The Pollution Thread

[China]

Fish ‘full of contraceptive pill, antidepressants and cocaine’ after sewage spills

 

A marine biologist studying Hampshire’s Langstone Harbour has revealed raw sewage from a nearby treatment plant has left every marine species in the water “full of drugs”.

 

New data from the Environment Agency to be released on Wednesday 27 March is expected to show that sewage spills rose to a record high last year.

 

“The sewage treatment plant behind us takes in the waste of half a million people, and when it can’t cope with it, it chucks it out here,” Professor Alex Ford told Good Morning Britain.

 

“In the marine life, we are finding they are full of drugs - contraceptive pills, antidepressants - every single marine species that we’ve looked at so far is full of cocaine.”

[China]

Chevron owns this city's news site. Many stories aren't told

 

Open flames shot upward from four smokestacks at the Chevron refinery on the western edge of Richmond, Calif. Soon, black smoke blanketed the sky.

 

News spread quickly that day last November, but by word of mouth, says Denny Khamphanthong, a 29-year-old Richmond resident. "We don't know the full story, but we know that you shouldn't breathe in the air or be outside for that matter," Khamphanthong says now. "It would be nice to have an actual news outlet that would actually go out there and figure it out themselves."

 

The city's primary local news source, The Richmond Standard, didn't cover the flare. Nor had it reported on a 2021 Chevron refinery pipeline rupture that dumped nearly 800 gallons of diesel fuel into San Francisco Bay.

 

Chevron is the city's largest employer, largest taxpayer and largest polluter. Yet when it comes to writing about Chevron, The Richmond Standard consistently toes the company line.

And there's a reason for that: Chevron owns The Richmond Standard.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

As coal companies point fingers, Wyoming County residents say they’re being poisoned by a contaminated creek

 

As they drive a truck hauling bottled water along the twists and turns of Route 16, Richard Altizer and James Christian point out the sights along Indian Creek. 
 

There’s where slimy film continues to stick to foul-smelling water. There’s where people’s pets and livestock have died. And there’s the place where they gutted a deer to find its veins, heart and liver were neon yellow.

 

“These people are being poisoned,” Altizer said.

 

They see no end in sight. It’s been more than a year since the day when Christian and his wife found dirty mine water had burst from underground into their yard, flooding two feet high and seeping into the walls of their house. Christian and Altizer, who raced over from his home close by, had to drop to the ground and dig a path with their hands to direct the rancid water away from the home and into nearby Indian Creek. 
 

But as a lawsuit over the incident drags on and coal companies direct blame at each other in Wyoming County’s circuit court, residents on well water say what comes out of their spigots is still black and pungent. They keep finding dead deer and fish. Some have lost the chickens they rely on for income, and spent money they don’t have to try to clean the water.

 

Click on the link for the full article 

 

[China]

For communities near chemical plants, EPA's new air pollution rule spells relief

 

The Environmental Protection Agency announced a major rule on Tuesday to reduce toxic air pollution coming from more than 200 chemical plants across the U.S. The move comes as part of the Biden administration's pledge to better protect communities overburdened by pollution. The new standards for petrochemical plants, once implemented, will cut enough cancer-causing emissions to reduce cancer risk by 96% for people living near these industries, according to the EPA.

 

"This is a game changer any way you look at it," said EPA Administrator Michael Regan at a press event Tuesday. "This is a game changer for the health. It's a game changer for the prosperity. It's a game changer for children in these communities nationwide."

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Michigan approves 'extremely toxic' copper mine just 100ft from Lake Superior - which locals fear could destroy one of America's most beautiful state parks

 

Michigan has approved a $50 million copper mine that has sparked outrage among residents due to its close proximity to Lake Superior.

 

Canada-based Highland Copper is set to break ground 100 feet from the lake and start production in 2026, which the company said could produce 65 million pounds of the metal over the course of 11 years.

 

Controversy over the mine kicked into high gear last year when the company cleared a section of the state park's one-billion-year-old forest, filled in the wetlands and permanently rerouted the North Country Trail's streams. 

 

Copper mines are labeled as the most toxic to human health because they can release chemicals like mercury, arsenic and lead that have been identified as the 'top 10 chemicals of major public health concern' by the World Health Organization.

 

Wakefield Township resident and petition writer Tom Grotewohl told local WNMU-FM that the mine would be a threat to the environment, public recreation, and the local economy.

 

Grotewohl also noted that most of what is set to be mined would not actually be copper. 

 

'Because only 1.45 percent of what comes out of the ground is copper and the remaining 98.55 percent is toxic waste, which contains at least 15 constituents of environmental health concern, including mercury, arsenic, cadmium, selenium, lead.'

 

John Coleman, with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, said the commission has raised concerns about the project for more than a decade.

 

'We have concerns about the tailings basin, the long term stability, and have asked [the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy] to include the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission in review of the final design,' he said.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Why is there so much lead in American food?

 

Lead keeps showing up where it’s not supposed to be.

 

In 2024, one of the most potent neurotoxins known to humanity persists all over the world as a public health threat. For the third time in six months, lead contamination in food products has put public health authorities on high alert in the wealthiest nation in the world.

 

Last fall, contaminated cinnamon applesauce pouches caused dozens of lead poisoning cases across the US, eventually prompting recalls in November. In March, the federal government announced that some ground cinnamon products also contained slightly elevated levels of lead and advised customers not to buy them. Then this week, Consumer Reports urged the USDA to remove Lunchables meal kits from the federal school lunch program — which provides meals to 30 million children nationally — after detecting concerning levels of lead in the products.

 

The source of the lead found in Lunchables is not yet known, and the federal government hasn’t responded to the advocacy group’s report. But lead in food products continues to cause recurring health scares in the US. While lead might seem like something we left behind in a past era, pollution in other parts of the world and unchecked industry practices continue to put kids — not only in America but all over the globe — at risk.

 

By the 1990s, nearly every country had eliminated leaded gasoline, once easily the most ubiquitous source of lead pollution when we spewed it into the open air. The US and Europe also instituted more stringent rules for another common source of exposure, lead paint, by greatly restricting or outright banning its use. You can see the improvements in the numbers: From 1978 to 1991, the average level of lead in the blood for Americans younger than 75 dropped by 78 percent.

 

But lead usage has actually been on the rise worldwide, even in the US. The proliferation of lead-acid batteries globally and less stringent rules in the developing world for everything from cookware to spices has allowed lead consumption to grow despite its known health risks.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Weedkiller manufacturer seeks lawmakers’ help to squelch claims it failed to warn about cancer

 

Stung by paying billions of dollars for settlements and trials, chemical giant Bayer has been lobbying lawmakers in three states to pass bills providing it a legal shield from lawsuits that claim its popular weedkiller Roundup causes cancer.

 

Nearly identical bills introduced in Iowa, Missouri and Idaho this year — with wording supplied by Bayer — would protect pesticide companies from claims they failed to warn that their product causes cancer, if their labels otherwise complied with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s regulations.

 

But legal experts warn the legislation could have broader consequences — extending to any product liability claim or, in Iowa’s case, providing immunity from lawsuits of any kind. Critics say it could spread nationwide.

 

“It’s just not good government to give a company immunity for things that they’re not telling their consumers,” said Matt Clement, a Jefferson City, Missouri, attorney who represents people suing Bayer. “If they’re successful in getting this passed in Missouri, I think they’ll be trying to do this all over the country.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Dozens of Texas water systems exceed new federal limits on “forever chemicals”

 

In Texas, 49 public water utility systems have reported surpassing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s first-ever limits for five “forever chemicals” in drinking water, according to data submitted to the federal agency.

 

Experts say there are likely more since not all water systems have submitted their data.

 

PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are widespread and long lasting in the environment. They are called “forever chemicals” because they don't break down and can persist in water and soil, and even human blood indefinitely. The chemicals have been used since the 1940s to repel oil and water and resist heat. They have been included in thousands of household products from nonstick cookware to industrial products like firefighting foam.

 

There are more than 12,000 types of individual forever chemicals, but new EPA standards announced last week set new limits for five of them: PFOA and PFOS have a limit of 4 parts per trillion while PFHxS, PFNA, and HFPO-DA have a limit of 10 parts per trillion.

 

One part per trillion is equivalent to a single drop of water in 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

 

The new standards will require water utilities to meet them within five years. The EPA estimates that the new limits, which are legally enforceable, will reduce exposure for 100 million people nationwide and help prevent thousands of deaths and illnesses, including from cancer.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Removing PFAS From Public Water Systems Will Take Billions and Years — Here’s What You Can Do Till Then

 

Chemists invented PFAS in the 1930s to make life easier: Nonstick pans, waterproof clothing, grease-resistant food packaging and stain-resistant carpet were all made possible by PFAS. But in recent years, the growing number of health risks found to be connected to these chemicals has become increasingly alarming.

 

PFAS—perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances—are now either suspected or known to contribute to thyroid disease, elevated cholesterol, liver damage and cancer, among other health issues.

 

They can be found in the blood of most Americans and in many drinking water systems, which is why the Environmental Protection Agency in April 2024 finalized the first enforceable federal limits for six types of PFAS in drinking water systems. The limits—between 4 and 10 parts per trillion for PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, PFNA and GenX—are less than a drop of water in a thousand Olympic-sized swimming pools, which speaks to the chemicals’ toxicity. The sixth type, PFBS, is regulated as a mixture using what’s known as a hazard index.

 

Meeting these new limits won’t be easy or cheap. And there’s another problem: While PFAS can be filtered out of water, these “forever chemicals” are hard to destroy.

 

My team at the University of Notre Dame works on solving problems involving contaminants in water systems, including PFAS. We explore new technologies to remove PFAS from drinking water and to handle the PFAS waste. Here’s a glimpse of the magnitude of the challenge and ways you can reduce PFAS in your own drinking water:

 

Removing PFAS will cost billions per year
The EPA estimated the cost to the nation’s public drinking water systems to comply with the news rules at about US$1.5 billion per year. But other estimates suggest the total costs of testing and cleaning up PFAS contamination will be much higher. The American Water Works Association put the cost at over $3.8 billion per year for PFOS and PFOA alone.

 

 

 

Click on the link for the full article