If you thought potted plants purified air in your home or office, you are mistaken, according to researchers at Drexel University. A new study on decades of research into plants and air quality suggests the benefits of potted plants are vastly overstated. “Plants are great, but they don’t actually clean indoor air quickly enough to have an effect on the air quality of your home or office environment," said Michael Waring, an associate professor of architectural and environmental engineering in Drexel’s College of Engineering.

Eliminating exposure to asbestos and addressing the effect of climate change on mental health were two of the fourteen new policy statements adopted by the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) Governing Council at its 2019 Annual Meeting and Expo in Philadelphia this week. The ambitious agenda includes topics ranging from environmental justice to drinking water safety and attacks on health workers.

It’s probably not a coincidence that Drowsy Driving Prevention Week® – which officially runs through Sunday – is timed for just after most Americans change their clocks for a return to standard time from Daylight Savings Time. Although the fall adjustment gives people an extra hour, it’s only for one night, and still leaves us struggling to cope with a new sleep schedule.

Nearly half (49%) of U.S. workers plan to enroll in a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) for the 2020 benefit season, according to employee benefits provider Unum UNM, -0.43%. However, 41% don’t plan on meeting their deductible in 2019 and 39% found it difficult to pay for out-of-pocket costs not covered by their health insurance, especially Millennials (55%) and Gen Z (49%).

Environmental groups are reacting angrily to the EPA’s announcement this week of a proposed regulation that applies to the management of coal combustion residuals (CCR) from electric utilities, while coal-producing states are supporting the job protection they say will result. If enacted, the regulation would amend a 2015 Obama-era rule establishing a set of solid waste requirements for the management of CCRs.

The idea sounded fishy to Dr. Adriane Fugh-Berman. She was not about to put her name on a ghostwritten article for a medical journal. But she was curious, so she played along for a while. An associate professor at Georgetown University Medical Center, Fugh-Berman was contacted in 2004 by a medical communications firm working for drug maker AstraZeneca with a proposition: Would she like an author credit on a forthcoming article to be submitted to a journal?

The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) has announced the winners of its 2019 Health and Safety awards, which recognize outstanding contributions towards empowering workers and the fight for safer workplaces and communities. The awards will be presented on Wednesday evening, December 4th, as part of the National Conference on Worker Safety and Health (COSHCON19).

Better roadway design, making bicyclists more visible and head protection are what’s needed to reduce the number of fatal and serious crashes involving motor vehicles and bicycles, said the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) during a public meet this week. In the NTSB’s first examination of bicyclist safety on U.S. roadways since its last report on this topic in 1972, the agency said critical changes were needed to address the recent rise in fatal bicycle crashes involving motor vehicles, even as overall traffic deaths fell in 2018.

The CDC’s Climate and Health Program is celebrating 10 years of supporting state, tribal, local, and territorial public health agencies as they prepare for the continuing health impacts of a changing climate. In 2019 the program provided communities with new resources, tools, and peer-reviewed publications addressing the impacts of climate hazards.

With November being National Diabetes Awareness Month and Americans collectively spending nearly $200 billion per year on obesity-related health costs, the personal-finance website WalletHub released a report on 2019's Fattest States in America. To determine which states contribute the most to America’s overweight and obesity problem, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 29 key metrics.