~theguardian-world | Bookmarks (19)

American Lung Association’s State of the Air report states nearly 131 million people are exposed to ozone and particle pollutionNearly four in 10 people in the US are exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution, a new report has found. Four of the five most polluted cities are in California, where wildfires, drought and extreme heat are driving the rise in hazardous air quality.More...

This blog is now closed.Brittany Higgins questions whether she was drugged on night of alleged rape in new court submissionMona ordered to allow people ‘who do not identify as ladies’ into Ladies Lounge exhibitGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastA search will resume this morning for a woman who went missing while bushwalking at Belmore Falls in New...

Mining company hit with accusation it contaminated waterways with harmful levels of uranium and leadIn a letter of claim, a document that is an early step in a lawsuit, the villagers accuse Rio Tinto of contaminating the waterways and lakes that they use for domestic purposes with elevated and harmful levels of uranium and lead, which pose a serious risk to human health.This story...

The same year, 2022, company replaced plastic sleeves in EU with paper and cardboard, and cut plastic packaging globally by 11.6%The amount of plastic packaging waste created by Amazon has increased in the US even as the online retail giant sought to phase out plastics elsewhere in the world, a report claims, amid growing pressure for a global treaty to end plastic pollution.Amazon created...

Year of devastating wildfires meant Canadians were breathing worse air than southern neighbours for first time everCanada’s pristine air quality has been long praised by its citizens and prized by its government. But the thick plumes of smoke and miles of haze released by a record-breaking season of wildfires deteriorated the country’s air so much that it has fallen behind the United States for...

Party to call for measures to stop companies prioritising profit over environment at spring conferenceWater companies in England and Wales have almost doubled their profits since 2019.During this parliament, which started in 2019, pre-tax profits at water companies have climbed by 82%, according to a Liberal Democrat analysis of Companies House data. Continue reading...

Ministers disappointed by decision of one of worst sewage dumpers not to join England-wide initiativeThames Water has risked a fresh backlash over its commitment to tackling sewage dumping after it declined to commit funds to a £180m industry-wide initiative to fast-track efforts to reduce pollution in England’s waterways. The government said on Monday that the sum would be spent by six companies over the...

Proponents of ‘bathing waters’ designation say it would force action on sewage but others worry about impact of more visitorsThe waters of the River Cam are an unsettling lurid green on a dull day. The river that flows through Cambridge and has been enjoyed by swimmers including Lord Byron, Charles Darwin, Virginia Woolf and Roger Deakin is increasingly polluted from sewage discharges and phosphates...

Campaigners say Ineos project in Antwerp will turbocharge plastic production on a scale not seen before in EuropeThe UK government is providing a €700m (£600m) guarantee for the billionaire Jim Ratcliffe to build the biggest petrochemical plant in Europe in 30 years that will turbocharge plastic production.The huge petrochemical plant has been described as a “carbon bomb” by campaigners. Being constructed in the Belgian...

Revelation comes amid NSW asbestos crisis after contaminant found in mulch at more than 60 Sydney locationsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastA school is one of 25 entities in Queensland’s south-east that were supplied mulch that could be contaminated with friable asbestos.The state’s department of environment (DESI) confirmed the...

Firm told it must take responsibility for toxic legacy of pollution and safe decommissioning of abandoned oil infrastructureThe oil firm Shell cannot be allowed to withdraw from the Niger delta before it takes responsibility for its toxic legacy of pollution and the safe decommissioning of abandoned oil infrastructure, a report says.Shell plc is preparing to divest from the delta but a report warns that...

Positive tests recorded at schools in Marsden Park and Orchard Hills takes total number of sites to have tested positive to 34 since early JanuaryFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThousands of New South Wales students will be forced into remote learning for a week after asbestos was found at...

Single piece of bonded asbestos found in a garden bed at Allambie Heights public schoolExclusive: Testing regime meant to stop toxic chemicals going into NSW landscape products gamed by suppliersMap and full list of locations where asbestos mulch has been foundA second primary school in Sydney’s north is among four additional sites that have returned positive results for asbestos contamination.The NSW Environment Protection Authority...

Exclusive: Manufacturers retest contaminated soil fill until it ‘complies’ with regulations and can then be used at childcare centres, schools or parksMap and full list of locations where asbestos mulch has been foundGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastA testing regime meant to stop toxic chemicals going into landscaping products in New South Wales has been gamed by...

The Tijuana River flows through Mexico and empties off California, carrying pathogens and chemicals and threatening public healthRaw sewage and runoff in the Tijuana River is exposing communities at the US-Mexico border to an unusual and noxious brew of pathogens and toxic chemicals, according to a report released this week.Billions of gallons of sewage flow through the river, which winds north from Mexico through...

Exclusive: Pet owners risk contaminating their hands with neurotoxins for at least 28 days after application, scientists findVets should limit the use of flea treatments containing pesticides on dogs and cats, scientists have said, after a study revealed the vast amount of toxic substances in them that end up in rivers.Pet owners using these flea treatments risk contaminating their hands with fipronil and imidacloprid,...

Hazardous material found in mulch at railway substations in Dulwich Hill, Canterbury and Campsie and alongside Prospect Highway, authorities sayFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastAsbestos has been found in garden mulch at new locations in Sydney’s inner-west and west after the discovery of contamination at the Rozelle parklands earlier...

Testing reveals ‘low-risk’ contamination in samples taken from mulch near Rozelle playground, Transport for NSW saysFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastAn expansive park built above Rozelle’s multibillion-dollar spaghetti junction interchange has been closed after asbestos was found in garden mulch around a children’s playground – with the contractor involved...

Bella Nilsson’s company NMT Think Pink accused of illegally dumping tens of thousands of tonnes of wasteEleven people have been charged by a Swedish court in what is being billed as potentially the country’s worst environmental crime in half a century.NMT Think Pink – a previously celebrated waste management company known for its trademark pink rubbish bags – is accused of illegally burying and...