Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

EPA Misled New York City Residents on WTC Dust Contamination

In the years after the collapse of the World Trade Center, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency misled thousands of New York City residents about the amount of dust contamination in their apartments and condominiums, says a Government Accountability Office (GAO) preliminary report released Wednesday at a Senate subcommittee hearing.

GAO investigators found that the EPA did not accurately report the results of a residential cleanup program conducted in more than 4,000 Lower Manhattan residences in 2002 and 2003, The New York Times reported.

The EPA said that unsafe levels of asbestos were detected in only a "very small" number of air samples taken in the residences. But the agency didn't reveal that 80 percent of those air samples were collected after the residences were cleaned, the GAO report said.

As a result of the misleading information, many residents did not have a true understanding of their risk, the GAO said. Because of that, only 295 apartment building owners and residents signed up for a new residential cleanup program, which halted enrollment in March. More than 20,000 apartments had been eligible to take part in the program, The Times reported.

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EPA Proposes Tougher Smog Standards

New smog standards based on recent scientific evidence about ground-level ozone are being proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Ozone -- the primary component of smog -- can damage lungs. People with asthma and other lung diseases are especially at risk from ozone exposure.

The EPA proposal recommends a ground-level ozone standard within a range of 0.070 to 0.075 parts per million (ppm). Ground-level ozone is created through a reaction of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compound emissions in the presence of sunlight.

Emissions from industrial facilities and electric utilities, motor vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors, and chemical solvents are major sources of the pollutants that create ground-level ozone, according to an agency statement.

The new standard could save billions of dollars in health care costs, said the EPA, which is also proposing a standard to reduce ozone damage to crops, plants and trees.

There's a 90-day period for public comment on the proposal and the EPA will hold public hearings in Los Angeles and Philadelphia on Aug. 30 and in Chicago and Houston on Sept. 5.

Reacting to the announcement, Dr. David Ingbar, president of the American Thoracic Society, said in a statement that the newly proposed standards "fall short of providing the protection needed to keep Americans safe from ozone air pollution."

His group believes the proposed change, if adopted, would still not approach the 0.060 ppm ground-level ozone standard supported by the society. "In issuing the standard today, EPA is ignoring the advice of their own staff, the advice of EPA advisory committees, the opinion of the medical and scientific community," Ingbar said.

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1 in 8 U.S. Vets Have No Health Coverage

About 1.8 million American veterans under age 65 do not have basic health insurance or access to care at Veterans Affairs hospitals, says a study presented Wednesday to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, the Washington Post reported.

About 12.7 percent of veterans under age 65 -- about one in eight -- lacked health coverage in 2004, compared with 9.9 percent in 2000, Harvard Medical School professor Stephanie J. Woolhandler told the committee.

That means that the number of veterans without health coverage increased by 290,000 from 2000 to 2004, the most recent year for which figures are available, the Post reported.

Veterans over age 65 are eligible for Medicare.

"The data is showing that many veterans have no coverage and they're sick and need care and can't get it," Woolhandler told the committee.

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Bush Vetoes Stem Cell Bill

President Bush on Wednesday vetoed a bill that sought to ease restrictions on federally funded embryonic stem cell research, the Associated Press reported.

U.S. government funding is now limited to research using embryonic stem cells that had been harvested as of Aug. 9, 2001. The bill from the Democratic-led Congress sought to lift that restriction. News sources report that the Democrats do not have enough votes to override a veto.

Last year, Bush vetoed a similar bill.

In a counter move, Bush issued an executive order instructing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to promote research on other kinds of stem cells, the AP reported.

Scientists believe that stem cells have the potential to treat a range of health problems, including spinal cord injury, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, burns, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis.

The American Diabetes Association issued a statement condemning Bush's action:

"By vetoing this legislation, President Bush has again stood in the way of progress toward a cure for diabetes and other devastating diseases. The world's leading scientists, Republicans and Democrats in Congress, and millions of Americans urged the President to support legislation to expand the promising field of embryonic stem cell research, while maintaining clear and ethical standards. The President chose not to listen," the ADA said.

A statement from the Society for Women's Health Research was similarly critical of the veto:

"There should be no ethical debate between throwing away embryos that already exist and using them in the scientific quest for treatments and cures of fatal and life-threatening diseases. It is a tragedy to allow embryos to be wasted and discarded, when we could be exploring their unique potential to alleviate human suffering," the statement said.

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Most Sunscreens Fail Safety Test: Report

Eighty-four percent of name-brand sunscreens tested offered inadequate protection from the sun or contained at least one ingredient with "significant safety concerns," the Environmental Working Group (EWG) said in releasing results on 783 products evaluated.

"Only 16 percent of the products on the market are both safe and effective, blocking both UVA and UVB radiation, remaining stable in sunlight, and containing few if any ingredients with significant known or suspected health hazards," the Wasington, D.C.-based group said in an analysis posted on its Web site.

At least 48 percent of products evaluated had unacceptable or misleading marketing claims, including terms like "all day protection," "mild as water," and "blocks all harmful rays," the EWG said.

Ingredients contained in some of the sunscreens "release skin damaging free radicals in sunlight, some act like estrogen and could disrupt hormone systems, several are strongly linked to allergic reactions, and still others may build up in the body or the environment," the group warned.

The EWG criticized the U.S. government for not approving mandatory safety standards for sunscreens, leaving manufacturers to "make their own decisions on everything from advertising claims to product quality."

The group's Web site, http://cosmeticdatabase.com/special/sunscreens/summary.php, offers a list of recommended sunscreens, and companion lists of products to be used with caution, and those to avoid entirely.

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Tyson Drops Antibiotics in Fresh Chicken

Tyson Foods, among the largest U.S. poultry producers, says it will no longer use antibiotics in its chickens sold as fresh.

"According to our research, 91 percent of consumers agree it's important to have fresh chicken produced and labeled 'raised without antibiotics,'" Tyson president Richard Bond said in a statement.

The company said it has already begun shipping the antibiotic-free chicken to stores nationwide.

Tyson said it hoped to convert other forms of chicken -- including quick frozen, marinated, and breaded items -- by late August.

The company statement said its no-antibiotic chicken would cost more, but didn't specify how much. The New York Times, citing a Tyson senior vice president, reported the increase would be less than per pound.

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