Unintended consequences: analyzing interventions on mercury use and emissions in artisanal gold mining
Ritsumeikan UniversityMercury is a unique element that has found a myriad of scientific and practical applications throughout the centuries.
Mercury is a unique element that has found a myriad of scientific and practical applications throughout the centuries.
Wendy Purcell, PhD, FRSA, has joined the Rutgers School of Public Health as a professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Justice.
A new multi-disciplinary study including researchers at the University of Calgary shows that people who act quickly to test for and mitigate radon gas in their homes are at a much lower risk of developing lung cancer long-term.
The natural gas piped into millions of California homes for heating and cooking contains elevated levels of carcinogens and hazardous air pollutants, according to new research from the nonprofit energy science and policy research institute PSE Healthy Energy.
A recent study of alligators in the Cape Fear River found the animals had elevated levels of 14 different per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals in their blood serum, as well as clinical and genetic indicators of immune system effects.
A new analysis led by researchers with the University of California has found the 2020 wildfires in the state, the most disastrous wildfire year on record, put twice as much greenhouse gas emissions into the Earth’s atmosphere as the total reduction in such pollutants in California between 2003-2019.
Women who used chemical hair straightening products were at higher risk for uterine cancer compared to women who did not report using these products, according to a new study from the National Institutes of Health. The researchers found no associations with uterine cancer for other hair products that the women reported using, including hair dyes, bleach, highlights, or perms.
The Presidential Symposium at the American Neurological Association’s 2022 Annual Meeting (ANA2022) in Chicago will shine a spotlight on the role of environmental exposures — air pollution, pesticides, microplastics, and more — in diseases like dementias and developmental disorders.
Today, cancer represents the second leading cause of death in the world after cardiovascular diseases. In the last decades of cancer research, lifestyle - especially physical inactivity, poor diet, obesity, alcoholism, and smoking - and random or genetic factors have been identified as major causes in the development of tumors.
Flinders University materials researchers and pioneering German biomaterials developer one • fıve are using seaweed extracts to develop next-generation biopolymer coating materials that could solve packaging waste dilemmas for the fast-food industry.
The plastic, made from a chemical found in the extract of a vanilla bean, degrades when exposed to a specific wavelength of light
Symposium will present information that will inform decision makers to support safe urban food production, treatment of urban pollutants, protection of water resources, improvement of environmental health, and human well-being
India has among the highest levels of air pollution in the world, and nearly every Indian lives in areas with fine particulate matter levels well above PM2.5 — the level considered safe by the World Health Organization (WHO).
In the article published in the prestigious scientific journal Science, a group of international researchers, including Gorka Orive, Doctor of Pharmacy and researcher in the UPV/EHU’s NanoBioCel group, and Unax Lertxundi of the Bioaraba Institute for Health Research, have issued a warning about the increase in pharmaceutical contamination.
The loss of coral reefs is a serious threat to the health of marine ecosystems around the world.
Irvine, Calif., Oct. 11, 2022 – As Californians work toward a publicly stated goal of carbon neutrality by 2045, residents of the Golden State stand to reap such additional benefits as cleaner air, widespread improvements in public health and related cost savings, according to researchers at the University of California, Irvine.
October 9th kicked off the National Fire Protection Association's 100th annual Fire Prevention Week. This year's campaign, “Fire won't wait. Plan your escape," aims to raise awareness around how individuals can keep themselves safe in the event of a fire. In time for this long-running observance, we looked at ways the CSU is working to protect its students, faculty, staff and community in the midst of fires.
New research based on data from 18 countries concludes that adults with better mental health are more likely to report having spent time playing in and around coastal and inland waters, such as rivers and lakes (also known collectively as blue spaces) as children. The finding was replicated in each of the countries studied.
While achieving the United Nations (UN) ambitious Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for wastewater treatment would cause substantial improvements in global water quality, severe water quality issues would contain to persist in some world regions.
Scientists are ringing alarm bells about a significant new threat to U.S. water quality: as winters warm due to climate change, they are unleashing large amounts of nutrient pollution into lakes, rivers, and streams. The first-of-its-kind national study finds that previously frozen winter nutrient pollution—unlocked by rising winter temperatures and rainfall—is putting water quality at risk in 40% of the contiguous U.S., including over 40 states.
Particle radioactivity, a characteristic of air pollution that reflects the colorless, odorless gas radon found in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution, enhances PM2.5 toxicity and increases risk of death from cardiovascular disease, especially from heart attack or stroke, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.
Other featured research in October 2022 issue involves an exploration of a pharmacokinetic model for quantifying the mother-to-child transfer of environmental chemicals and how febuxostat may increase the risk for cardiovascular events by dysregulating calcium dynamics.
A study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the ”la Caixa” Foundation, has found that exposure to phthalates in the womb is associated with reduced lung function during childhood.
National studies about lead exposures are featured in a special supplement of the American Journal of Public Health in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which show the widespread impact of lead contamination in drinking water, in game meat and exposure to lead from firearms.
Urban gardens and farms are on the rise in the U.S., but urban soils are sometimes contaminated from legacy pollution and industrial use.
Here are some of the latest articles that have been posted in the Guns and Violence channel on Newswise.
The Clean Water Act Symposium features discussions about the effect of climate change on water and pollution and the premier screening of film Upstream, Downriver. The event organized by American University’s Center for Environmental Policy and Center for Environmental Filmmaking, in partnership with American Rivers and the Clean Water for All Coalition, will bring together national and international environmental experts to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Clean Water Act. The film tells the story of the Clean Water Act and its value to the nation.
A study published in the journal Environmental Pollution has found an association, in children aged 9‑12, between exposure to air pollutants in the womb and during the first 8.5 years of life and alterations in white matter structural connectivity in the brain.
A new review shows that the soil in the cities of the ancient Maya are heavily polluted with mercury. As vessels filled with liquid mercury and objects painted with cinnabar have been found at many Maya sites, the authors conclude that the Maya were heavy users of mercury and mercury-containing products. This resulted in severe and dangerous pollution in their day, which still persists even now.
Activated carbon is used in kitchen fans to eliminate food odours. A new dissertation from the University of Gothenburg shows that activated carbon could also eliminate the smell of urine from diapers.
Along with vaccines, masks, and testing, indoor air hygiene and building engineering controls will be key to slowing the spread of airborne, highly infectious variants of COVID-19. In a recent review in the journal Indoor Air, researchers at Berkeley Lab presented a thorough review of the state of the science for several key strategies to reduce airborne infection risk using building controls – ventilation, filtration, airflow management and disinfection by germicidal ultraviolet (UV) light.
Seeking solutions to counteract a rapid rise in plastic trash, scientists at UC San Diego have developed biodegradable material that is designed to replace conventionally used plastic. In a new study, an interdisciplinary team of researchers has shown that the material biodegrades in seawater.
Ten years after the state of California recognized the human right to water, hundreds of thousands of residents still rely on drinking water that contains dangerous levels of contaminants, including the highly toxic mineral arsenic.
Mosquitoes that spread Zika, dengue and yellow fever are guided toward their victims by a scent from human skin. The exact composition of that scent has not been identified until now.
Natural gas transported by interstate pipelines contains hazardous air pollutants and known human carcinogens, according to a first of its kind study published in Environmental Research Letters by researchers at the nonprofit research institute PSE Healthy Energy.
Scientists at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana University, the University of Toronto and the Green Science Policy Institute analyzed a variety of children’s textiles. Fluorine was detected in 65 percent of samples tested.
With another grant from the Florida Department of Health, FAU researchers will continue a first-of-its-kind evaluation of both the short-term and potential long-term health effects of harmful algal blooms among Florida residents.
Researchers in the West Virginia University School of Medicine are using a customized stove in the University's Inhalation Facility to safely examine the harm that burn pit exposure can do. The stove burns pellets the School of Forestry has made to resemble the composition of burn pits at Iraq’s busiest military bases.
Nitrogen may not get the same level of attention as its neighbors on the periodic table, carbon and oxygen. But like its neighbors, it’s an element we can’t live without.
A new study finds people working in “production” – fields such as manufacturing, welding and chemical operation – who are exposed to hazardous chemicals on the job, may have increased risk of developing ALS. People with ALS report higher occupational exposure to metals, particulate matter, volatile organic compounds and combustion pollutants prior to diagnosis.
The Cornell Mui Ho Center for Cities will unveil new findings from the first ever global survey of mayors. The new data sheds light on urban trends and political priorities from executive leaders and covers a range of topics including climate change, economic development, access to core urban infrastructure and services, affordable housing, public health, municipal budgets, and more.
Researchers have created a new metric that uses temperature instead of precipitation deficits to predict and identify droughts, especially flash droughts.
Mary Lusk, a UF/IFAS assistant professor of soil, water, and ecosystem sciences, wrote a new article for the journal Lancet Planetary Health in which she connects climate change with septic systems.
“Discarded electronics contain a lot of different types of toxic chemicals, metals and carcinogens, which can affect the environment and human health. Our research is looking into the extent of environmental pollution and human health effects from electronic waste,” Aich says.
The increasing demand for electric vehicles and cell phones has accelerated the need for safer energy storage after numerous instances of commercial lithium-ion batteries overheating and catching fire. Peng Bai, assistant professor of energy, environmental & chemical engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St.
Heat waves, drought, floods, forest fires – the consequences of climate change are increasing and are changing our environment. A prime example is the countryside in the catchment area for the Rappbode reservoir in the eastern Harz region.
Ecosystem restoration can assist in COVID-19 recovery if it is closely integrated with socioeconomic, health and environmental policies, scientists say in a new article in The Lancet Planetary Health.