By The Defender Staff
Bayer Ramps up Federal Lobbying Before Supreme Court Argument
New federal lobbying declaration records released last night reveal that Bayer ramped up federal lobbying in Q1 2026, upping the stakes of their pressure campaign to block health-related pesticide lawsuits in advance of a high profile Supreme Court case that will take up the issue. Food & Water Watch analysis of Bayer disclosures found that the corporation spent just over $2 million on federal lobbying in Q1 — a 16% increase from Q4 2025.
On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Monsanto v. Durnell. With the Trump administration’s repeated support, Bayer is seeking a ruling that would shield the corporation from lawsuits brought by cancer patients who allege Bayer failed to warn them about health risks linked to Roundup. Food & Water Watch and allies submitted an amicus in favor of Durnell, earlier this month.
Illinois Weighs Early Warning System for Pesticide Spraying Near Parks, Schools
A bill in the Illinois General Assembly would require certified pesticide users — anyone licensed by the Illinois Department of Agriculture to use Restricted Use pesticides, such as paraquat or fumigant insecticides — to give written or emailed notice at least 24 hours before application at any school, child care facility or park located within 1,500 feet of application that opted to receive them.
According to House Bill 1596, the notice must include the intended location and range of dates and times of application, the common name of each product and the type of pesticide applied, the name and telephone number of the licensed applicator and contact information for IDA for complaints of pesticide misuse.
“This is about making sure that people are aware that these chemicals are being sprayed in proximity,” said state Rep. Laura Faver Dias (D-Grayslake), the lawmaker who proposed the bill. “They can decide how they want to move forward with that information, but I think the first step is awareness that isn’t even happening at all.”
The bill is currently referred to the Rules Committee, after a hearing on April 7 that featured testimony from the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association and the Peoria City/County Health Department. The same committee approved it last spring but it did not get a vote on the House floor. The deadline for this session’s House bills to be passed is May 31.
What to Know About ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Workout Wear
The U.S. activewear market generated $137.4 million in revenue last year, and it can seem like everyone in the country now wears workout clothes for both exercise and everyday activities, such as housework or running errands. So recent news that leading activewear brand Lululemon is being investigated by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over the potential presence of “forever chemicals” may concern anyone who puts on leggings multiple times a week.
The probe will examine whether Lululemon clothing contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, synthetic chemicals used in many consumer goods that can take decades to break down in the environment. Studies have linked these compounds, which make clothing water- and stain-resistant, to a long list of potential health problems, including fertility challenges, developmental delays in children and an elevated risk of certain cancers.
(In a statement emailed to The Washington Post, a spokesperson for Lululemon said the retailer has phased out PFAS and no longer uses these substances on clothing.)
Pesticides on Produce May Be Linked to Lung Cancer in Young Non-Smokers
A new study raises questions about a surprising link between diet and lung cancer in young non-smokers. The study included 187 adults diagnosed before the age of 50. Most had never smoked. Researchers compared their eating habits with the general U.S. population and found their diets were actually healthier, containing more fruits, vegetables and whole grains on average.
Young women who didn’t smoke were found to have higher rates of lung cancer than men and also tended to eat more produce. The researchers say these unexpected patterns may point to an environmental factor in early-onset lung cancer— specifically, pesticide residue.
Past studies have linked pesticide exposure to higher lung cancer rates in agricultural workers. The lead investigators says, “This work represents a critical step toward identifying modifiable environmental factors that may contribute to lung cancer in young adults.”
Why Are Young People Getting Colon Cancer? A Common Weed Killer May Be Linked, Scientists Say
A new study suggests a common weed killer may be linked to the mysterious global rise of young colorectal cancer. The first-of-its kind study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Medicine, suggests that picloram — a herbicide used globally to kill woody plants and shrubs while keeping grasses intact — could explain the rising incidence of colon and rectal cancer cases in people under 50.
Picloram did not appear to be significantly linked to cases of colorectal cancer in adults over 70 years old, which are most common. Jose Seoane, a computational biologist and the senior author of the study, told Business Insider his team set out to look for unique DNA methylation “signatures” in colorectal cancer tumors, which can be imprinted by the things we are exposed to over a lifetime.
Those exposures can leave a tell-tale “fingerprint” on our DNA methylation, the mechanism that controls how and when our genes Seoane’s team found that certain “fingerprints” appeared in the DNA of young colorectal cancer tumors they studied, and those fingerprints were linked back to exposures, including:
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- Smoking
- Poor diets, lacking fresh vegetables, beans, nuts and other “Mediterranean” staples
- Obesity
- Educational attainment (which is also linked to poorer diets)
- and finally, the weed killer picloram
Maine Is Tightening Limits on ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Drinking Water. Are Communities Ready?
The Portland Press Herald reported:
Nearly four dozen water systems that provide drinking water across Maine would be at risk of violating new limits on “forever chemicals” if the state began enforcing updated rules on the toxic substances today, showing how much work they have left to do to meet new requirements.
In 2025, 44 public water systems had a well that tested above at least one of the state’s tightened thresholds for the chemicals, called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, according to a state dataset. The systems include 15 schools, nearly a dozen mobile home parks and five water districts from across Maine that together provide more than 25,000 people with drinking water on a regular basis, an analysis conducted by The Maine Monitor showed.
Without reducing the quarterly average of their PFAS levels by April 2029, the systems could be subject to fines or other enforcement measures from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, according to the new rule. The more stringent limits are effectively a fifth of what they previously were and mostly apply to individual PFAS compounds, not total sums.
Beyond Lung Cancer: Other Types of Cancer Linked to Air Pollution, Report Finds
Breathing polluted air significantly increases the risk of developing and dying from multiple cancers — including liver and breast cancer — according to a new report calling for stricter air quality standards. Air pollution is linked to increased overall risk of developing cancer, beyond its impact on the lungs, according to a new report by The Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and supported by the Clean Air Fund.
The report, which synthesised data from 42 meta-analyses and systematic reviews published between 2019 and 2024, found that air pollution is not only a driver of lung cancer but also significantly increases the risk of multiple other cancers and raises the likelihood of dying from the disease. “Clean air is not a luxury, it is a fundamental human right — one that underpins health, equity, and sustainable development. Tackling air pollution is not only an environmental priority; it is a cancer prevention strategy, an economic investment, and an act of social justice,” Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and co-chair of Our Common Air, wrote in the publication.
The report found that particulate matter posed the greatest risk. Populations exposed to high levels of PM2.5, compared to those in less polluted environments, face an 11% increase in the overall risk of developing cancer, with the sharpest rises for liver and colorectal, kidney, lung, and bladder cancers.
Tea Bags May Release up to One Billion Plastic Particles During the Brewing Process, According to Scientists
Tea ranks as one of the most popular drinks on the planet. Billions of people brew it daily without thinking twice about what else might end up in their mug. When making tea, most of us focus on steeping time, water temperature, or whether we prefer green over black. But a recent review of 19 scientific studies raises a question most tea drinkers have never considered: are tiny plastic particles hitching a ride into your cup?
The answer was not a simple yes or no. Instead, the research suggests that plastic particles can enter tea in several different ways – and that teabags may play a bigger role than many people realize. The review focused on microplastics and nanoplastics, grouped together as MNPs. Microplastics range from about one micrometer to five millimeters, while nanoplastics fall below one micrometer.
A human hair is tens of micrometers wide, so many of these particles are far smaller than the eye can spot. That size is one reason the issue becomes complicated quickly.
Tiny particles don’t originate from just one source. They can come from packaging, processing, brewing materials, and even the air surrounding a sample during testing.
The post Bayer Ramps up Federal Lobbying Before Supreme Court Argument + More appeared first on Children’s Health Defense.
IPAK-EDU is grateful to The Defender as this piece was originally published there and is included in this news feed with mutual agreement. Read More
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