Latest Pollutants Stories
To: NATIONAL EDITORS Contact: Shawn Gilchrist of United Steelworkers (USW), +1-412- 562-6968 PITTSBURGH, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United Steelworkers (USW) today condemned Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for his failure to protect California citizens from PFOA, the Teflon chemical often found in food packaging, cookware, carpeting and countless other household and industrial uses. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080131/DC12982LOGO) On Tuesday, Gov....
A University of Colorado-Boulder study suggests U.S. air quality regulations may not effectively target a large source of fine, organic particle pollutants. Researchers said they've determined a much smaller percentage of pollutants from vehicles and industrial processes is to blame for the organic haze seen over many larger cities. Instead, 75 percent of the fine, organic particulate pollutants form from reactive gases called VOCs -- or volatile organic compounds -- when they are oxidized...
By Kristopher Hanson LONG BEACH - The dizzying array of eco-minded products and technologies - from hybrid school buses to toxin-free sink cleaners - seemed to confirm what environmentalists have long prayed for: America is on the verge of a green revolution. Dozens of companies and agencies offering the latest and cleanest products and practices have converged on Long Beach this week to promote the perceived health, economic and even national security benefits of the green movement....
Going green Switch it off: Plug electronic equipment into power strips that can be turned off when the items aren't in use. Cook with smaller appliances. Save energy by using smaller appliances whenever possible, such as heating items in the microwave rather than the full-size oven. Additionally, less heat is produced in the kitchen, which helps take the strain off the air conditioner. Use zero- or low-VOC paint. Most major paint manufacturers now make zero- or low-VOC paint, which means...
To: NATIONAL EDITORS Contact: Sean Crowley, +1-202-572-3331, scrowley@edf.org, Vickie Patton, +1-303-447-7215, vpatton@edf.org, or Janea Scott, +1-213- 223-2186, jscott@edf.org, all of Environmental Defense Group Says Clean Air Standards Will Cut Summertime Smog Pollution, Protect Kids Health WASHINGTON, Sept. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today took action to cut pollution from a major source of summertime smog and to protect human health by...
By Emma Brady Researchers at a Midland university have found that dust found in some of the region's primary school classrooms is contaminated with high levels of pollutants and chemicals which could prove toxic. Birmingham University, which presented its results to the Dioxin 2008 conference on Thursday, found the dust contained concentrations of HBCD, TBBP-A, PFOS, and PFOA. All four chemicals are persistent organic pollutants (POPs) which do not degrade in the environment, instead...
By Finlayson-Pitts, Barbara J About three decades ago, it was reported that a correlation existed between wet winters in San Francisco and episodes of air pollution the following summer. Wet winters, it was hypothesized, led to greater plant growth, with an associated rise in natural, or biogenic, emissions. These biogenic emissions, it was held, caused the increase in air pollution. This hypothesis generated many headlines and cartoons along the lines of "Forests unsafe to walk in!" and...
By Anonymous A new study has found that elevated ozone found in lower layers of the atmosphere could be yet another contributing factor to the ongoing decline and disappearance of many populations of amphibians. The study was published in a recent issue of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (Volume 27, Issue 5). Declines of many amphibian populations over the past two decades have received significant attention from biologists, in part because amphibians are viewed as monitors or...
By Jon Rutter jrutter@lnpnews.com You're not imagining it: Those ozone air pollution warnings out of Harrisburg have been coming faster and more furiously this year. But, no, the air itself has not grown that much hotter or goopier. The [pollution] standards have been made more stringent, said Kevin Stewart, the environmental health director of the Lancaster- based American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic. And so weather forecasters have been busy issuing alerts. The state...
By Rocky Barker, The Idaho Statesman, Boise Jul. 30--The day of reckoning has come for air pollution in the Treasure Valley. Levels of ozone, the colorless gas that causes lung and heart damage and is the main ingredient of smog, crossed a key threshold Friday -- all but guaranteeing the state will have to take painful new actions to reduce air pollution in the coming years. State officials have used voluntary measures to encourage less driving, lawn mowing and other activities that...
