Tomorrow, ministers at the 15th ministerial council meeting of the Energy Community in Kosovo will adopt new rules for emission limits for coal power plants in the Western Balkans (as part of the transposition of the EU’s Industrial Emissions Directive into national law).
Researchers at The Johns Hopkins University report statistical evidence that children exposed to airborne coarse particulate matter — a mix of dust, sand and non-exhaust tailpipe emissions, such as tire rubber — are more likely to develop asthma and need emergency room or hospital treatment for it than unexposed children.
Children exposed to coarse particulate matter may be more likely to develop asthma and to be treated in an ER or be hospitalized for the condition, according to new research published online in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
News Release RICHLAND, Wash. — As cars become more fuel-efficient, less heat is wasted in the exhaust, which makes it harder to clean up the pollutants are emitted. But researchers have recently created a catalyst capable of reducing pollutants at the lower temperatures expected in advanced engines. Their work, published this week in Science magazine, a leading peer-reviewed research journal, presents a new way to create a more powerful catalyst while using smaller amounts of platinum, the most expensive component of emission-control catalysts.
A greater understanding of the dynamics of chemical reactions is leading to better models of atmospheric chemistry. Through this work, scientists are gaining insight into a key chemical able to break down some major air pollutants.
Women exposed to air pollution just prior to conception or during the first month of pregnancy face an increased risk of their children being born with birth defects, such as cleft lip or palate or abnormal hearts.
This past weekend brought fierce Santa Ana Winds to Southern California that are expected to last all week. As of this writing, major fires are burning in Ventura County and other areas within Los Angeles County. The South Coast Air Quality Management District lists the following areas of direct smoke impacts: ftp://ftp.aqmd.gov/pub/globalist/Advisory2.pdf
Wildfires, cigarette smoking and vehicles all emit a potentially harmful compound called isocyanic acid. The substance has been linked to several health conditions, including heart disease and cataracts. Scientists investigating sources of the compound have now identified off-road diesel vehicles in oil sands production in Alberta, Canada, as a major contributor to regional levels of the pollutant. Their report appears in ACS’ journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Economics researchers capitalize on the dynamics of wildfires to prove infants’ proximity to smoke pollution while in utero affects birthweight.
Low-emission vehicles are considered too quiet for hearing-impaired pedestrians, so the European Union is mandating that they be equipped with acoustic vehicle alerting systems. With these alert systems would come a marked increase in the amount of noise on the roads across Europe. During the 174th ASA Meeting, Dec. 4-8, 2017, in New Orleans, researchers will present their work assessing the effectiveness of acoustic vehicle alerting systems and their downsides.
Cornell University engineering students are creating a state-of-the-art computer model to strategically place trees on highways near residential areas to mitigate pollution particles and improve human health.
New Jersey Poison Control director Diane Calello warns of health dangers to hobby shooters, employees, law enforcement officers and their families
Cooking in a frying pan with oil can quickly become dangerous if “explosive” hot oil droplets jump out of the pan, leading to painful burns. But these droplets may be doing something even more damaging: contributing to indoor air pollution. A group of researchers exploring these “explosive droplets” will present their work to uncover the fluid dynamics behind this phenomenon during the 70th meeting of the Division of Fluid Dynamics, Nov. 19-21, 2017.
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and Clarkson University discovered a new process to eliminate the release of dangerous carbon monoxide gas from wood pellets in storage. The use of wood pellet boilers and stoves to replace heating oil, propane or older wood boilers supports Governor Cuomo's energy goals.
The Department of Defense has awarded a multi-institutional team of scientists a series of grants totaling $4.37 million to investigate the potential role of airborne pollutants as triggers of Parkinson’s disease via the nose.
Rural counties continue to rank lowest among counties across the U.S., in terms of health outcomes. A group of national organizations including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National 4-H Council are leading the way to close the rural health gap.
Want to restore hearing by injecting stem cells into the inner ear? Well, that can be a double-edged sword. Inner ear stem cells can be converted to auditory neurons that could reverse deafness, but the process can also make those cells divide too quickly, posing a cancer risk, according to a study led by Rutgers University–New Brunswick scientists.
Many people around the world, especially in Asia, wear face masks to protect against air pollution. Do they work? Sanjay Rajagopalan, MD, Herman Hellerstein, professor of cardiovascular medicine at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and chief of cardiovascular medicine at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, has received a $2 million National Institutes of Health grant to help find out if face masks really protect against air pollution.
New research presented today at APHA’s 2017 Annual Meeting and Expo examined the burden of air pollution and its association with mortality in Chinese cities.
• The estimated global burden of chronic kidney disease attributable to fine particulate matter is more than 10.7 million cases per year. • Results from the study will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2017 October 31–November 5 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, LA.
U anthropologists propose that agricultural productivity drove dispersal patterns of early Euro-Americans settlers in Utah in a process that led to the current distribution of populations today. They adapted a well-known ecological model, and tested its predictions by combining satellite-derived measures of agricultural suitability with historical census data.
University of Washington researchers have found a link between air pollution and psychological distress. The higher the level of particulates in the air, the UW-led study showed, the greater the impact on mental health. The study is believed to be the first to use a nationally representative survey pool, cross-referenced with pollution data at the census block level, to evaluate the connection between toxic air and mental health.
Analyzing samples from a prospective study, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers found that human exposure to glyphosate, a chemical widely found in weed killers, has increased approximately 500 percent since the introduction of genetically modified crops.
Despite widespread concern about potential human health impacts from hydraulic fracturing, the lifetime toxic chemical releases associated with coal-generated electricity are 10 to 100 times greater than those from electricity generated with natural gas obtained via fracking, according to a new University of Michigan study.
Pollution in the air, water, soil and in the workplace is linked to an estimated nine million deaths each year worldwide – equivalent to one in six (16%) of all deaths, according to a ground-breaking new report in the leading medical journal The Lancet.
Two professors with Northern Arizona University’s Center for Bioengineering Innovation (CBI) and Department of Biological Sciences—environmental physiologist Loren Buck and ecotoxicologist Frank von Hippel—are working on a long-term research project studying the link between the toxic chemicals polluting St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, and the health of the island’s population.
Researchers at the University of Michigan have brought a new method into the sound-dampening fold, demonstrating an origami lattice prototype that can potentially reduce acoustic noise on roadways. The technique allows researchers to selectively dampen noise at various frequencies by adjusting the distance between noise-diffusing elements. They report their work this week in the Journal of Applied Physics.
As so often happens in science, UAH doctoral student Aaron Kaulfus was looking for something else when he realized his forest fire smoke research might be significant.
“The decision to repeal the Clean Power Plan flies in the face of scientific evidence of the dangers air pollution poses to public health, and we cannot keep silent on this,” said George Thurston, ScD, chair of the ATS Environmental Health Policy Committee.
As China struggles to find ways to remedy the noxious haze that lingers over Beijing and other cities in the winter, researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology have cast serious doubt on one proposed cause: high levels of ammonia in the air.
A team of researchers at the universities of Florida and Wisconsin-Madison will use the grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to pinpoint genes that could improve plants’ ability to access nitrogen, an essential nutrient for plant growth.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory partnered with the University of Chicago to sponsor “All About Energy,” a six-week program that gives Chicago public high school students an up-close look at careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and a chance to learn what it means to be a scientist.
The University of Portsmouth is helping to tackle air pollution and its harmful effects in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• In a study of US veterans, researchers found a linear relationship between air pollution levels and risk of experiencing kidney function decline and of developing kidney disease or kidney failure.
If the U.S. wants to start using wood pellets to produce energy, either the government or power customers will have to pay an extra cost, a new University of Georgia study has found.
UofL gastroenterologist Matthew Cave, M.D., believes that chemicals we breathe, consume or come in contact with in the environment may be contributing to liver disease. He has been awarded $4 million by the NIEHS to explore the effects of environmental chemicals on the liver.
● Higher exposure to secondary particles and ozone can be traced back to excess NOx emissions from diesel cars, vans and light commercial vehicles. ● With the EU’s vehicle emission limits achieved on the road about 5,000 premature deaths could be avoided annually. ● If diesel cars emitted as little NOx as petrol cars, about 7,500 premature deaths could be avoided annually.
A new nationwide study finds that the U.S. made little progress from 2000 to 2010 in reducing relative disparities between people of color and whites in exposure to harmful air pollution emitted by cars, trucks and other combustion sources. While absolute differences in exposure to the air pollutant dropped noticeably for all populations, the gap between pollution levels to which white people and people of color were exposed narrowed only a little.
A University of Portsmouth disaster specialist is helping with the fight in Colombia against illegal gold mining and its impacts, from deforestation and toxic pollution, to socio-economic pressures on nearby communities.
There might be a new and improved way to rid contaminated soil of toxins and pollutants: zap it with lasers. By directly breaking down pollutants, researchers say, high-powered lasers can now be more efficient and cheaper than conventional decontamination techniques. They have shown how such a laser system could work, describing the proof-of-principle results this week in the Journal of Applied Physics.
Three scientists have proposed a new approach to better understand the role of soil organic matter in long-term carbon storage and its response to changes in global climate and atmospheric chemistry.
A zone of water 30-50 feet below the surface of the Chesapeake Bay is increasing in acidity, threatening the health of the bay's shellfish.
The August tip sheet from Fred Hutch includes stories on breast cancer, skin cells as a cancer repair mechanism, an HIV prevention study, air pollution risk and more -- Here are quick summaries for journalists that offer sources and story ideas from Fred Hutch.
RSS
Medicine keyboard_arrow_right
Sciencekeyboard_arrow_right
Life keyboard_arrow_right
Business keyboard_arrow_right
Journal News keyboard_arrow_right
By Location keyboard_arrow_right
Meetings, Grants, and Events keyboard_arrow_right