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Articles on Respiratory illness

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Jordanian forensics experts inspect the site of a chlorine gas explosion in the Port of Aqaba in June 2022. Khalil Mazraawi/AFP via Getty Images

Chlorine is a highly useful chemical that’s also extremely dangerous − here’s what to know about staying safe around it

Chlorine is a widely used industrial chemical that’s frequently a factor in toxic accidents and workplace injuries. A pharmaceutical expert explains why it’s so hazardous.
A massive dust storm billows across the western desert of Iraq on April 26, 2005. Shannon Arledge/USMC via Getty Images

Desert dust storms carry human-made toxic pollutants, and the health risk extends indoors

Desert dust storms are increasingly picking up materials like sewage, herbicides and other human-made waste and transporting them on tiny particles that are easy to inhale.
Situated on a plateau and surrounded by mountains, Mexico City – seen here in a haze on May 20, 2018 – is a ‘bowl’ that traps smog and dust. AP Photo/Marco Ugarte

Mexico City buried its rivers to prevent disease and unwittingly created a dry, polluted city where COVID-19 now thrives

The Aztecs had a shining city on a lake, with canals, causeways and aqueducts – until the Spanish came. Mexico City is still suffering the consequences of their bad public health decisions.

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