Chemical Pollution

Environmental pollution is an incurable disease. It can only be prevented - Barry Commoner

Chemical Pollution

image by: New Scientist

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Chemical pollution has passed safe limit for humanity, say scientists

The cocktail of chemical pollution that pervades the planet now threatens the stability of global ecosystems upon which humanity depends, scientists have said.

Plastics are of particularly high concern, they said, along with 350,000 synthetic chemicals including pesticides, industrial compounds and antibiotics. Plastic pollution is now found from the summit of Mount Everest to the deepest oceans, and some toxic chemicals, such as PCBs, are long-lasting and widespread.

The study concludes that chemical pollution has crossed a “planetary boundary”, the point at which human-made changes to the Earth push it outside the stable environment of the last 10,000 years.

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Health concerns grow in East Palestine, Ohio, after train derailment

Of particular concern is the vinyl chloride, which was loaded on five cars — a carcinogen that becomes a gas at room temperature. It it commonly used to make polyvinyl chloride or PVC, which is a kind of plastic used for pipes, wire and cable coatings and car parts.

Ohio train derailment: How dangerous are the chemicals?

Some of the chemicals onboard that have caused concern are vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, benzene, ethyl hexyl acrylate and ethylene glycol monobutyl ether. Vinyl chloride and butyl acrylate were the primary two chemicals released in the incident...

A Crisis of Confidence in America’s Tap Water

Aging infrastructure and chemical pollution have led to high-profile cases of contamination from Michigan to West Virginia and beyond.

A Move to Rein In Cancer-Causing ‘Forever Chemicals’

Michael Regan, the E.P.A. administrator, wants to limit a class of chemicals that has been linked to cancer and is found in everything from drinking water to furniture.

America's Next Water Contamination Crisis May Already Be Here

The family of chemicals called PFAS have been used in everything from carpeting to fast food wrappers. They also may have contaminated America's water.

Festive Fireworks Create Harmful Pall Of Pollution

Fireworks create highly toxic gases and pollutants that poison the air, the water and the soil, making them toxic to birds, wildlife, pets, livestock — and people — but there are environmentally-friendly alternatives available.

How Chemical Companies Avoid Paying for Pollution

DuPont factories pumped dangerous substances into the environment. The company and its offspring have gone to great lengths to dodge responsibility.

How chemical pollution is suffocating the sea

Many parts of the ocean are being starved of oxygen. This threatens marine life and adds to climate change.

How the Benzene Tree Polluted the World

The organic compounds that enabled industrialization have unintended, long-lasting consequences for the planet’s life.

How “forever chemicals” polluted America’s water

Why 99 percent of Americans have these chemicals in their blood.

Human Drugs Are Polluting the Water—And Animals Are Swimming in It

Salmon on psychotropics, platypuses on prozac, and other strange tales from the wild

Pollution could be harming sperm around the world

A lot of chemicals are in use today, and tracking them all is incredibly difficult. More than 80,000 chemicals are registered in the US and nearly 2,000 new chemicals are introduced each year. Many scientists believe that the safety testing for health and environmental risks is not strong enough and that the rapid development and introduction of new chemicals challenges the ability of organizations to test long-term risks to human health.

Salmon are dying off and your car tires might be to blame

Stormwater runoff causes annual die-offs in Pacific Northwest coho salmon.

The Chemical Valley

Forty percent of Canada's petrochemical industry is packed into a 15-square-mile area in Sarnia, Ontario, called the Chemical Valley. More than 60 chemical plants and oil refineries operate there 24/7.

The Proliferation of Plastics and Toxic Chemicals Must End

Petrochemicals are ubiquitous in everyday products, and many of them are poisoning us and our children. Stain repellents, flame retardants, phthalates and other toxics are contributing to cancer, falling sperm counts, obesity and a host of neurological, reproductive and immune problems, research has shown.

Toxic reaction: how to clear dangerous pollutants out of your home

fter tests revealed the levels of harmful chemicals in her blood, the environmental writer vowed to discover the best ways to keep her family safe.

‘No Such Thing as Justice’ in Fight Over Chemical Pollution in China

After a decade in which companies in wealthier nations exported to poorer ones much of the dirty business of making hazardous substances, China is now the world’s largest manufacturer of industrial chemicals, claiming a third of global production by some estimates.