Wildlife fund wants world DDT ban NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Sufficient scientific evidence exists of DDT's danger to humans and animals to justify a global ban on the insecticide, the World Wildlife Fund said Wednesday. Its report was released to coincide with a gathering in Nairobi of delegates from more than 100 nations to negotiate a treaty banning 12 toxic substances, including DDT. "The report illustrates the persistence and pervasiveness of chemicals such as DDT which can be sprayed in a village in Africa and end up in the fat of polar bears in the Arctic," the Washington, D.C.-based organization said. The report summarizes current research on DDT and its most popular alternative, synthetic pyrethroids. See full story <http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2558224350-8b7> $1.2 bln spent for chemical safety WASHINGTON (AP) - The chemical industry, often at odds with health advocates and environmentalists, committed $1.2 billion Wednesday for a six-year program of research into how chemicals affect health and safety. The research initiative brought praise from Vice President Gore and other officials as well as from environmentalists who said the studies must be totally objective. The program includes a project that earmarks $100 million in general research into 10 priority areas. These include research into pathways through which humans are exposed to chemicals, risk of disease from exposure, how health data from animals relates to humans and better understanding of the relationship between chemical exposure and cancer. See full story <http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2558225381-aee>
