pollutants

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For Child Asthma, Gas Stoves as Bad as Second-Hand Smoke
13% of US Child Asthma
Cases Blamed on Gas Stoves
NEW STUDY

13% of US Child Asthma Cases Blamed on Gas Stoves

It's about the same prevalence as caused by second-hand smoke, researcher says

(Newser) - Gas stoves, found in 35% of US homes, are responsible for about one in eight cases of childhood asthma in the US, according to what researchers describe as "eye-popping" new findings. Studies have shown gas stoves, even when not in use , emit a level of pollution "that can...

Amid War in Ukraine, a New Looming Concern

Contamination of nation's water, air, and soil could take years to assess and clean up, experts warn

(Newser) - Death and destruction isn't all that's been left in the wake of Russia's unrelenting war on Ukraine. Contamination of the nation's water, air, and soil are also now a concern, and it's an issue that could take years to remedy. Fires, explosions, building collapses, and...

Report: Harvey Caused 145K Gallons of Fuel to Spill

Now all eyes are on Florida's petroleum storage facilities as Irma bears down

(Newser) - More than two dozen storage tanks holding crude oil, gasoline, and other contaminants ruptured or otherwise failed when Harvey slammed into the Texas coast, spilling at least 145,000 gallons of fuel and spewing toxic pollutants into the air, per an AP analysis of pollution reports submitted to state and...

Why Dogs in India Are Turning Blue
An Industrial Neighborhood's
Newest Residents: Blue Dogs
in case you missed it

An Industrial Neighborhood's Newest Residents: Blue Dogs

Local officials think their cyan-hued fur is from untreated waste in Kasadi River

(Newser) - A strange phenomenon in an Indian industrial district has put a factory on thin ice and a bunch of canines in the bathtub. A report in the Hindustan Times posted in mid-August noted that dogs with bright-blue fur had been spotted roaming in Navi Mumbai's Taloja area. After initial...

Study's Message to Americans: 'Our Air Is Contaminated'

Relaxing standards will 'kill a lot of people,' experts warn

(Newser) - Just because air pollution falls below legal limits does not mean you're safe. Indeed, there is no "safe" level of air pollution as pollutants cause an increased risk of premature death even when detected at a fraction of the legal limit set by the EPA, a new study...

Humans Have Polluted Deepest Part of the Oceans: Study

Crustaceans in Mariana, Kermadec trenches rife with chemicals

(Newser) - Survival of the fittest in the depths of the sea likely includes plenty of its own inherent challenges, but now it's got a man-made one to add to the list. A research team out of Scotland's University of Aberdeen has discovered high concentrations of human-created organic pollutants in...

Beef: Meat Industry's Worst Eco-Offender
Beef: Meat Industry's
Worst Eco-Offender
STUDY SAYS

Beef: Meat Industry's Worst Eco-Offender

Raising cattle takes up 160 times as much land as plants, study finds

(Newser) - Think drive-thru cheeseburgers are cheap? Think again. What may be light on the wallet is heavy on the planet, according to a new study on the environmental costs per calorie of beef, pork, poultry, dairy, and eggs—which, combined, make up 96% of the calories Americans get via animal sources....

Chesapeake 'Dead Zone' Could Be Largest Ever

Marine life threatened in oxygen-starved portion of bay

(Newser) - High nutrient pollution levels have caused the Chesapeake Bay's underwater "dead zone" to expand unusually quickly this year: It covers a third of the bay and will likely become the bay's largest-ever area of oxygen-starved water. The dead zone, which sucks oxygen from deep waters and kills...

Climate Change Could Cause Cancer, UN Warns

As glaciers melt, toxic chemicals released into food chain

(Newser) - Climate change is doing more than just harming our environment—it could also be harming you, scientists say. Toxic chemicals that have been linked to cancer, tumors, heart disease, and infertility are being released into the air and water via melting glaciers, reports the Daily Mail , pointing to a new...

Utilities Poison Water to Meet EPA Air Regs

(Newser) - A federal law that keeps utilities from poisoning the air is causing toxic metals to infiltrate US waterways, the Washington Post reports. As the Environmental Protection Agency debates possible solutions with lawmakers, utility companies are storing pollutants like mercury and selenium in sludge ponds that eventually leak into lakes and...

EPA's CO2 Ruling May Have Huge Impact

(Newser) - The EPA's decision today to declare carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases dangerous pollutants could have enormous consequences for US businesses, writes Andy Stone in Forbes. The big winner: green technology. The ruling could eventually give the EPA unprecedented regulatory control over everything from power plants to oil refineries...

Suds-Smugglers Thwart Eco-Friendly Law

Residents say only outlaw high-phosphate detergents get their dishes clean enough

(Newser) - Spokane, Washington's pioneering ban on high-phosphorus dishwasher detergents has led some residents to pioneer detergent-smuggling, reports the AP.  People complaining that the eco-friendly detergents don't get their dishes as clean as the old kind regularly cross over into Idaho to stock up. Retailers near the border say their detergent...

Car Batteries Killing Off African Town

18 children die before cause found; cleanup efforts unsuccessful

(Newser) - A mystery illness that plagued a Senegalese town and sparked fears of AIDS, polio, and curses came down to an odd source: car batteries, the AP reports. After 18 deaths and pleas for an investigation, a World Health Organization probe blamed lead for poisoning the village, a center for battery...

Polluting Pentagon Rebuffs EPA Orders

Pentagon challenges agency's right to order toxic chemical clean up

(Newser) - The Pentagon is holding out on an Environmental Protection Agency order to clean up pollutants from three military bases where chemicals have become an "imminent and substantial" threat to the public health and environment, the Washington Post reports. The Defense Department also won’t sign contracts to clean up...

Polluted Fish Swamp Great Lakes
Polluted
Fish Swamp Great Lakes

Polluted Fish Swamp Great Lakes

Industrial chemicals raise contaminant levels into range unsafe for eating

(Newser) - Industrial chemicals contaminate many species of fish that populate the Great Lakes, making them too hazardous for safe human consumption, says a Canadian conservation group. "The lakes continue to be polluted to such an extent that human health is threatened," says a report released yesterday that lists industrial...

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