Feature Channels: Environmental Health

Filters close
Released: 8-Mar-2021 2:35 PM EST
More than 500,000 Americans Live Within Three Miles of Natural Gas Flares
UCLA Fielding School of Public Health

More than 500,000 Americans Live Within Three Miles of Natural Gas Flares - UCLA Fielding School of Public Health researcher Lara Cushing, assistant professor of environmental health sciences, co-authors nationwide assessment of the population facing exposure risks from the burning off of excess natural gas at oil and gas production sites

Released: 5-Mar-2021 9:25 AM EST
Antibiotic-Resistant Strains of Staph Bacteria May Be Spreading Between Pigs Raised in Factory Farms and People in North Carolina
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

DNA sequencing of bacteria found in pigs and humans in rural eastern North Carolina, an area with concentrated industrial-scale pig-farming, suggests that multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains are spreading between pigs, farmworkers, their families and community residents, and represents an emerging public health threat, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Released: 3-Mar-2021 12:50 PM EST
Deepwater Horizon's long-lasting legacy for dolphins
University of Connecticut

The Deepwater Horizon disaster began on April 20, 2010 with an explosion on a BP-operated oil drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 workers.

Released: 3-Mar-2021 12:45 PM EST
Indoors, outdoors, 6 feet apart? Transmission risk of airborne viruses can be quantified
Colorado State University

In the 1995 movie "Outbreak," Dustin Hoffman's character realizes, with appropriately dramatic horror, that an infectious virus is "airborne" because it's found to be spreading through hospital vents.

Released: 3-Mar-2021 8:55 AM EST
Exploring Mutational Signatures Associated with Exposure to Carcinogenic Microplastic Compounds
Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), plastic products and their chemical derivatives present in the environment present public health concerns, including elevated risk of cancer. Researchers from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey explored to what extent common components in microplastic pollutants cause DNA damage in human cells.

Released: 2-Mar-2021 3:50 PM EST
UMD study finds the fuel efficiency of one car may be cancelled by your next car purchase
University of Maryland, College Park

In a recent collaborative study led by the University of Maryland (UMD), researchers find that consumers tend to buy something less fuel efficient than they normally would for their second car after springing for an eco-friendly vehicle.

Released: 2-Mar-2021 3:10 PM EST
Clean Water Technology Center Reveals New Approach to Removing Toxins in Wastewater
Stony Brook University

The New York State Center for Clean Water Technology (CCWT) at Stony Brook University has made a series of critical discoveries regarding a new approach to protecting Long Island’s drinking water, groundwater, and surface waters. Some of the discoveries involve 1,4-dioxane.

25-Feb-2021 1:35 PM EST
How Does Plastic Debris Make Its Way Into Ocean Garbage Patches?
American Institute of Physics (AIP)

Researchers in the U.S. and Germany decided to explore which pathways transport debris to the middle of the oceans, causing garbage patches, as well as the relative strengths of different subtropical gyres and how they influence long-term accumulation of debris. In Chaos, they report creating a model of the oceans' surface dynamics from historical trajectories of surface buoys. Their model describes the probability of plastic debris being transported from one region to another.

Released: 2-Mar-2021 9:00 AM EST
RGF® Environmental Group Releases Industry's First Test Evaluating Aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 Viral Reductions Directly in the Air: PHI-PKG14 PHI-CELL® Proven to Inactivate 99.96% of Airborne SARS-CoV-2 within Simulated Air-Conditioned Space
RGF® Environmental Group, Inc.

RGF® Environmental Group, Inc., a leading environmental design and manufacturing company, has released the results of a third-party test that proves the PHI-PKG14 PHI-CELL® product with Photohydroionization® technology inactivates greater than 99.96% of airborne SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Released: 1-Mar-2021 5:15 PM EST
Media availability for energy experts to discuss carbon capture, storage and regulations for California
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

George Peridas, director of carbon management partnerships, and staff scientist Briana Schmidt from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, will be available to discuss results from a new report titled “Permitting Carbon Capture and Storage in California” that examined the regulatory framework for authorizing carbon capture and storage in California and offers options for government and project developers to enable robust, transparent and efficient project permitting in line with the state’s goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2045 or earlier.

Released: 1-Mar-2021 5:10 PM EST
Lab report outlines updates to state regulations for carbon capture and storage
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

To reach economy-wide carbon-neutrality by 2045 or earlier, California will likely have to capture, transport and geologically store tens of millions of tons per year of carbon dioxide (CO2) from large sources and from the atmosphere. California has an extensive regulatory framework that is rigorous, robust and will safeguard the environment, public health and safety during these activities. However, this framework cannot handle the timely permitting and deployment of sufficient projects to protect the rapidly worsening climate and support achieving the state’s climate goals, according to a report by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL).

Released: 1-Mar-2021 8:25 AM EST
To sustain a thriving café culture, we must ditch the disposable cup.
University of South Australia

Takeaway coffees – they’re a convenient start for millions of people each day, but while the caffeine perks us up, the disposable cups drag us down, with nearly 300 billion ending up in landfill each year. While most coffee drinkers are happy to make a switch to sustainable practices, new research from the University of South Australia shows that an absence of infrastructure and a general ‘throwaway’ culture is severely delaying sustainable change.

   
Released: 1-Mar-2021 6:00 AM EST
Microplastic Sizes in Hudson-Raritan Estuary and Coastal Ocean Revealed
Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Rutgers scientists for the first time have pinpointed the sizes of microplastics from a highly urbanized estuarine and coastal system with numerous sources of fresh water, including the Hudson River and Raritan River. Their study of tiny pieces of plastic in the Hudson-Raritan Estuary in New Jersey and New York indicates that stormwater could be an important source of the plastic pollution that plagues oceans, bays, rivers and other waters and threatens aquatic and other life.

Released: 26-Feb-2021 1:20 PM EST
Argonne scientists track community spread of COVID-19 in wastewater
Argonne National Laboratory

Argonne scientists are using wastewater-based epidemiology to provide a safe and cost-effective way to measure community spread of COVID-19 and the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Released: 22-Feb-2021 4:40 PM EST
How outdoor pollution affects indoor air quality
University of Utah

In a long-term study in a Salt Lake-area building, researchers found that the amount of air pollution that comes indoors depends on the type of outdoor pollution. Wildfires, fireworks and wintertime inversions all affect indoor air to different degrees.

Released: 19-Feb-2021 2:05 PM EST
Global study of 48 cities finds nature sanitizes 41.7 million tons of human waste a year
Cell Press

The first global-scale assessment of the role ecosystems play in providing sanitation finds that nature provides at least 18% of sanitation services in 48 cities worldwide, according to researchers in the United Kingdom and India.

Released: 19-Feb-2021 6:05 AM EST
Scientists study how to reduce airborne spread of COVID-19 virus particles
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists are studying how airborne particles like COVID-19 move through the air and to identify effective countermeasures that reduce particulate exposures.

17-Feb-2021 3:20 PM EST
Negligible Detection of SARS-CoV2 found in Environmental Surface Testing of Hematology/Oncology Inpatient and Outpatient Settings
Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey

Researchers from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey evaluated the frequency of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, on various environmental surfaces in outpatient and inpatient hematology/oncology settings located within Rutgers Cancer Institute and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, an RWJBarnabas Health facility. The study, published in Cancer, revealed extremely low detection of SARS-CoV-2 on environmental surfaces across multiple outpatient and inpatient oncology areas, including an active COVID-19 floor.

16-Feb-2021 10:00 AM EST
Gulf War Illness Not Caused By Depleted Uranium From Munitions, Study Shows
UT Southwestern Medical Center

DALLAS – Feb. 18, 2021 – Inhalation of depleted uranium from exploding munitions did not lead to Gulf War illness (GWI) in veterans deployed in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, a new study co-authored by a leading researcher of the disease at UT Southwestern suggests. The findings, published today in Scientific Reports, help eliminate a long-suspected cause of GWI that has attracted international concern for three decades.

12-Feb-2021 10:05 AM EST
Making swimming pools safer by reducing chlorine disinfection byproducts
American Chemical Society (ACS)

Researchers reporting in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology have found that using a complementary form of disinfection, known as copper-silver ionization (CSI), can decrease disinfection byproducts and cell toxicity of chlorinated swimming pool water.

   
Released: 16-Feb-2021 3:00 PM EST
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Risk Rises During Winter Storms
Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Rutgers Poison expert discusses the need for increased precautions around gas appliances and other CO sources

Released: 15-Feb-2021 10:40 AM EST
Commuters are inhaling unacceptably high levels of carcinogens
University of California, Riverside

A new study finds that California's commuters are likely inhaling chemicals at levels that increase the risk for cancer and birth defects.

Released: 10-Feb-2021 6:05 PM EST
Survey: Cleaning product use affecting asthma more during COVID-19 measures
University of Illinois Chicago

Those with asthma are experiencing less asthma control related to an increase in using household disinfectants — known asthma triggers — because of COVID-19, according to a survey co-conducted by University of Illinois Chicago researchers.

8-Feb-2021 7:30 AM EST
Pre-COVID Subway Air Polluted from DC to Boston, But New York Region’s Is the Worst, Study Finds
NYU Langone Health

New York City’s transit system exposes riders to more inhaled pollutants than any other metropolitan subway system in the Northeastern United States, a new study finds. Yet even its “cleaner” neighbors struggle with enough toxins to give health-conscious travelers pause.

   
Released: 9-Feb-2021 12:30 PM EST
Nitrate in maternal drinking water may impair fetal growth
University of Illinois Chicago

Women whose household drinking water contained nitrate had babies that weighed, on average, 10 grams less than babies born to mothers where household water had no detectible nitrate, according to a new study. Even low nitrate levels — about half of the allowable level set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA — caused an adverse effect.

Released: 9-Feb-2021 11:25 AM EST
Poorer Mental Health Smolders After Deadly, Devastating Wildfire
UC San Diego Health

UC San Diego researchers report that climate change is a chronic mental health stressor, and promotes a variety of mental health problems. The 2018 Camp Fire is a case study.

Released: 3-Feb-2021 11:20 AM EST
Operating Efficiently and Compliantly with Essala Lowe
Brookhaven National Laboratory

As the CFN assistant director of operations, Lowe oversees day-to-day administrative functions essential to CFN success.

Released: 2-Feb-2021 11:15 AM EST
NAU study indicates that U.S. cities underestimate their greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 20 percent on average
Northern Arizona University

Some cities’ self-reported emissions are as much as 145 percent below standardized estimates, distorting the data on which climate change policy actions are based.

Released: 1-Feb-2021 2:35 PM EST
Study Links Intensive Blood Pressure Lowering to Reduced Cardiovascular Risk in Patients Exposed to High Levels of Air Pollution
University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center

In a new study published this week in the journal Hypertension, researchers at University Hospitals (UH) and Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) School of Medicine found intensive BP lowering is effective in reducing cardiovascular risk in patients exposed to high levels of air pollution.

Released: 1-Feb-2021 11:10 AM EST
NIH study shows hyaluronan is effective in treating chronic lung disease
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)

NIH researchers and their collaborators found that inhaling unfragmented hyaluronan improves lung function in patients suffering from severe exacerbation of COPD. Hyaluronan is a sugar secreted by living tissue that acts as a scaffold for cells. Utilized as a treatment, hyaluronan decreased the number of days in the hospital.

   
Released: 29-Jan-2021 6:00 PM EST
Toxicologists to Showcase Latest Science Affecting Public, Animal, and Environmental Health during SOT Annual Meeting and ToxExpo
Society of Toxicology

With more than 65 Featured and Scientific Sessions and 1,000+ presentations showcasing advances in fundamental and translational sciences and emerging disciplines and technologies, the Virtual 2021 Annual Meeting and ToxExpo of the Society of Toxicology (SOT) is the largest forum for toxicological research in the world.

   
Released: 28-Jan-2021 2:15 PM EST
Light pollution linked to preterm births, reduced birth weights
University of Colorado Denver

In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers discovered that light pollution leads to more than just wasted energy and washed-out starlight--it can increase the likelihood of a preterm birth by almost 13%.

   
Released: 27-Jan-2021 10:55 AM EST
Texas Tech Decontamination Wipe Finds New Use Helping Animals
Texas Tech University

FiberTectTM was conceived for military applications but has since expanded into oil spills and, now, animal operations.

Released: 21-Jan-2021 12:25 PM EST
Antibiotic resistance may spread even more easily than expected
Chalmers University of Technology

Pathogenic bacteria in humans are developing resistance to antibiotics much faster than expected. Now, computational research at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, shows that one reason could be significant genetic transfer between bacteria in our ecosystems and to humans. This work has also led to new tools for resistance researchers.

   
Released: 14-Jan-2021 2:40 PM EST
S&T Joins Coalition Seeking to ‘Flush’ out COVID-19 in Wastewater
Homeland Security's Science And Technology Directorate

S&T is working with NIST and the University of Louisville to develop guidelines to standardize Wastewater-Based Epidemiology testing methods nationwide.

11-Jan-2021 1:05 PM EST
Low cost chlorine dispensing device improves tap water safety in low-resource regions
Tufts University

Engineers have developed an inexpensive chlorine dispensing device that improves the safety of drinking water in remote and low resource regions at the point of collection. It requires no electricity and very little maintenance, and provides a quick and easy way to eliminate water borne pathogens.

Released: 13-Jan-2021 3:00 PM EST
Research: EU Model Overestimates Environmental Exposure of Key Surfactant
American Cleaning Institute

A European Union model used to predict the environmental exposure of a major detergent ingredient is overly conservative and “significantly overestimates” effluent concentrations, new research shows. A study co-authored by the American Cleaning Institute (ACI), “Comparing the European Union System for the Evaluation of Substances (EUSES) environmental exposure calculations with monitoring data for alkyl sulphate surfactants,” is now available in the journal Environmental Sciences Europe.

Released: 11-Jan-2021 1:45 PM EST
‘Swiss Army knife’ catalyst can make natural gas burn cleaner
University of Illinois Chicago

“Swiss Army knife” catalyst can bring the combustion temperature of methane down by about half – from above 1400 degrees Kelvin down to 600 to 700 degrees Kelvin.

7-Jan-2021 12:05 PM EST
Study Finds New Evidence of Health Threat From Chemicals in Marijuana and Tobacco Smoke
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have uncovered new evidence of the potential health risks of chemicals in tobacco and marijuana smoke.

Released: 5-Jan-2021 10:30 AM EST
EPA Attacks Science and Breaks Precedent in Final Data Transparency Rule
American Thoracic Society (ATS)

The American Thoracic Society opposes the EPA’s final rule on Data Transparency issued in the waning days of the Trump Administration. The final rule, which is the focus of a press conference today, is a continuation of the Trump Administration's persistent attack on the science showing the adverse health effects of environmental pollution. This rule would exclude vital scientific data from future EPA decision-making and make patient confidential information more vulnerable to public disclosure.

     
Released: 23-Dec-2020 4:35 PM EST
Highest levels of microplastics found in molluscs, new study says
University of York

Mussels, oysters and scallops have the highest levels of microplastic contamination among seafood, a new study reveals.

Released: 20-Dec-2020 5:10 PM EST
Exposure to Metals Can Impact Pregnancy
Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Exposure to metals such as nickel, arsenic, cobalt and lead may disrupt a woman’s hormones during pregnancy, according to a Rutgers study.

Released: 18-Dec-2020 11:25 AM EST
Living environment affects the microbiota and health of both dogs and their owners
University of Helsinki

In urban environments, allergic diseases are more common among dogs and their owners compared to those living in rural areas. Simultaneous allergic traits appear to be associated with the microbes found in the environment, but microbes relevant to health differ between dogs and humans.

   
Released: 17-Dec-2020 7:05 PM EST
Wildfire smoke carry microbes that can cause infectious diseases
UC Davis Health (Defunct)

Wildfire smoke contains microbes, infectious agents that might cause diseases. In a perspective piece published in Science, researchers at UC Davis Health and the University of Idaho proposed a multidisciplinary approach to study the health impacts of microbes carried by wildfire smokes.

   
14-Dec-2020 11:50 AM EST
New Nature Lover? It’s a COVID-19 Side-Effect
University of Vermont

What does it take to get some people to go outside and experience nature? For some urban dwellers, it took the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers say. The new study finds that 26% of people visiting parks during early months of the COVID-19 pandemic had rarely – or never – visited nature in the previous year. The study is one of the first to explore how COVID-19 has changed Americans’ relationship with nature. The research will appear in PLOS ONE journal.

8-Dec-2020 12:15 PM EST
Drinking Water Significant Source of Microplastics in Human Diet
Society for Risk Analysis (SRA)

In an effort to understand the potential risks associated with exposure to micro/nanoplastics, the Emerging Risks of Micro/nanoplastics: Perspectives From Diverse Sectors symposia at the 2020 Society for Risk Analysis virtual Annual Meeting, December 13-17, 2020, aims to highlight the current state of knowledge associated with physical and chemical transformation, hazard characterization, environmental effects, social implications and policy limitations.  

Released: 16-Dec-2020 8:05 AM EST
In Pandemic, People Are Turning to Nature – Especially Women
University of Vermont

One of the first studies on Americans' relationship with nature during COVID finds significant increases in outdoor activity, especially among women. Women were 1.7 (gardening) to 2.9 (walking) times more likely to report increasing their activity compared to men. In general, outdoor activities seeing the largest increases were: watching wildlife, gardening, photos or art in nature, relaxing alone outside, and walking.

Released: 15-Dec-2020 1:30 PM EST
LED lights found to kill coronavirus: Global first in fight against COVID-19
American Friends of Tel Aviv University

Researchers from Tel Aviv University (TAU) have proven that the coronavirus can be killed efficiently, quickly, and cheaply using ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs). They believe that the UV-LED technology will soon be available for private and commercial use.

   


close
1.69577