Is global plastic pollution nearing an irreversible tipping point? .eurekalert.org. July 01, 2021. Common press release: Stockholm University, Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research. Catching a big blue barrel floating on the ocean surface in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch from the German […]
Evidence of 55 new chemicals in people. sciencedaily.com. March 17, 2021. Summary: Scientists have detected 109 chemicals in a study of pregnant women, including 55 chemicals never before reported in people and 42 ‘mystery chemicals,’ whose sources and uses are unknown. Scientists at UC San Francisco have detected 109 chemicals in a study of pregnant […]
Micro- and nanoplastics detectable in human tissues. sciencedaily.com. August 17, 2020. Summary: Plastic pollution is a global problem. Even when plastic bags or water bottles break down, tiny fragments can still contaminate the environment. Animals and humans can ingest the particles, with uncertain health consequences. Now, scientists report that they are among the first to […]
Corona and air pollution: How does nitrogen dioxide impact fatalities? eurekalert.org. 20/04/2020. Elevated levels of nitrogen dioxide in the air may be associated with a high number of deaths from Covid-19. A new study by Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) provides concrete data that back this assumption for the first time. The paper combines satellite […]
Climate tipping points — too risky to bet against. The growing threat of abrupt and irreversible climate changes must compel political and economic action on emissions. Timothy M. Lenton, Johan Rockström, Owen Gaffney, Stefan Rahmstorf, Katherine Richardson, Will Steffen & Hans Joachim Schellnhuber. nature.com. November 27, 2019. Politicians, economists and even some natural scientists have […]
Air pollution is reaching endemic proportions. By Daniel T Cross. sustainability-times.com. November 22, 2019. Air pollution is a potent killer. Need proof? Consider these facts: in the United States alone some 200,000 people succumb to ailments brought on or exacerbated by toxic air. Air pollution has been linked to a variety of debilitating health conditions […]
The hidden cost of gold: Birth defects and brain damage. By Richard C. Paddock. nytimes.com. November 09, 2019. Thousands of children with crippling birth defects. Half a million people poisoned. A toxic chemical found in the food supply. Accusations of a government cover-up and police officers on the take. La balsa en el Museo del […]
Environmental toxins impair immune system over multiple generations. sciencedaily.com. October 02, 2019. Summary: New research shows that maternal exposure to a common and ubiquitous form of industrial pollution can harm the immune system of offspring and that this injury is passed along to subsequent generations, weakening the body’s defenses against infections such as the influenza […]
E-cigarettes, tobacco and cannabis products are littering high schools. sciencedaily.com. October 10, 2019. Summary: High schools in the San Francisco Bay area are being contaminated by plastics and toxic litter from e-cigarettes, cannabis products and combustible tobacco products such as cigarettes and cigarillos, a new study has found.High schools in the San Francisco Bay Area […]
Air pollution can reach the placenta around a developing baby. By Aimee Cunningham*. sciencenews.org. September 17, 2019. A study of women in Belgium found black carbon particles, or soot, within the organ. Breathing in polluted air may send soot far beyond a pregnant woman’s lungs, all the way to the womb surrounding her developing baby. […]
Environment: Pollutants found in skin and blubber of English Channel dolphins. eurekalert.org. September 12, 2019. High levels of pollutants, such as industrial fluids and mercury, may have accumulated in the blubber and skin of one of the largest coastal populations of dolphins in Europe, a study in Scientific Reports indicates. Mercury concentrations found in 82 […]
Microplastic drifting down with the snow. sciencedaily.com. August 14, 2019. In the Alps and the Arctic, experts confirm the presence of plastic in snow. Summary: Over the past several years, microplastic particles have repeatedly been detected in sea-water, drinking water, and even in animals. But these minute particles are also transported by the atmosphere and […]
Air pollution can accelerate lung disease as much as a pack a day of cigarettes. sciencedaily.com. August 13, 2019. Summary: Air pollution — especially ozone air pollution which is increasing with climate change — accelerates the progression of emphysema of the lung, according to a new study. Pulmones (SerTox) Air pollution — especially ozone air […]
US military is a bigger polluter than as many as 140 countries – shrinking this war machine is a must. By Benjamin Neimark, Oliver Belcher, Patrick Bigger. theconversation.com. 24/06/19. The US military’s carbon bootprint is enormous. Like corporate supply chains, it relies upon an extensive global network of container ships, trucks and cargo planes to […]
Hundreds of sharks and rays tangled in plastic. eurekalert.org. July 04, 2019. Hundreds of sharks and rays have become tangled in plastic waste in the world’s oceans, new research shows. University of Exeter scientists scoured existing published studies and Twitter for shark and ray entanglements, and found reports of more than 1,000 entangled individuals. And […]
Researchers uncover indoor pollution hazards. sciencedaily.com. June 6, 2019. Summary: A team of researchers has found surprisingly high levels of pollutants, including formaldehyde and possibly mercury, in carefully monitored homes, and that these pollutants vary through the day and increase as temperatures rise.Read related: Children exposure to chemicals emitted from the home environment, study Muebles […]
Americans consumer 70,000 particles of microplastics per year. sciencedaily.com. June 5, 2019. Summary: Since the mass production of plastics began in the 1940s, the versatile polymers have spread rapidly across the globe. Although plastics have made life easier in many ways, disposing of the materials is a growing problem. Now, researchers estimate that the average […]
Australian islands home to 414 million pieces of plastic pollution. sciencedaily.com. May 16, 2019. Summary: A survey of plastic pollution on Australia’s Cocos (Keeling) Islands has revealed the territory’s beaches are littered with an estimated 414 million pieces of plastic debris. The study estimated beaches on the Indian Ocean islands are littered with 238 tons […]
‘Molecular scissors’ for plastic waste. Enzyme MHETase decoded. eurekalert.org. April 12, 2019. Plastics are excellent materials: extremely versatile and almost eternally durable. But this is also exactly the problem, because after only about 100 years of producing plastics, plastic particles are now found everywhere – in groundwater, in the oceans, in the air, and in […]
Millions of children worldwide develop asthma annually due to traffic-related pollution. sciencedaily.com. April 10, 2019. Summary: About 4 million children worldwide develop asthma each year because of inhaling nitrogen dioxide air pollution, according to a new study. The study, based on data from 2010 to 2015, estimates that 64 percent of these new cases of asthma […]
Daniel Lerda sent us this paper that we share: Assessment of specific antibodies as biological indicators of human chronic exposure to microcystins. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 175 (2019) 236–242. See in PDF format
PE, PP and PS: The most abundant type of microplastics in Mediterranean coastal waters. eurekalert.org. February 28, 2019. Effects of the plastic civilization. Polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene are the most abundant microplastics in the Mediterranean coastal waters, according to a new study published by the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin -by the experts Miquel Canals, William […]
Why Tetra Paks aren’t Green (even though they’re recyclable). treadingmyownpath.com. September 11th, 2014. Tetra Paks are the cartons you find in the shops that are used to package milk, juice and various other liquids. You can also find products like chopped tomatoes packaged in this way. These containers allow food to be protected from contamination […]
Children carry evidence of toxins from home flooring and furniture. eurekalert.org. February 17, 2019. Vinyl flooring and fire retardant furniture foam apparently to blame. Children living in homes with all vinyl flooring or flame-retardant chemicals in the sofa have significantly higher concentrations of potentially harmful semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in their blood or urine than […]