ApocaDocuments (9) matching "contamination" from this week
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Sun, Jan 24, 2010
from Agence France-Presse:
Indians keep faith with Ganges despite pollution
For India's devout Hindus, the sacred River Ganges is always clean and always pure -- even if its waters are a toxic stew of human sewage, discarded garbage and factory waste.
The belief that the Ganges washes away sin entices millions of Hindus into the river each year, and huge crowds of pilgrims are currently passing through the town of Haridwar for the three-month Kumbh Mela bathing festival.
But concern over pollution along the length of the 2,500 kilometre (1,500 mile) river is growing, and the city of Kanpur -- 800 kilometres downstream of Haridwar -- is the site of one of the worst stretches of all... Worshippers like Ram Sharma, who regularly wades in the water for an early morning bath with only a cloth tied around his waist, are proof that for many Indians faith outweighs science.
"How can you call this water dirty?" asked Sharma incredulously.
"For us it is holy water," he said as he dipped his cupped hands in the river and took a slurp. ...
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Just like me in Indiana, breathing its sacred, coal-plant polluted air... every day.
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Sat, Jan 23, 2010
from Inter Press Service:
Plastic Bags: Convenience Costing the Earth
When Nairobi was founded in 1899, it took its name from what the Maasai called the place: Ewassi Nyirobi, "cool waters." A century later, the river has something stuck in its throat: millions of plastic bags threaten to choke it.
According to Robert Orina, chief enforcement officer at Kenya's National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), only about 25 percent of the 1,500 tonnes of solid waste generated in Nairobi each day is collected. In slum areas, where 60 percent of Nairobi residents live, there is no formal garbage collection.
"The result is there is garbage strewn all over the place and most of this is stuffed into plastic bags which remain in the environment for many years," Orina says. "The situation in Nairobi is not unique but rather is replicated across the country." ...
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Replicated... just like plastic itself!
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Sat, Jan 23, 2010
from ABC News:
Lead Found in Women's Handbags
A landmark agreement involving two big retail chains establishes, for the first time, limits on lead in women's handbags and wallets. The Center for Environmental Health went to 100 of the nation's top retailers -- including Target, Macy's, Wal-Mart and Kohl's -- and bought purses.
The group had the bags tested for lead at an independent lab. Two separate tests were conducted. Some bags were wiped to see how much, if any, lead would simply rub off the material. The bags also were tested for the total lead content of the products.
The tests came back showing disturbingly high levels of lead, the Center for Environmental Health said. ...
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So THAT'S why it's so heavy!
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Fri, Jan 22, 2010
from New Scientist:
Engineered maize toxicity claims and counterclaims
Monsanto, the giant of genetically modified crops, has for the first time been forced to release raw data from toxicology studies it carried out on three strains of its modified maize. An external analysis of the data claims it shows that eating the maize could result in damage to the liver and kidneys, but this has been dismissed as unsupportable by a government agency and independent toxicologists.... With each of the three strains of maize, researchers say they found unusual concentrations of hormones and other compounds in the blood and urine of the tested rats, suggesting each strain impaired kidney and liver function. By the end of the trials, the female rats that were fed MON 863 had elevated blood-sugar levels and raised concentrations of fatty substances called triglycerides. Both are potential precursors of diabetes, according to Seralini. And there were further signs that the kidneys of rats fed NK 603 were impaired, he says.
"What we've shown is clearly not proof of toxicity, but signs of toxicity," says Seralini. "I'm sure there's no acute toxicity, but who's to say there are no chronic effects?" He wants longer studies on more species to check for such effects. ...
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I don't mind rats getting liver problems.
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Thu, Jan 21, 2010
from Peninsula College, via EurekAlert:
Stain repellent chemical linked to thyroid disease in adults
A study by the University of Exeter and the Peninsula Medical School for the first time links thyroid disease with human exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). PFOA is a persistent organic chemical used in industrial and consumer goods including nonstick cookware and stain- and water-resistant coatings for carpets and fabrics.... PFOA is a very stable man-made chemical that excels at repelling heat, water, grease, and stains. It is used during the process of making common household and industrial items including nonstick pots and pans, flame-resistant and waterproof clothing, wire coatings, and chemical-resistant tubing. PFOA can also be formed by the break-down of certain other highly fluorinated chemicals used in oil and grease-resistant coatings on fast-food containers and wrappers and in stain-resistant carpets, fabrics, and paints. ...
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That accusation will just slide right off the industry.
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Thu, Jan 21, 2010
from Bloomberg News:
Exxon Hid Radiation Risk to Workers, Witness Says
Exxon Mobil Corp., the largest U.S. energy company, "knew or should have known" that drilling pipes it sent to a Louisiana pipe yard were contaminated with dangerous radioactive material, a trial witness testified.
Paul Templet, a former secretary of Louisiana's Department of Environmental Quality, told jurors yesterday in a lawsuit trial in state court in Gretna, Louisiana, that internal Exxon memos showed the company had information beginning in the 1930s about cancer-causing radium in the residue, or "scale," that built up inside its pipes.
Templet was the first witness for 19 former pipe workers who are suing Exxon, claiming they were exposed to radiation and now fear they may get cancer. He said Exxon failed to report the contamination to his former agency until as late as 1988, endangering workers who cleaned the pipes at a Louisiana site. ...
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Those double "x"s in Exxon always seemed suspicious to me.
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Wed, Jan 20, 2010
from CBC News (Canada):
Triffid seed threatens flax industry
Canadian flax seed has been shut out of its largest market after traces of Triffid -- a genetically modified form of the crop ordered destroyed 10 years ago -- was found in shipments.
The European Union, which buys 70 per cent of Canada's flax, has a zero-tolerance policy regarding genetically modified organisms and has been turning away shipments.
Officials say Canada's entire $320-million industry is threatened.
But efforts to correct the situation are being thwarted because it's not clear where the genetically modified flax is coming from. An industry-wide scramble has been on to weed out the offending seed since the problem was discovered in September....
The flax was genetically engineered to contain genes from a weed added to it, allowing it to grow in soil contaminated by herbicides. ...
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What's next, Midwich Cuckoos?
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Tue, Jan 19, 2010
from Associated Press:
What's in a cigarette? US to study ingredients
The Food and Drug Administration is working to lift the smokescreen clouding the ingredients used in cigarettes and other tobacco products. In June, tobacco companies must tell the FDA their formulas for the first time, just as drugmakers have for decades. Manufacturers also will have to turn over any studies they've done on the effects of the ingredients... Companies have long acknowledged using cocoa, coffee, menthol and other additives to make tobacco taste better. The new information will help the FDA determine which ingredients might also make tobacco more harmful or addictive. It will also use the data to develop standards for tobacco products and could ban some ingredients or combinations. ...
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We've waited this long... can't we be ignorant a little while longer?
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Tue, Jan 19, 2010
from DC Bureau:
Dirty Waters: Cashing in on Ocean Pollution
...The cruise line industry relies on pristine oceans, beautiful coral reefs and marine life to draw millions of travelers on cruise vacations each year. But the same ships that advertise excursions to untouched ocean scenery are threatening these very same natural resources with their standard practice of flushing harmful toxins, mostly as sewage and food waste, into the ocean.... The average cruise ship serves between 10,000 and 12,000 meals per day. On a ship of 5,000 people eating four to five meals a day, the total is closer to 25,000 meals. Food waste is then ground up, put into a holding tank and discharged as food slurry. The putrefying food waste creates acid. In the ocean, it lowers oxygen and increases nutrients in the water, based on an EPA report in 2008 on cruise ship pollution discharge. ...
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I'll just bet the giant jellyfish LOVE cruise ships.
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