Environmental Engineering & Toxicology

The Environmental Protection Agency should revise and re-propose a data collection rule proposed in April to address industry concerns and to provide needed clarifications, a toxicologist representing the American Chemistry Council's Nanotechnology Panel said June 11....Jo Anne Shatkin, founder of Vireo Advisors, a company that offers risk assessment expertise, market analysis and other services, raised a concern shared by other speakers about the proposed rule's definition of a chemical substance that would be subject to reporting requirements.

It was from routine community outreach trips to local nail salons in Oakland that Ms. Liou and her colleagues from Asian Health Services, as well as Thu Quach, a research scientist, became alarmed: Almost all of the manicurists interviewed had health complaints; some were terribly ill. Dr. Quach, with the Cancer Prevention Institute of California, set out to conduct a health survey of nail salon workers in Alameda County, which includes Oakland. The stories poured in.

The nexus between energy poverty and climate change are now momentously driving the aims of international development. Hundreds of international leaders are meeting this week at the United Nation's Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) Forum to forge next steps. In this context, decentralized renewable energy (DRE) solutions can bring sustainable electricity access to un-electrified and impoverished

“If Tesla and other companies can dramatically scale up energy-storage production and lower costs, it could be a game changer for renewables,” said Laura Wisland, a senior energy analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “Imagine supplies of clean energy that could be stored in the way we store natural gas in tanks, or water behind dams.” Read more

It is easy to overlook the pipes and boxes carrying water under our roads, but these parts of our transportation infrastructure can have huge impacts on freshwater health and road safety. 2003 Fellow Jessica Levine is working in the northeastern United States to replace and upgrade road crossings to benefit aquatic species and habitat along with other community goals.

Polar bears are among the most familiar faces of climate change. The iconic bears, which live and hunt on dwindling Arctic sea ice, became an officially threatened species in 2008 and continue to show declining numbers. But the bears may be facing another threat, from pollutants that have been banned for decades. A study published in the January issue of Environmental Research linked elevated levels of PCBs to lower density in male bears' penile bones, which may disrupt the bears' reproductive abilities.

You might have heard the oceans are full of plastic, but how full exactly? Around 8 million metric tonnes go into the oceans each year, according to the first rigorous global estimate published in Science today. That’s equivalent to 16 shopping bags full of plastic for every metre of coastline (excluding Antarctica). By 2025 we will be putting enough plastic in the ocean (on our most conservative estimates) to cover 5% of the earth’s entire surface in cling film each year.

Before routine childhood vaccinations large numbers of people used to contract diseases like TB and polio with often devastating consequences. Now vaccinations are standardized and have virtually eradicated many of the health problems that used to run rife through populations. However, there is one problem. Despite a concerted effort on the part of health workers and decent supply of vaccinations, power issues in emerging regions often means these vaccinations - which require refrigeration - get spoiled. This is where ColdTrace from Nexleaf Analytics offers a solution.