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Articles on Water pollution

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The January 2019 collapse of a dam in Brumadinho, Brazil, sent mining tailings and mud over the landscape for miles, destroying this bridge and killing 300 people. Andre Penner/AP

Mine waste dams threaten the environment, even when they don’t fail

Dams built to hold enormous quantities of toxic mining waste have a long history of spills. Decisions in the Pacific Northwest threaten three free-flowing rivers there.
Water purification at a modern urban wastewater treatment plant involves removing undesirable chemicals, suspended solids and gases from contaminated water. arhendrix/Shutterstock.com

Microwaving sewage waste may make it safe to use as fertilizer on crops

The solids from wastewater plants are usually dumped into landfills because they are contaminated with heavy metals. Now there is a way to remove the metals so the waste can be used as fertilizer.
After years of delay, the New Zealand government is pushing ahead on a national plan to clean up the nation’s lakes, rivers and wetlands. from www.shutterstock.com

New Zealand launches plan to revive the health of lakes and rivers

A proposed plan to clean up New Zealand’s waterways draws clear limits on the expansion of dairy farming and irrigation, as well as on the use of nitrogen fertiliser in some key areas.
Bottled water distribution in Glenwood, Iowa, where massive spring flooding along the Missouri River disrupted drinking water treatment, April 3, 2019. AP Photo/Nati Harnik

The US drinking water supply is mostly safe, but that’s not good enough

A grade of 92 is an A at most schools, but for tap water it means that millions of Americans drink water that fails to met federal standards.
Unconventional gas wells are being approved in their thousands across Australia. AAP Image/Dean Lewins

Expanding gas mining threatens our climate, water and health

Gas mining is expanding across Australia, and has been touted as part of the answer to cutting emissions. But there is evidence that this rollout will pose significant health and environmental risks.
Researchers collect samples from the abandoned tailings that flow into Long Lake, near Sudbury, Ont. John Gunn

Cleaning up abandoned mines means we all pay the price

Bankrupt oil and gas companies must clean up old wells, yet taxpayers are still stuck with the bill for abandoned mines.
Teenager Alex Weber and friends collected nearly 40,000 golf balls hit into the ocean from a handful of California golf courses. Alex Weber

A teen scientist helped me discover tons of golf balls polluting the ocean

Snorkeling off the California coast, a high school student found heaps of golf balls on the ocean floor. With a marine scientist, she showed that golf courses were producing tons of plastic pollution.

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