259 comments · 505 points · Mar 29, 2025
Dust from car brakes more harmful than exhaust, study finds↗ e360.yale.edu · HN · 455 comments · 456 points · Feb 15, 2025
US will ban cancer-linked Red Dye No. 3 in cereal and other foods↗ bloomberg.com · HN · 566 comments · 427 points · Jan 15, 2025
2024791 stories
Study: Air purifier use at daycare centres cut kids' sick days by a third (2023)↗ yle.fi · HN · 265 comments · 433 points · Aug 25, 2024
3M executives convinced a scientist forever chemicals in human blood were safe↗ propublica.org · HN · 282 comments · 462 points · May 20, 2024
U.S. imposes first-ever national drinking water limits on PFAS↗ apnews.com · HN · 427 comments · 631 points · Apr 10, 2024
The EPA is proposing that 'forever chemicals' be considered hazardous substances↗ npr.org · HN · 223 comments · 449 points · Feb 02, 2024
Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier (2022)↗ dynomight.net · HN · 220 comments · 483 points · Jan 09, 2024
2023870 stories
3M knew its chemicals were harmful decades ago, but didn't tell the public↗ minnesotareformer.com · HN · 35 comments · 157 points · Dec 17, 2023
Could the world go PFAS-free? Proposal to ban ‘forever chemicals’ fuels debate↗ nature.com · HN · 30 comments · 62 points · Aug 01, 2023
Big Tobacco knew radioactive Po210 in cigarettes posed cancer risk, kept quiet↗ uclahealth.org · HN · 37 comments · 80 points · Jul 29, 2023
Toxic gases connected to Ohio train derailment cause concern↗ old.reddit.com · HN · 25 comments · 69 points · Feb 13, 2023
“I measured the pollution from my gas stove. It was bad.”↗ distilled.earth · HN · 38 comments · 69 points · Jan 09, 2023
2022653 stories
Study finds link between 'forever chemicals' in cookware and liver cancer↗ insider.com · HN · 394 comments · 433 points · Aug 12, 2022
Weedkiller ingredient tied to cancer found in 80% of US urine samples↗ theguardian.com · HN · 366 comments · 420 points · Jul 09, 2022
Contra Wirecutter on the IKEA air purifier↗ dynomight.net · HN · 705 comments · 1474 points · Jun 20, 2022
A dirty dish by the sink can be a big marriage problem↗ theatlantic.com · HN · 774 comments · 494 points · Apr 12, 2022
Show HN: I bought and tested the filtration of every mask on Amazon↗ armbrustusa.com · HN · 237 comments · 594 points · Jan 10, 2022
2021578 stories
Leaded gas was a known poison the day it was invented (2016)↗ smithsonianmag.com · HN · 399 comments · 611 points · Sep 12, 2021
Scientist says cleaning indoor air could make us healthier and smarter↗ sciencemag.org · HN · 445 comments · 476 points · Aug 06, 2021
The health benefits of better air↗ dynomight.net · HN · 455 comments · 693 points · Apr 28, 2021
My apartment was built on toxic waste↗ sfbayview.com · HN · 235 comments · 465 points · Apr 04, 2021
Dyson air purifier outperformed by cheap DIY box fan filter in Marketplace test↗ cbc.ca · HN · 587 comments · 792 points · Feb 11, 2021
2020702 stories
Chemicals called PFAS and PFOS are in the blood of virtually every person↗ theguardian.com · HN · 226 comments · 404 points · Dec 28, 2020
Don't Touch Ya Face↗ donttouchyaface.com · HN · 138 comments · 476 points · Mar 11, 2020
Pollution from tire wear is worse than exhaust emissions?↗ emissionsanalytics.com · HN · 319 comments · 407 points · Mar 08, 2020
U.S. drinking water widely contaminated with 'forever chemicals': report↗ reuters.com · HN · 391 comments · 548 points · Jan 22, 2020
Why are some things darker when wet?↗ aryankashyap.com · HN · 164 comments · 400 points · Jan 09, 2020
Scroll through time ↕

02 / CATCH UP

The conversation now

Popular stories, with attention fading over roughly two weeks.

Research finds 485 chemicals in US pesticide products linked to breast cancer↗ theguardian.com · HN · 26 comments · 91 points · Sep 28, 2026
How the Disaster of "Forever Chemicals" Was Kept Secret↗ propublica.org · HN · 104 comments · 328 points · Sep 05, 2026
Splash-free urinals (2025)↗ academic.oup.com · HN · 132 comments · 229 points · Sep 07, 2026
Deodands put a price on objects that caused death↗ daily.jstor.org · HN · 42 comments · 115 points · Sep 16, 2026
Children's stunted lungs show recovery in ultra low emission zone↗ bbc.com · HN · 416 comments · 417 points · Aug 19, 2026

03 / GO DEEPER

Follow your curiosity

Find a particular story, revisit a year, or see what resonated.

Highest rated · the last 30 days

How the Disaster of "Forever Chemicals" Was Kept Secret↗ propublica.org · HN · 104 comments · 328 points · Sep 05, 2026
Splash-free urinals (2025)↗ academic.oup.com · HN · 132 comments · 229 points · Sep 07, 2026
Deodands put a price on objects that caused death↗ daily.jstor.org · HN · 42 comments · 115 points · Sep 16, 2026
Research finds 485 chemicals in US pesticide products linked to breast cancer↗ theguardian.com · HN · 26 comments · 91 points · Sep 28, 2026
Hot coffee could cause oesophageal cancer↗ economist.com · HN · 23 comments · 24 points · Sep 11, 2026
Things I Won't Work With: Straight Dimethyl Zinc↗ science.org · HN · 1 comments · 18 points · Aug 31, 2026
Israel water authority dumped toxins into Mediterranean to kill algae bloom↗ twitter.com · HN · 1 comments · 7 points · Sep 04, 2026
Flushing the toilet may release germ plume at adult face height↗ cidrap.umn.edu · HN · 2 comments · 6 points · Sep 10, 2026
China Tobacco products have likely caused at least 57M deaths since 1990↗ theexamination.org · HN · 3 comments · 6 points · Aug 30, 2026
Valley fever spreading to Central Valley cities, linked to oil drilling↗ latimes.com · HN · 0 comments · 5 points · Sep 27, 2026

10 stories shown.

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