Category Archives: Pollution

Scrapping housebuilder water pollution rules in England to cost taxpayer £140m

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Under Lords amendment, developers will no longer have to offset nutrient pollution from new homes’ sewage

Taxpayers will pick up the bill for pollution by housebuilders, government officials have admitted, as rules on chemical releases into waterways are scrapped.

If an amendment in the House of Lords tabled on Tuesday passes, developers will no longer have to offset the nutrient pollution caused by sewage from new homes. The government has said it will double Natural England’s wetland funding to £280m in order to show it is trying to meet the requirements of its legally binding Environment Act.

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Clean air ‘a right not a privilege’, says London mayor as Ulez is expanded

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Sadiq Khan defends expansion of ultra-low emission zone as government continues to criticise it

Clean air is “a right not a privilege”, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has said as the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) was expanded to include the outer boroughs of London.

People who drive in the zone in a vehicle that does not meet minimum emissions standards are required to pay a £12.50 daily fee or risk a £180 fine, reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days.

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England’s rivers at risk as Michael Gove rips up rules on new housing

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Exclusive: Announcement set to anger environmentalists, but builders say nutrient neutrality laws are exacerbating housing crisis

Michael Gove is planning to rip up water pollution rules that builders have blamed for exacerbating England’s housing crisis but which environmental groups say are essential for protecting the country’s rivers.

The housing secretary, alongside Thérèse Coffey, the environment secretary, will announce the move on Tuesday, according to several people briefed on the plans, alongside hundreds of millions of pounds’ worth of extra funding to mitigate the potential impact on England’s waterways.

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Growing number of countries consider making ecocide a crime

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Mexico latest country where government is considering passing new laws to criminalise environmental destruction

A growing number of countries are considering introducing laws to make ecocide a crime.

Mexico is the latest country where politicians are seeking to deter environmental damage – and to get justice for its victims – by criminalising it. Karina Marlen Barrón Perales, congresswoman for Nuevo León, has submitted a bill to the Mexican congress introducing a new crime of “ecocide”.

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Drivers warned of copycat websites overcharging for Ulez fee

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Which? advises drivers paying London ultra-low emission zone fee to make sure they’re using official TfL website

Drivers are being ripped off by copycat websites that add extra fees to the ultra low emissions zone charges in London, consumer champion Which? has warned.

As Ulez expands across all boroughs in the capital from Tuesday, Which? has found a series of identical, unofficial websites targeting people trying to pay the charge. This has led to drivers paying more than the £12.50 daily fee.

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‘An utter disgrace’: 90% of England’s most precious river habitats blighted by raw sewage and farming pollution

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Observer investigation reveals the shocking state of the country’s protected freshwater sites of special scientific interest

More than 90% of freshwater habitats on England’s most precious rivers are in unfavourable condition, blighted by farming pollution, raw sewage and water abstraction, an Observer investigation reveals.

None of the approximately 40 rivers with protected habitats in England are in overall good health, according to an analysis of government inspection reports. These include the River Avon in Hampshire, the Wensum in Norfolk and the Eden in Cumbria.

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Public could receive hundreds of millions as water firms face sewage lawsuit

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Class action legal claim on behalf of 20 million householders in England and Wales could top £800m in compensation

The public could receive hundreds of millions of pounds in compensation in the first class action against water companies which are alleged to have failed to reveal the true scale of raw sewage discharges, and abused their position as privatised monopolies.

A collective case against six water companies alleges they have failed to properly report sewage spills and pollution of rivers and seas to the Environment Agency and Ofwat, the regulator for England and Wales. The first of six parallel claims is against Severn Trent Water on behalf of its 8 million customers. Claims against Thames Water, United Utilities, Anglian Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water are being brought in the coming months.

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Ulez just the start and similar scheme needed for buildings, experts warn

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Lowering pollution produced by houses, offices and factories is just as crucial as tackling vehicle emissions

Imposing strict controls on car exhausts will only partially improve the quality of air people breathe in the UK, scientists have said. New measures to counter emissions of nitrogen oxides and other air pollutants will also be needed for buildings, heating plants and many other domestic and industrial sources in future.

The warning follows the controversy that has surrounded London’s ultra low emission zone (Ulez) in which drivers are charged for their vehicles’ polluting impact. This month the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, will expand the zone from inner London so it covers all boroughs in the city. The decision has provoked opposition from some drivers and was blamed by various Labour party figures for the Conservatives surprise byelection win in Uxbridge and South Ruislip last month.

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Khan says climate crisis more important than party politics after Ulez victory

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London mayor to expand charging zone for drivers after high court win and rejects pressure from Labour leadership to think again

Sadiq Khan has vowed to press ahead with the expansion of London’s low emissions zone saying tackling the climate emergency and air pollution are “bigger than party politics”, despite the Labour leadership urging a rethink of the policy.

After the high court dismissed a legal challenge brought by five Conservative councils, the Labour mayor said he understood concerns of some Londoners but it was right to charge the most polluting vehicles £12.50 a day to drive in the capital’s outer boroughs from the end of August.

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Sadiq Khan to press ahead with Ulez expansion amid Labour pressure

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London mayor is open to ideas to mitigate impact on residents, but not on scheduling of policy some blame for loss of byelection

Sadiq Khan is open to new ideas for mitigating the impact of the anti-pollution levy in London being expanded next month, but refusing to back down on the planned timing of its implementation.

Despite pressure from some in Labour for city hall to rethink the policy they believe lost the party the Uxbridge and South Ruislip byelection on Thursday, the mayor is determined for it to come into force.

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Researchers find evidence of ‘forever chemicals’ in blood of pregnant women

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At least 97% of the blood samples contained a type of PFAS known as PFOS, associated with multiple serious health problems

California researchers have found new evidence that several chemicals used in plastic production and a wide array of other industrial applications are commonly present in the blood of pregnant women, creating increased health risks for mothers and their babies.

The researchers said their findings add to a growing body of evidence showing that many chemicals people are routinely exposed to are leading to subtle but harmful changes in health. The work should be a “wake-up call” to policymakers, they said.

This story is co-published with the New Lede, a journalism project of the Environmental Working Group

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Light and noise pollution ‘are neglected health hazards’, say peers

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Lords committee calls for creation of advisory groups to tackle the pollutants, which may increase risk of heart disease and premature death

Light and noise are “neglected pollutants” that are causing significant harm to human health and can cause premature deaths, a group of peers have said.

The science and technology committee of the House of Lords has called on ministers to do more to tackle these pollutants, which it claims are “poorly understood and poorly regulated”.

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Millions on alert as wildfire smoke from Canada to spread to US

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Officials issue air quality advisories across US and with nearly 900 forest fires – many of them ‘out of control’ – burning to the north

As they did last month, wildfires in Canada are again expected to spread increased air pollution to the US this week, as millions in the country are under air quality advisories.

About 70 million people could be under air quality alerts as wildfire smoke from western Canada spreads to parts of the northern US and as far south as Alabama, CNN reported.

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Councils in England and Wales join calls for ban on disposable vapes

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LGA says single-use e-cigarettes are a litter blight and cause problems in bin lorries and recycling centres

Councils are joining paediatricians in calling for a ban on disposable vapes owing to the environmental damage they cause and the soaring number of young people taking up the addictive products.

The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents councils in England and Wales, said urgent action was needed to save taxpayers’ money – as single-use e-cigarettes are costly to recycle without going through special treatment – protect the planet and keep children safe.

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Loophole lets farmers pollute UK rivers with excess manure – report

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Investigation finds polluting farmers may not face action after breaking the rules

A loophole in the UK’s pollution legislation allows farmers to pollute rivers by spreading excess manure, an investigation has found, with those acting unlawfully not facing any action in most cases.

The government introduced new farming rules for water in 2018, aimed at cleaning up England’s waterways. However, after lobbying from the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), including at least two meetings with ministers, the guidance was watered down.

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Cadia goldmine could be source of some lead found in water tanks, miner says

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Exclusive: General manager says chemical analysis shows ‘slight overlap’ of mine lead and samples from local residents’ rainwater tanks

Chemical analysis has identified the Cadia Hill goldmine as a potential source of some of the lead found in samples collected from nearby residential rainwater tanks in central west New South Wales, the mine’s management has said.

The NSW Environment Protection Authority has been investigating the goldmine – one of the largest in the world – since May, when it issued Newcrest’s Cadia Holdings Pty Ltd with a draft pollution prevention notice and a draft licence variation regarding its management of emissions of dust and other pollutants. It followed local residents, including children, reporting heavy metals in their blood and rainwater tanks.

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Carmakers double spending on ads in Australia for SUVs and utes

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Exclusive: Data shows huge jump in promotion and an 80% increase in sales of larger and more polluting vehicles, leading to calls for ban on ads

Carmakers have doubled how much they spend advertising SUVs and utes to Australians over the past decade, which has coincided with surging uptake of larger cars, triggering calls for a ban on advertising the highest polluting vehicles.

Advertising spends for SUVs and light commercial vehicles – a category which includes four-wheel drive utes – jumped from about $100m in 2010 to about $197m in 2022, according to analysis of digital, television, outdoor, radio, cinema and print advertising compiled by climate advocacy group Comms Declare.

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Time to worry about car tyre pollution, Chris Whitty tells MPs

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Chief medical officer says move to electric cars can reduce impact of exhausts, but may bring different problem to the fore

Ministers need to start looking seriously at the health risks from vehicle tyre wear as the impact of pollutants from car exhausts gradually reduces, Sir Chris Whitty has told MPs.

Giving evidence to the environmental audit committee, England’s chief medical officer said improvements in emissions from petrol and diesel vehicles, and a shift towards electric cars, were reducing the extent of dangerous pollutants such as nitrogen oxides.

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EPA begins to clean up black globs of asphalt from Yellowstone River train derailment

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Environmental agency officials said workers are cooling the gooey material with river water and putting it into garbage bags for recycling

Globs of asphalt binder that spilled into Montana’s Yellowstone River during a bridge collapse and train derailment could be seen on islands and riverbanks downstream from Yellowstone National Park a week after the spill occurred, witnesses report.

Officials with the Environmental Protection Agency said cleanup efforts began on Sunday, with workers cooling the gooey material with river water, rolling it up and putting the globs into garbage bags. It will probably be recycled, said Paul Peronard with the EPA.

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