It’s impossible to escape exposure to microplastics and a new study confirms they’re in household dust around the world. But the health risks appear surprisingly low, and vacuuming makes a difference.
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Environmental health – Analysis and Comment
The worst effects are during high nighttime temperatures, something happening more often with climate change. Wildfire smoke adds to the risk.
It’s more than moral posturing. Resolutions like this have a history of laying the foundation for effective treaties and national laws.
These chemicals are now present in water, soil and living organisms and can be found across almost every part of the planet – including 98% of the American public.
Tests found PFAS in school uniforms, pillows, upholstered furniture and several other items that are often next to children’s skin and near their noses and mouths.
Cleaning and reoxygenating the river Thames has helped its biodiversity surge, but there’s still more to be done to make it healthy.
As a short term measure, modular refineries may help Nigeria with its fuel crisis. It is however not likely to be a long term solution.
The author’s 9-year-old son will likely face about four times as many extreme events in his lifetime as older adults today. An international report explains the impacts already being felt.
The Biden administration is moving to revive mercury limits for coal-fired power plants. A scientist explains mercury’s health risks and the role power plants play.
Photos from the early 1900s show LA’s forests of oil derricks. Hundreds of wells are still pumping, and research shows how people living nearby are struggling with breathing problems.
Trace metal exposure can lead to concerning neurocognitive effects in people of all ages.
It will cost tens of billions of dollars to find and remove all the lead service lines that deliver water to US homes and schools. A public health expert explains why he sees it as money well spent.
The Centers for Disease Control has announced a new, stricter standard for lead poisoning in children, which will more than double the number of kids considered to have high blood lead levels.
To stay healthy, it’s important to understand how wildfire smoke can harm your body and how to protect yourself.
What kind of evidence does it require to get a widely used chemical banned? A professor of medicine and former state regulator explains how the case for chlorpyrifos as a threat to public health developed.
People are exposed to toxic substances – like pesticides, chemicals in plastics and radiation – every day. A growing body of research shows that this exposure is causing a decline in male fertility.
Early exposure to lead pollution may lead to less mature personality traits as an adult.
Roundup may be taking a beating in the US, where three juries have concluded that it gave plaintiffs cancer, but it’s still widely used around the globe.
Photos from the early 1900s show LA’s forests of oil derricks. Hundreds of wells are still pumping, and new research finds people living nearby are struggling with breathing problems.
Building retrofits are no joke: They make dwellings healthier and more energy-efficient. And when they’re done in low-income housing, they also reduce inequality.
As climate change drives pollen counts upward, that could potentially result in greater human susceptibility to other viruses, as well.
Living next to a highway is not great for health, but a new study shows that running air filters indoors can remove tiny particles of pollution and lower blood pressure.
As more and more plastic trash permeates the oceans, fragments are making their way into fish and shellfish – and potentially into humans.
Thousands of chemical compounds in wildfire smoke are interacting with each other and sunlight as the smoke travels. For people downwind, it can become more toxic over time.
A new study shows how toxic chemicals like benzene are leaching into water systems after nearby fires. The pipes don’t have to burn – they just have to heat up.