Health Canada, a drug and health regulatory body, has once again said some Ayurvedic products may contain high levels of heavy metals, such as lead, mercury and arsenic. Saying these medicines may pose serious health risks, the Canadian regulator has asked people to exercise caution while purchasing them.

A medical survey has found alarming levels of lead in the blood of police officials controlling traffic at some 400 intersections of the city, which may lead to fatal diseases along with "intellectual and behavioural deficits'. Officials at the police's traffic department said the sample medical tests of some 700 policemen were conducted during the last few weeks through a recognized medical institution, which came up with a common report of higher lead levels among the law enforcers.

A new company hopes drivers will kick the oil habit by brewing ethanol at home that won't spike food prices. E-Fuel Corp unveiled on Thursday the "MicroFueler" touting it as the world's first machine that allows homeowners to make their own ethanol and pump the brew directly into their cars. The portable unit that sells for $10,000 resembles a gasoline station pump and nozzle -- minus the slot for a credit card, or the digital "SALE" numbers that whir ever faster at retail pumps as global demand pushes fuel prices to record levels.

For the first time in 30 years, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a new limit for lead concentrations in the air. The agency is under court order to complete a new rule by Sept. 1, because of a lawsuit brought by environmentalists. Air, however, is no longer the most common source of major exposure to lead, which can cause I.Q. loss, kidney damage and other serious health problems. In most places, water and lead paint are more troublesome sources.

UNLESS there is heavy rain in the Murray-Darling Basin over the rest of the year, 90% of South Australians face environmental catastrophe caused by the movement of heavy metals in solution up the river by osmosis. Osmosis is the process by which any solution that is in higher concentration in one part of a body of fluid will flow into the other parts with a lower concentration until the solution is evenly distributed.

Xstrata Cuts Lead Emissions As Australia Suit Looms AUSTRALIA: April 16, 2008 SYDNEY - Xstrata Plc said on Tuesday it was working to improve lead emission controls at its Mount Isa mining and smelting complex in Australia, where health officials are investigating high lead levels in children. Queensland Health Minister Stephen Robertson told the state parliament on Tuesday that 45 children in the Mount Isa region showed elevated lead levels that could impair their behavioural and intellectual development.

Recycling That Harms the Environment and People Published: April 15, 2008 Recycling is supposed to be good for the environment. But if it's not carried out properly, certain kinds of recycling

Xstrata Faces Australian Law Suit On Lead Levels AUSTRALIA: April 14, 2008 CANBERRA - Mining company Xstrata Plc is set to face legal action over its Mount Isa operations, which produce about 4 percent of the world's lead, from a young girl suffering lead poisoning, the girl's lawyer said on Friday. But the case could widen, with reports that health authorities have identified 45 children with dangerously high levels of lead in their blood in Mount Isa, a remote mining town about 1,300 km (800 miles) north west of the Queensland city of Brisbane.

Firms that renovate or repair housing, childcare facilities or schools will have to follow new rules to protect children from exposure to lead. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is publishing stricter regulations for builders, plumbers, painters and electricians working on buildings constructed before 1978. Under the rules, workers must follow better safety standards to reduce potential exposure to dangerous levels of lead-based paint.