Category Archives: Pollution

Bodies of missing men found – as it happened

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Where the parties stand

So the Greens are pushing hard against new coal and gas but have not indicated they are willing to kill off the legislation.

We’re willing to negotiate on everything that we consider will be in keeping with our government’s approach and our election mandate. Nothing more, nothing less. We went to the people seeking a mandate. That’s what we will implement.

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Arizona highway closes after nitric acid leaks from tanker truck crash

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Residents near the deadly accident on Interstate 10 outside Tucson told to evacuate on Tuesday

The deadly crash of a commercial tanker truck caused hazardous material to leak onto Interstate 10 outside Tucson on Tuesday, shutting down the key highway through Arizona and forcing evacuations near the accident.

Residents within a half-mile (800 meters) were ordered to leave and those within a mile (1.6km) were told to shelter in place for several hours after liquid nitric acid was determined to be leaking from the tanker, the Arizona department of public safety said.

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Brazil sinks aircraft carrier in Atlantic despite presence of asbestos and toxic materials

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Environmental activists had sought to halt the planned scuttling of the warship, warning that it could pollute the marine food chain

Brazil has sunk a decommissioned aircraft carrier despite environmental groups claiming the former French ship was packed with toxic materials.

The “planned and controlled sinking occurred late in the afternoon” on Friday, 350km off the Brazilian coast in the Atlantic Ocean, in an area with an approximate depth of 5,000 meters (16,000 feet), the navy said in a statement.

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‘A serious threat’: calls grow for urgent review of damage done by wood burning stoves

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Government plan to educate owners and encourage fines not enough to effectively tackle air pollution

• Study links air pollution to mental ill-health

Politicians and campaigners have called for an urgent review of wood-burning stoves, which cause large amounts of pollution in urban areas.

The calls follow the admission by the environment secretary that the government had set weaker air pollution targets than it would like. The admission came as she announced a new environmental plan for England that held back from banning wood-burning stoves and settled instead for “educating” people on their use.

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Thérèse Coffey admits UK can’t achieve air pollution target advised by experts

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Environment secretary sets lower 10-year objective for cleaner air but researchers say their goal is reachable with stronger action

The government cannot achieve the air quality improvements advised by medical experts, so has set its targets lower for the next 10 years, the environment secretary has admitted as she unveiled a new environmental plan.

Thérèse Coffey said on Tuesday: “We have cleaner air. I want it to be even cleaner. Now, I would have loved to have made our target to achieve 10 micrograms [of fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, per cubic metre of air] by 2030, not 2040. Many parts of the country already enjoy this, but the evidence shows us that with the best will in the world we cannot achieve that everywhere by the end of the decade, particularly in London.”

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Water firms in England urged to upgrade sewage works for new homes

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Campaigners in Oxfordshire, Cotwolds and Cumbria say houses should not be occupied until system can cope

Campaigners are intervening to prevent new houses being occupied in several areas of the country until sewage treatment works are upgraded to cope.

In Oxfordshire, the Cotswolds and in Cumbria, the failure of water companies to invest in sewage infrastructure means new homes would just add more sewage into treatment works that are at or beyond capacity, and increase pollution into rivers, they say.

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England’s coast faces ‘multiple threats’ of dredging, sewage and pollution

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Environment Agency paints bleak picture of coastal regions with eco-systems and people coming under increased pressure

Dredging is likely to increase around the English coast, while pollution and sewage are piling pressure on coastal eco-systems, and an increasing number of people are at risk of coastal flooding, the Environment Agency has warned.

Three quarters of shellfish waters around England failed to meet “aspirational” standards for environmental protection in 2021, the report by the agency’s chief scientist’s group found.

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Thames Water’s real-time map confirms raw sewage discharges

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Effluent in Gloucestershire river pinpointed by digital map as water companies accused of routinely pumping out waste to rivers

The market town of Fairford, nestling in the Cotswold hills, is perhaps best known for its church, which has the only complete set of mediaeval stained glass windows in England.

But thanks to a more modern phenomenon, an interactive digital map produced by Thames Water, the Gloucestershire town, with its traditional honey coloured limestone houses, is becoming better known for its continuous, gushing, raw sewage overflow.

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Freshwater fish more contaminated with ‘forever chemicals’ than in oceans

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Study also says eating one serving of fish with PFAS could be equivalent to drinking contaminated water every day for a month

Wild caught, freshwater fish in the United States are far more contaminated with toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” than those commercially caught in oceans, and the highest levels are found in fish from the Great Lakes, a new analysis of federal data suggests.

The peer-reviewed study by public health advocate Environmental Working Group (EWG) also found eating one serving of US freshwater fish contaminated with median PFAS levels could be equivalent to drinking highly contaminated water every day for a month.

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October start set for ban in England of single-use plastic tableware

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Sale by retailers and food outlets in England of single-use plastic tableware to be banned but not ‘shelf-ready pre-packaged food’ containers

Single-use plastic plates, cutlery and a range of other items will be banned in England from October, to curb their “devastating” impact on the environment, the government has confirmed.

The Department for the Environment said the ban will also cover single-use plastic bowls, trays and certain types of polystyrene cups and food containers.

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‘World’s longest river cruise’ could threaten endangered Ganges dolphin, experts warn

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A luxury cruise has been hailed as the start of a new age of Indian tourism. But conservationists fear the impact of increased river traffic and pollution

The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, has officially launched the “world’s longest river cruise” from the city of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. The luxury voyage will last 51 days, travelling 3,200km via Dhaka in Bangladesh to Dibrugarh in Assam, crossing 27 river systems.

The three-deck MV Ganga Vilas, with 18 suites, is the latest venture in a trend for cruise tourism in India being promoted by the government. Modi hailed the cruise industry on the Ganges as a “landmark moment”, which will herald a new age of tourism in India.

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MPs to hear plan to get rural households to run heating on vegetable oil

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George Eustice says adapted kerosene boilers can run on ‘hydro-treated vegetable oil’ and cut emissions by 88%

A proposal to incentivise households in rural areas to run their heating systems on vegetable oil is to be put to parliament.

The former environment secretary George Eustice will introduce a bill proposing the removal of duties on renewable liquid heating fuels and incentives to replace kerosene in existing boilers.

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One in eight cases of asthma in US kids caused by gas stove pollution – study

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Emission of toxic chemicals and carcinogens from gas stoves creating indoor pollution worse than car traffic

Around one in eight cases of asthma in children in the US is due to the pollution given off by cooking on gas stoves, new research has found, amid moves by Joe Biden’s administration to consider the regulation, or even banning, of gas cookers sales to Americans.

Around a third of US households have gas stoves in their kitchens, with the gas industry long touting the method as the cleanest and most efficient way to cook food.

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Tobacco companies to be billed for cleaning up cigarette butts in Spain

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Ruling is part of a package of measures designed to reduce waste and increase recycling

Tobacco companies are to be forced to foot the bill for cleaning up the millions of cigarette ends that smokers discard every year under new environmental regulations in Spain.

The ruling, which comes into force this Friday, is part of a package of measures designed to reduce waste and increase recycling. It includes a ban on single-use plastic cutlery and plates, cotton buds, expanded polystyrene cups and plastic straws, as well as cutting back on plastic food packaging.

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Target date for cleaning up waterways in England is moved back by 36 years

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Environment Agency under fire for extending schedule for tackling pollution in rivers, lakes and coastal waters to 2063

Targets to clean up the majority of England’s rivers, lakes and coastal waters suffering from a cocktail of agricultural and sewage pollution have been pushed back from 2027 to 2063.

Not one English waterway, including rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal waters is in good ecological and chemical health at present, with pollution from water treatment plants and agriculture the key sources of the damage. The Environment Agency said on Thursday £5.3bn was being invested for the next five years to stop the further deterioration of waterways.

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Government to weaken water pollution goals in ‘attack on nature’

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Exclusive: Despite demands from water campaigners, there will be no overall target for river health

Water pollution goals are to be weakened by the government next week, the Guardian can reveal, as Environment Act targets will give farmers three extra years to reduce their waste dumping into waterways.

River campaigners have said the news is proof the government has not dropped its “attack on nature”.

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‘Eco’ wood burners produce 450 times more pollution than gas heating – report

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Report from chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty finds air pollution kills up to 36,000 people a year in England

“Ecodesign” wood burning stoves produce 450 times more toxic air pollution than gas central heating, according to new data published in a report from Prof Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England.

Older stoves, now banned from sale, produce 3,700 times more, while electric heating produces none, the report said.

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Tyre Extinguishers deflate tyres of 900 SUVs in ‘biggest ever action’

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The climate activists claim to have targeted 4x4 owners in eight European and US cities

Guerrilla climate activists Tyre Extinguishers have claimed their “largest ever night of action against SUVs”, with 900 of the vehicles targeted around the world.

“Last night (the evening of Monday 28 November and early morning of Tuesday 29 November), citizens in eight countries deflated tyres on nearly 900 polluting SUVs,” the activist group said in a statement.

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Air pollution linked to almost a million stillbirths a year

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First global analysis follows discovery of toxic pollution particles in lungs and brains of foetuses

Almost a million stillbirths a year can be attributed to air pollution, according to the first global study.

The research estimated that almost half of stillbirths could be linked to exposure to pollution particles smaller than 2.5 microns (PM2.5), mostly produced from the burning of fossil fuels.

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EU plans tighter controls on pollution as doctors call for urgent action

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Stricter standards will tackle fine particulates and PFAS and require polluters to pay for cleanups

The EU executive has proposed tighter controls on pollutants and chemicals that harm air quality and foul lakes, rivers and seas, but health campaigners said the plans lacked urgency.

As part of a major reform of the EU’s anti-pollution legislation, the European Commission said it planned to tighten air quality standards, including on one of the most dangerous pollutants, fine particulate matter. Water standards are also going to be stricter, with 25 substances added to a control list, such as the category of PFAS (also known as “forever chemicals”), the substance Bisphenol A, pesticides including glyphosate, and antibiotics.

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