Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [environmental-health]

Use this tag for questions regarding physical, chemical and biological factors that may affect human health.

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Does living near a nuclear power plant cause cancer?

One man who believes that nuclear energy is bad for nature told me that living near to a nuclear power plant causes cancer. I visited one nuclear power plant and they confirmed the words of our physics teacher that the atomic energy is good for…
xralf
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Is studying while sick bad for your brain?

The New Straits Times reported: Working unduly hard or studying while sick may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damaging it. P-Healthcare blog reports one of the "Top ten brain-damaging habits": Do you know that working…
bobobobo
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Are organic mattresses healthier than the alternatives?

Some stores sell "organic mattresses" or "non-chemical" mattresses (consisting of 'all-natural' latex, as if latex were not a chemical) for children. Example Example Some of them make health claims, with an implication is that non-organic…
mmr
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Is the European NO₂ limit of 40 µg/m³ for outside air backed by strong evidence?

According to the Umwelt Bundesamt, the average annual limit for the NO₂ concentration is set to 40 µg/m³ with the intention to protect people with asthma, small children and older people, especially those with damaged airways. This is lower than the…
Christian
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Is looking into a solar eclipse especially dangerous?

I mean looking at a partial or annular eclipse, or before or after totality, and specifically the claim that it is more dangerous than looking into the sun. I've heard two versions of this: It is more dangerous because you'll be tempted to not look…
Random832
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Does hair grow faster in the sun?

I've been told that hair grows faster when you are in the sun, is there any truth to that or is it a myth among people in a sun starved country? :) Related: Does plucking/epilation impact hair growth? If you shave or wax, will the hair grow back…
Kit Sunde
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Are people physically sensitive to light from LEDs over other sources?

The Irish Independent details the claims of a woman saying she is sensitive to LED light, and that it causes her nausea. The article explains that neurologists, opticians and ophthalmologists found nothing medically wrong with her. That still leaves…
Mikey Mouse
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Does Roundup (glyphosate) cause kidney disease in farmers?

A viral photo on Facebook widely, shared by GMO Free USA, claims that Roundup has been linked to kidney disease. Breaking news: Sri Lanka becomes first country to ban sale of Monsanto's Roundup in light of recent study linking roundup to kidney…
Oddthinking
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Do cigarettes emit three times as much particulates as an idling diesel engine?

We can see that cities like Melbourne are pushing far the smoking bans Often smoking is compared to car pollution, and is said to be insignificant But, according to this experiment A turbo diesel 2 litre engine was started and left idling for 30…
caub
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Does fluorescent lighting in schools correlate to increased illness and behavior problems?

A morning talk radio program was discussing Scotopic sensitivity syndrome and made the claim that in schools where fluorescent lighting had been replaced with indirect non-fluorescent lighting had more than 30% less absences due to illness and…
Chad
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Do air ionizers have any substantial benefits or risks?

This question regarding an ionizer in an Asus laptop has a little bit of information about air ionizers (air ionisers for those using UK English), but not a lot at the time of writing. There are various claims around the place about the benefits of…
Highly Irregular
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Is there a link between mercury poisoning and attention deficits in children?

From the campaign biography of Dr. Jill Stein, U.S. 2012 presidential candidate for the Green Party: [Jill] played a key role in the effort to get the Massachusetts fish advisories updated to better protect women and children from mercury…
user792
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Does CS tear gas permanently damage children?

In the final assault ending the 1993 siege of a compound in Waco, Texas , in which 76 people were killed, the FBI fired 40mm M651 CS and Ferret CS rounds into buildings containing adults and children as part of their strategy. On 19 April 1993,…
DavePhD
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Is it healthy to sleep with the head under the blanket?

According to g9sleeptight.com (and many other websites), sleeping with the head under the blanket increases the risk of suffocation can trigger sleep apnea can cause brain damage stating "some studies indicate that up to 23% of individuals that…
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Is flying the worst choice of travelling, considering the greenhouse effect and carbon-dioxide emission?

The communities I live in in Germany keep telling everybody that flying should be avoided by all circumstances, because it has a far bigger ecological footprint than any other mode of transportation. But according to this paper, considering other…
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