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Introduction

As the year draws to a close, some of us will be reminded that olde acquaintance should not be forgot. So, before we can officially commence the New Year, the American Council on Science and Health would like to reflect upon this year past. We d especially like to spend an extra moment considering what we hope the world will eventually learn to forget the most unfounded health scares of 2007.

What were these? Not all of them were so novel. Just as old habits die hard, old scares don t seem to disappear easily either, and some headlines that received noted media attention in years past have reared their ugly heads once more in this current publication of our annual list of health scares.

But whether old or new, the hoaxes and frauds...

The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21^st Century Act amends the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and was signed into law June 22, 2016. It created a mandatory requirement for EPA to evaluate existing chemicals with clear and enforceable deadlines, to do so in a transparent fashion, and to do so using risk-based chemical assessments rather than rely on simple epidemiological correlations. 

EPA selected the first 10 chemicals to undergo risk evaluation under the amended TSCA and to make those understandable for the public, the American Council on Science and Health is producing risk-based evaluations of each, which will then be compiled into a free downloadable book...

The media has used predictable scare tactics in covering the East Palestine train derailment, subsequent fire, and release of vinyl chloride and its combustion products. A silly New York Times opinion piece, written by non-scientists, has gone as far as calling for vinyl chloride to be banned as if it's some chemical warfare agent. Unfortunately, media coverage has lacked perspective and this is at least partly responsible for the "end of the world" theme repeated over and over.

Has anyone even asked the following questions: How toxic is vinyl chloride? How does it compare to other chemicals? What are the realistic long-and-short consequences of the accident for people and the environment...

In March of 2016, a game called "Tom Clancy's The Division" was released. Unlike other "shooter" games such as "Destiny" and "Call of Duty", "The Division" has a compelling science story.(1) And the plot began on "Black Friday", the busiest shopping day of the year.

Since Black Friday is in two days, I did an analysis of what it would take for the eco-terrorists to really win a big one; killing off humanity using the thing they they believe humans love most - money. The game revolves around activation of Executive Directive 51, a "continuity of government" plan in case of a catastrophic emergency. In the game, it is invoked because a deadly virus has...