In the Great Lakes region, it is quite literally raining toxic chemicals. “You can actually say it’s raining PFAS at this point,” said Marta Venier, an environmental chemist at Indiana University, according to Grist. A team of American and Canadian scientists found high levels of PFAS chemicals, also known as “forever chemicals,” after studying the […]
By Nate Seltenrich Synthetic dyes used as colorants in many common foods and drinks can negatively affect attention and activity in children, according to a comprehensive review of existing evidence published this month by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA). Funded by the California legislature in 2018, the new report involved a […]
By Mark Patrick Taylor, Neda Sharifi Soltani and Scott P. Wilson Australians are eating and inhaling significant numbers of tiny plastics at home, our new research shows. These “microplastics,” which are derived from petrochemicals extracted from oil and gas products, are settling in dust around the house. Some of these particles are toxic to humans […]
By Jessica Corbett As the Biden administration faces pressure to step up its climate action, the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced its first rule to tackle the global emergency—a proposal to reduce planet-heating chemicals commonly used in refrigeration and air conditioning by 85% over the next 15 years. The EPA’s proposed rule on hydrofluorocarbons […]
By Jessica Corbett A coalition of 80 U.S. agricultural, consumer, environmental, public health, and worker groups sent a letter Thursday to key figures in the Biden administration calling for them to “respect Mexico’s sovereignty and refrain from interfering with its right to enact health-protective policies” — specifically, the phaseout of the herbicide glyphosate and the […]
Thousands of Superfund sites exist around the U.S., with toxic substances left open, mismanaged and dumped. Despite the high levels of toxicity at these sites, nearly 21 million people live within a mile of one of them, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Currently, more than 1,300 Superfund sites pose a serious health […]
By Michel Penke More than every second person in the world now has a cellphone, and manufacturers are rolling out bigger, better, slicker models all the time. Many, however, have a bloody history. Though made in large part of plastic, glass, ceramics, gold and copper, they also contain critical resources. The gallium used for LEDs […]
By Larry Brand Millions of gallons of water laced with fertilizer ingredients are being pumped into Florida’s Tampa Bay from a leaking reservoir at an abandoned phosphate plant at Piney Point. As the water spreads into the bay, it carries phosphorus and nitrogen – nutrients that under the right conditions can fuel dangerous algae blooms […]
An explosion at an Ohio paint factory injured eight people, two of them critically. The fire ignited just after midnight on Thursday at Yenkin-Majestic Paints in Columbus, Ohio, NBC4 reported. Firefighters arriving on the scene were met with employees exiting the building, five of whom were injured and needed to be taken to a hospital. […]