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A simpler technique for testing public drinking water samples for the presence of the radioactive element radium can dramatically reduce the amount of time required to conduct the sampling required by federal regulations. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved use of the new testing method. [click link for full article]

Presidential candidates Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) on Tuesday during the second day of a cancer forum in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, discussed issues related to the disease and health care, the [click link for full article]

A growing number of health clinics owned by nurses with advanced training are opening in rural areas of Missouri, the AP/St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. [click link for full article]

After carrying out independent routine tests on all its products Metz Fresh, LLC found traces of salmonella bacteria in its spinach bags and is voluntarily recalling them. The company and local authorities say they have received no reports of human infection associated with the Metz Fresh spinach. Anybody who may have bought the said spinach should get rid of it immediately, says the company. [click link for full article]

In light of the “substantial” cost of medical errors, Medicare’s new rule to refuse to pay the costs of preventable hospital errors will provide an incentive that should “help reduce the taxpayers’ burden,” a Washington Times editorial states. It continues, “It’s not to say that hospitals are careless now, but the new rules will make them more diligent. [click link for full article]

Some benefits, including dental and vision coverage, included in Missouri’s new health plan MO HealthNet were not funded this year, state lawmakers said Tuesday at a forum on health care, the Kansas City Star reports. [click link for full article]

Streams, lakes, and bays may soon be cleaner thanks to an innovative approach to managing stormwater runoff being developed at Virginia Tech and funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).A novel software application will help engineers and planners select the most efficient and site specific methods — called “Best Management Practices” (BMPs) — of controlling the amount of pollutants that enter the receiving waters through stormwater runoff. [click link for full article]

A landmark study by University of Western Sydney researchers has found people over 50 who take calcium supplements suffer fewer fractures and enjoy a better quality of life.The meta-analysis of over 63,000 people taking calcium or calcium and vitamin D supplements, conducted by the UWS Centre for Complementary Medicine Research (CompleMED), has been published this week in the prestigious international medical journal, The Lancet. [click link for full article]

FINDINGS: Women who lived in regions with high carbon monoxide or fine-particle levels — pollution caused mainly by vehicle traffic — were approximately 10 to 25 percent more likely to have a preterm baby than women who lived in less polluted areas. This was especially true for women who breathed polluted air during the first trimester or during the last months and weeks of pregnancy. [click link for full article]

An increased number of U.S. companies have opened onsite health clinics for employees as part of an effort to “reign in rising health care costs,” Gannett/Asbury Park Press reports. About 23% of companies with at least 1,000 employees have opened onsite health clinics, and an additional 6% plan to open such clinics in the next year, according to a [click link for full article]