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Tag: pollution

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©Ashley Cooper
January 18, 2022 Environment / Failed Policies / News & Updates / Policies / Pollution / Science & Society / Time for Action is Now
Chemical pollution has passed safe limit for humanity, say scientists

Chemical pollution threatens Earth’s systems by damaging the biological and physical processes that underpin all life. For example, pesticides wipe out many non-target insects, which are fundamental to all ecosystems and, therefore, to the provision of clean air, water and food.

“There has been a fiftyfold increase in the production of chemicals since 1950 and this is projected to triple again by 2050,” said Patricia Villarrubia-Gómez, a PhD candidate and research assistant at the Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC) who was part of the study team. “The pace that societies are producing and releasing new chemicals into the environment is not consistent with staying within a safe operating space for humanity.”

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January 16, 2022 Environment / Forever Chemicals / International / News & Updates / Pollution / Public Health
Toxic reaction: how to clear dangerous pollutants out of your home

Six months ago, I had my blood tested for 100 different persistent organic pollutants or POPs – chemicals such as pesticides and flame retardants that accumulate inside us and stick around for longer than we’d like. Scientists at a specialist lab in Norway found traces of chemicals that were taken off the market decades ago, such as low levels of a metabolite of the infamous pesticide DDT, alongside concerning levels of some of the less well-known “forever chemicals” known as PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances – a class of chemicals that includes the likes of Teflon). Most surprisingly, my blood contained relatively high levels of a chemical called oxychlordane that comes from a pesticide known as chlordane that was banned by the EU in 1981, just a year after I was born, so exposure was probably via the womb. What struck me most is that some of these highly hazardous chemicals last more than a lifetime. 

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November 19, 2021 Forever Chemicals / Legislation / News & Updates / Pollution / Public Health
US legislation banning ‘forever chemicals’ far from certain as Senate fight looms

PFAS are also commonly applied to nonstick aluminum wrap and in bulk plastic containers used to store flavorings. Studies show that the chemicals can leach from packaging into food and are linked to cancer, liver disease, kidney problems, decreased immunity, birth defects and other serious health problems.

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November 9, 2021 Children's Health / Environment / Forever Chemicals / News & Updates / PFAS / Science & Society / Sewage Sludge / Social Justice / Water Pollution
Forever Chemicals and Agriculture Case Study

Stop all land application of “biosolids”:Land application of sludge that contains PFAS, including composted sludge, is not safe. Continuing to allow this practice will result in water contamination and destroy land for future use as farmland. As farmers in Maine and elsewhere have discovered, once contaminated with PFAS, it is virtually impossible to make soils safe for farming. While EPA has taken initial steps that could change how PFAS-contaminated wastes are regulated in the future, the timing and scope of any changes are up in the air. There is no indication yet that EPA plans to revisit its biosolids rule. States have the authority to act, and doing so will incentivize the removal of PFAS from wastewater discharges and consumer products and prompt speedier development of safe PFAS  destruction technologies.

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