Brakes warning remains. A government warning to mechanics that exposure to asbestos in brakes can cause deadly disease will not be removed from a federal Web site, and OSHA has decided not to suspend a scientist who had refused to water down the warning. Baltimore Sun, Maryland. 17 December 2006. [related story]

Pressure at OSHA to alter warning. It took six years to get federal officials to issue warnings to auto mechanics that the brakes they're working on could contain lethal asbestos fibers. But only three weeks for a former top official with ties to the auto industry to have them removed. Baltimore Sun, Maryland. 20 November 2006. [related stories]

Science-for-hire hazardous to health. After decades of tobacco science, polluters are enlisting the Office of Management and Budget in efforts to undermine environmental laws. OMB has proposed mandatory guidelines that would require impossibly comprehensive risk assessments before issuing new documents or rules. Baltimore Sun, Maryland. Opinion, 17 April 2006. [related stories]

Grace, town fight over illness claims. Physicians hired by WR Grace's insurer are challenging the diagnoses of health experts, finding that in over 25% of patients there is no sign of asbestos disease. Baltimore Sun, Maryland. 2 November 2005. [related story]

NIH chief defends new rules on ethics. National Institutes of Health Director Elias A. Zerhouni, meeting with scientists who have railed against sweeping new ethics regulations, defended the rules aimed at halting conflict-of-interest problems. But scientists at yesterday's two-hour meeting said they found the agency director sympathetic to their grievances. Baltimore Sun, Maryland. 25 February 2005. [related stories]