Here’s a look at health and environmental news from around the state.

Legislators to hold public hearing on opioid crisis

(Greenville, SC – Greenville News) – State legislators will hold a public hearing in Greenville this week to hear from those who have been personally impacted by opioid abuse and addiction.

Overdoses from opioids, which includes heroin, have quadrupled in the last decade, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control reported 594 opioid-related overdose deaths in South Carolina in 2015, up 12 percent from 2014.

Overdoses involving heroin increased by 57 percent from 2014 to 2015, according to DHEC.

The cost of a drug used to treat opioid overdoses is rising

DHEC to test Mount Pleasant water for pesticides Tuesday

(Mt. Pleasant, SC – ABCNews4) Officials with Mount Pleasant Waterworks want to put minds at ease about possible pesticides in the tap water. Joined by experts at Charleston Water System, they held a public forum Monday afternoon.

“We don’t believe there’s a problem,” said Clay Duffie, general manager of MPW. “We want you to believe there’s not a problem with your water.”

Duffie said DHEC testing will begin Tuesday, focusing on three neighborhoods, Dunes West, Park West and Rivertown. He said due to demand and concern, DHEC officials contributed extra money to expedite the results, which should take about five business days.

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