Category: Health_CN Pollution_Air_CN Pollution_Plastics_CN Water_Pollution_CN

A few years ago, as microplastics began turning up in the guts of fish and shellfish, the concern was focused on the safety of seafood. Shellfish were a particular worry, because in their case, unlike fish, we eat the entire animal—stomach, microplastics and all. In 2017, Belgian scientists announced that seafood lovers could consume up to 11,000 plastic particles a year by eating mussels, a favorite dish in that country.

Typically when people hear about plastic pollution, they might envision seabirds with bellies full of trash or sea turtles with plastic straws in their noses. However, plastic pollution poses another threat that’s invisible to the eye and has important consequences for both human and animal health.

The Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to issue a series of proposals covering air, water and waste pollution from power generators, especially coal-fired power plants, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said Thursday.

Previewing a suite of new fossil fuel rules, Michael Regan said more needs to be done to clean up the air and water around power plants

There were whoops of joy and applause as assembled heads of state and representatives from around the world agreed Wednesday to draw up an international treaty to end the growing global tide of plastic pollution.

America needs to rethink and reduce the way it generates plastics because so much of the material is littering the oceans and other waters, the National Academy of Sciences says in a new report.

The United States ranks as the world’s leading contributor of plastic waste and needs a national strategy to combat the issue, according to a congressionally mandated report released Tuesday.

As Plastic-Free July draws to a close, the looming ocean plastic crisis is still growing by the day. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. A new scientific study indicates that solutions to much of the problem are already at hand. One important missing ingredient is will power, and that is where leading brands have an opportunity to shine.

Climate change raises the risk from failing sewage systems. So Catherine Coleman Flowers is working for a new way to deal with waste.

A move to reduce pollution of the air by ships, ironically, seems to be driving up water pollution, notes a report in Science. Sulphur from ships’ exhaust is a significant contributor to ozone depletion. International Maritime Organization’s (IMO’s) Suplhur 2020 vision estimates that the capping standards for sulphur content in ships’s fuel will lead to a 77% drop in overall sulphur oxide emissions from ships—an annual reduction of 8.5 million tonnes of SOx.