Pollution

EPA Strengthens Standards for Exposure to Lead-Based Paint Dust to Protect Children

EPA Strengthens Standards for Exposure to Lead-Based Paint Dust to Protect Children

To mark National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week — October 20 to 26 — the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized stricter requirements for the identification and cleaning up of lead-based paint dust in homes and childcare facilities constructed before 1978. The new standards are the most recent action in the Biden-Harris administration’s strategy […]

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    Researchers Detect Microplastics in Dolphin Breath

    Researchers Detect Microplastics in Dolphin Breath

    For the first time, researchers have found microplastics in dolphin breath, raising concerns over the amount of microplastics the animals are drawing when they come up for air. The team collected samples of air released by five bottlenose dolphins in Sarasota Bay, Florida and six dolphins in Barataria Bay, Louisiana in May and June of […]

    Scientists Develop New Method for Detecting Airborne PFAS

    Scientists Develop New Method for Detecting Airborne PFAS

    Although scientists have known there are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the air, they also knew that many airborne PFAS were going undetected. Now, a new method can detect for gaseous fluorine to better measure the previously undetected airborne PFAS. PFAS are made up of organofluorine compounds that can release fluorine into the air, […]

    Spain’s Fashion Giants to Start Collecting Used Clothing Waste in 2025 as Part of Trial Program

    Spain’s Fashion Giants to Start Collecting Used Clothing Waste in 2025 as Part of Trial Program

    Ten of Spain’s top fashion companies — like the owner of Zara, Inditex; H&M; IKEA; Decathlon; and Primark — will begin collecting discarded clothing beginning in April of 2025 as part of a year-long trial to manage textile waste, reported Reuters. Re-viste, the project’s organizer, said shoes, clothing and other textiles will be separated from […]

    ‘Landmark Victory’: California’s Newsom Signs 3 Bills Protecting Communities From Oil and Gas

    ‘Landmark Victory’: California’s Newsom Signs 3 Bills Protecting Communities From Oil and Gas

    The signing of three new bills into law by California Gov. Gavin Newsom allows local communities to limit oil drilling while helping the state address pollution from “idle wells.” The laws will help protect the environment and public health, while empowering communities to set better protections around fossil fuel activities in their neighborhoods, a press […]

    California Passes First U.S. Clothing Recycling Law

    California Passes First U.S. Clothing Recycling Law

    California is tackling the problem of textile and fashion waste with the country’s first law that requires clothing companies to implement a recycling system for the garments they sell. Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed SB 707, the Responsible Textile Recovery Act. The new law requires a clothing, apparel and textile extended producer responsibility (EPR) program, […]

    Researchers Develop a More Sustainable Method of Recycling Metal From E-Waste

    Researchers Develop a More Sustainable Method of Recycling Metal From E-Waste

    A team of researchers has developed a more sustainable and affordable way to recycle metal found in electronic waste. Researchers used electrothermal chlorination, or flash Joule heating (FJH), and carbochlorination to save several metals from e-waste by heating a material with an electric current. They published their findings in the journal Nature Chemical Engineering. The […]