#waterpollution — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #waterpollution, aggregated by home.social.
-
Cowboy State Daily: Cheyenne Won’t Take Data Center Wastewater After Meta Contractor Contaminated System. “The announcement was made by the Board of Public Utilities (BOPU) on Thursday in conjunction with naming the Meta company as the source of the initial contamination. It also comes more than four months after the Meta company — which is building a huge $800 million data center in south […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/07/09/cowboy-state-daily-cheyenne-wont-take-data-center-wastewater-after-meta-contractor-contaminated-system/ -
"Bay Area construction company illegally polluted river, lawsuit alleges.” Rpt by Paul Rogers, #MontereyHerald.
Graniterock, "based in Watsonville, has more than 20 offices and locations, incl in San Jose, Concord, Redwood City, South San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Salinas….Lawsuit...stated that the company has been fined four times since 2018 by state #WaterPollution regulators at #CentralCoast Regional Water Quality Control Board. In those cases, settlements required #Graniterock to pay a total of $138K in penalties for water quality violations at the quarry.
"For each of the 46 incidents involved, the board imposed the minimum penalty of $3K, the lawsuit noted, calling it 'tantamount to a #PayToPollute system' for a company with millions of $ in annual revenue.
…
“#Pajaro #River, which drains a watershed that extends across parts of #SantaClara, #Monterey, #SanBenito & #SantaCruz counties, meanders through strawberry and other farm fields before emptying into #MontereyBay.” -
After the Seine, French swimming activists strive to follow the Parisian example.
Across France, grassroots groups are organising activist dives to demand free and safe access to rivers and urban pools as heat waves increase the need to cool off.
#Swimming #WildSwimming #Rivers #France #HeatWaves #Environment #Water #WaterQuality #WaterPollution #Pollution
-
What good are #TreatyRights if the fish are poisoned?
Monday, July 14, 2025
By George Ochenski, Daily Montanan"By virtually any measure, the #ConfederatedSalishKootenai Tribal Nation is an incredible success story against all odds. Forcibly removed from their homeland in the Bitterroot Valley, despite not having waged war against the white settlers or army, their own '#TrailOfTears' brought them to the Flathead Valley to live within the boundaries of the vastly reduced lands they retained in the #HellgateTreatyOf1855.
"Although the #HellgateTreaty is widely regarded as one of the best treaties signed by any of the nation’s #IndigenousPeople, even land supposedly reserved for the exclusive habitation of the #SalishKootenai was opened to purchase by non-tribal #settlers by the #DawesAct of 1887.
"The act’s intentions were to allocate reservation lands the tribes already owned to individual families as private property and, as part of the 'civilization' of #NativeAmericans, it required tribal members to register with the federal government to receive their 'allotment.'
"The entire debacle was part of the #AllotmentAndAssimilationEra from 1887 to 1934. Simply put, the federal government’s plan was to force Native Americans to be 'assimilated' into #EuropeanAmerican culture.
"Importantly, any reservation lands not allocated to tribal members was deemed
'surplus' land and opened to purchase by non-tribal settlers. This excursion into #ReservationLands was further exacerbated by the ability of tribal members to sell their allotment parcels to non-tribal members."The fracturing of the Salish-Kootenai’s tribal lands through sales to non-tribal members continues to cause serious problems today, including the long and on-going battle to retain their #water, #hunting and #fishing #TreatyRights.
"Article III of the Hellgate Treaty could not be more clear regarding the Tribe’s fishing rights: 'The exclusive right of taking fish in all the streams running through or bordering said reservation is further secured to said Indians; as also the right of taking fish at all usual and accustomed places…'
"Yet, just last month the Confederated Salish-Kootenai Tribal Nation issued a very serious warning to tribal members regarding the fish they have treaty rights to catch because they are poisoned.
CSKT Fish Consumption Advisory
"The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes issued a fish consumption advisory on June 24, 2025, warning tribal citizens not to eat fish due to the presence of Polychlorinated biphenyls (#PCBs), #dioxins and #furans at levels deemed unsafe for humans: Source: Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
"The #FishConsumptionAdvisory urges 'all tribal members to avoid consuming all species and sizes of fish harvested from the lower Clark Fork River from the Bitterroot River near Missoula to the Flathead River near Paradise. Recent testing has confirmed the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins and furans in fish at levels that are unsafe for consumption by Tribal peoples. It is also advisable to avoid consuming rainbow trout and northern pike harvested from the Bitterroot River and the upper Clark Fork River above the Bitterroot River to Rock Creek, and, to avoid consuming rainbow trout from the Blackfoot River.
"As the Advisory explains: 'These contaminants pose a health risk to all fish consumers, and an even greater health risk to the most sensitive members of the Tribal population including women of child bearing age, pregnant nursing women, and young children. These contaminants have been linked to negative health effects in the immune, and nervous systems and may be associated with birth defects…PCBs and dioxins are classified as probable and definite #HumanCarcinogens, respectively.'
"So what good are treaty fishing rights if you can’t eat the fish because they’re poisoned? Are they really 'rights' — or is this just another in our nation’s long and shameful history of abrogating its treaties with Native Americans?
"Moreover, #Montana’s poison fish affect us all. Just as our government has failed the Salish-Kootenai, they have likewise failed to uphold our rights to the 'swimmable/fishable waters' guaranteed by the #CleanWaterAct — because no one, tribal or non-tribal, is immune to poisoned fish."
#WaterIsLife #TribalNations #NativeAmericanNews #WaterPollution #PoisonedFish #StolenLand #LandBack #EPAFail
-
UC Riverside: New computer language helps spot hidden pollutants. “Developed at UC Riverside, Mass Query Language, or MassQL, functions like a search engine for mass spectrometry data, enabling researchers to find patterns that would otherwise require advanced programming skills. Technical details about the language, and an example of how it helped identify flame retardant chemicals in public […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2025/05/16/uc-riverside-new-computer-language-helps-spot-hidden-pollutants/
-
Bill to increase #LithiumMining regulations killed in [#SouthDakota] state House
By Amelia Schafer Feb 14, 2025
"A new bill to increase regulations on lithium mining in South Dakota failed to make it out of the state House on Thursday.
"House Bill 1258, proposed by Rep. Nichole Uhre-Balk, D-Rapid City, would have placed lithium mining under the same regulations as gold and silver rather than its current sand and gravel standards.
"Hard rock mining (gold and silver) is subject to stricter #WaterPollution control regulations than sand and gravel mining.
"Organizations like #MidwestLithium are currently exploring mining operations in the hills. Most lithium in the hills is found around the #HarneyPeak Granite formation, according to the organization's webpage."The South Dakota lithium project is comprised of roughly 23,500 acres of both #federal and private Land.
The House Agriculture and Natural Resources committee first split 6-6 on a do-pass motion Thursday before voting 8-4 to send the bill to the 41st day, killing it."''I think the general consensus is that the issue needs to be addressed, and so we'll continue to look harder at that, make sure we get all of our any concerns addressed and try to bring that bill back next year,' Uhre-Balk told the crowd at Saturday's crackerbarrel event hosted by Elevate Rapid City.
"Organizations like the local Indigenous led nonprofit #NDNCollective and the #BlackHillsCleanWaterAssociation spoke out in support of the bill Wednesday, stating that increased lithium mining threatens clean water for Black Hills residents especially since its treated like sand or gravel mining.
"Critics of the bill, such as Mike Lees, program administrator for the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources Minerals Mining Program, said current regulations are sufficient. At the crackerbarrel, Rep. Tim Goodwin, R-Rapid City, said the bill, 'was going to choke off mining. It was bureaucratic.'
"Uhre-Balk said the bill wouldn't stop mining.
"House Agriculture committee members cited a need to better understand the issue when voting to send it to the 41st day.
"The #SouthDakotaMineralIndustriesOrganization was not immediately available for comment."
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/Gqvb8
#ProtectTheBlackHills #ProtectTheSacred #DefendTheSacred #NoMiningWithoutConsent #EnvironmentalRacism #DrillBabyDrill #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife #LeaveItInTheGround #CorporateColonialism #USPol #NoLithiumMining #DefendMotherEarth -
Not just human health! The #Toxic Blend of LA’s Urban #WildfireSmoke Will Have Lasting Health Consequences
Los Angeles residents are breathing bits of "cars, metal pipes, plastics."
By Zoya Teirstein, January 22, 2025“These fires are different from previous quote-unquote ‘wildfires,’ because there are so many structures that burned,” said Yifang Zhu, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles. 'Everything in the households got burned — cars, metal pipes, plastics.'
"#Wildfiresmoke is toxic. Burning trees and shrubs produce very fine #particulatematter, known by the shorthand PM 2.5, which burrow deep into the lungs and can even infiltrate the bloodstream, causing cold- and flu-like symptoms in the short term, and heart disease, lung cancer, and other chronic issues over time.
"But the fires that raced through Los Angeles burned thousands of homes, schools, historic buildings, and even medical clinics, blanketing the city in thick smoke. For several days after the first fire started, the city’s air quality index, or #AQI, exceeded 100, the threshold, typically seen during wildfires, at which air becomes unhealthy to breathe for children, the elderly, and those with asthma. In some parts of the city, the AQI reached 500, a number rarely seen and always hazardous for everyone.
"At the moment, air pollution experts know how much smoke fills the air. That’s shown improvement in recent days. But they don’t know what’s in it. 'What are the chemical mixtures in this smoke?' asked Kai Chen, an environmental scientist at the Yale School of Public Health. 'In addition to fine particulate matter, there are potentially other hazardous and #carcinogenic organic compounds — gas pollutants, trace metals, and microplastics.'
"Previous research shows that the spikes in unhealthy air quality seen during such events lead to higher rates of hospitalizations for issues like asthma, and even contribute to heart attacks among those with that chronic disease. A 2024 study on the long-term effects of smoke exposure in California showed that particulate matter from wildfires in the state from 2008 to 2018 contributed to anywhere from 52,000 to 56,000 premature deaths. A health assessment of 148 firefighters who worked the Tubbs Fire, which burned more than 36,000 acres in Northern California in 2017 and destroyed an unusually high number of structures, found elevated levels of the #PFAS known as forever chemicals, #HeavyMetals, and flame retardants in their blood and urine.
"The L.A. County Department of Public Health has formally urged people to stay inside and wear masks to protect themselves from windblown toxic dust and ash. Air quality measurements don’t take these particles into account, which means the air quality index doesn’t reveal the extent of contaminants in the air.
"Zhu and her colleagues have been collecting samples of wildfire smoke in neighborhoods near the fires. It’ll be months before that data is fully analyzed, but Zhu suspects she will find a dangerous mix of chemicals, including, potentially, #asbestos and lead — materials used in many buildings constructed before the 1970s.
"The risk will linger even after the smoke clears. The plumes that wafted over the landscape will deposit chemicals into drinking #water supplies and #contaminate# soil. When rains do come, they’ll wash #ToxicAsh into streams and across the land, said Fernando Rosario-Ortiz, an environmental engineer and interim dean of the University of Colorado Boulder environmental engineering program. 'There’s a lot of manmade materials that are now being combusted. The potential is there for contamination,' he said, noting that little research on how toxic ash and other byproducts of wildfires in urban areas currently exists. 'What we don’t have a lot of information on is what happens now.'
"After the Camp Fire razed Paradise, California, in 2018, water utilities found high levels of volatile organic compounds [#VOCs] in #DrinkingWater. Similar issues have arisen in places like Boulder County, Colorado, where the Marshall Fire destroyed nearly 1,000 structures in 2021, Rosario-Ortiz said, though the presence of a contaminant in a home doesn’t necessarily mean it will be present in high levels in the water. Still, several municipal water agencies in Los Angeles issued preemptive advisories urging residents not to drink tap water in neighborhoods near the Palisades and Eaton fires. It’ll be weeks before they know exactly what’s in the water.
"As wildfires grow ever more intense and encroach upon urban areas, cities and counties must be prepared to monitor the health impacts and respond to them. 'This is the first time I’ve ever even witnessed or heard anything like this,' said Zhu, who raised her daughter in Los Angeles and has lived there for decades, said. 'Even being in the field studying wildfires and air quality impacts, I never imagined that a whole neighborhood, a whole community in Palisades, would burn down.'"
Read more:
https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-toxic-blend-of-las-urban-wildfire-smoke-will-have-lasting-health-consequences/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=flipboard_rss&utm_campaign=znetwork
#AirPollution #WaterPollution #AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #ToxicMaterials #EnvironmentalDisaster #EnvironmentalDamage #Pyrocene #PyroceneEra -
Not just human health! The #Toxic Blend of LA’s Urban #WildfireSmoke Will Have Lasting Health Consequences
Los Angeles residents are breathing bits of "cars, metal pipes, plastics."
By Zoya Teirstein, January 22, 2025“These fires are different from previous quote-unquote ‘wildfires,’ because there are so many structures that burned,” said Yifang Zhu, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles. 'Everything in the households got burned — cars, metal pipes, plastics.'
"#Wildfiresmoke is toxic. Burning trees and shrubs produce very fine #particulatematter, known by the shorthand PM 2.5, which burrow deep into the lungs and can even infiltrate the bloodstream, causing cold- and flu-like symptoms in the short term, and heart disease, lung cancer, and other chronic issues over time.
"But the fires that raced through Los Angeles burned thousands of homes, schools, historic buildings, and even medical clinics, blanketing the city in thick smoke. For several days after the first fire started, the city’s air quality index, or #AQI, exceeded 100, the threshold, typically seen during wildfires, at which air becomes unhealthy to breathe for children, the elderly, and those with asthma. In some parts of the city, the AQI reached 500, a number rarely seen and always hazardous for everyone.
"At the moment, air pollution experts know how much smoke fills the air. That’s shown improvement in recent days. But they don’t know what’s in it. 'What are the chemical mixtures in this smoke?' asked Kai Chen, an environmental scientist at the Yale School of Public Health. 'In addition to fine particulate matter, there are potentially other hazardous and #carcinogenic organic compounds — gas pollutants, trace metals, and microplastics.'
"Previous research shows that the spikes in unhealthy air quality seen during such events lead to higher rates of hospitalizations for issues like asthma, and even contribute to heart attacks among those with that chronic disease. A 2024 study on the long-term effects of smoke exposure in California showed that particulate matter from wildfires in the state from 2008 to 2018 contributed to anywhere from 52,000 to 56,000 premature deaths. A health assessment of 148 firefighters who worked the Tubbs Fire, which burned more than 36,000 acres in Northern California in 2017 and destroyed an unusually high number of structures, found elevated levels of the #PFAS known as forever chemicals, #HeavyMetals, and flame retardants in their blood and urine.
"The L.A. County Department of Public Health has formally urged people to stay inside and wear masks to protect themselves from windblown toxic dust and ash. Air quality measurements don’t take these particles into account, which means the air quality index doesn’t reveal the extent of contaminants in the air.
"Zhu and her colleagues have been collecting samples of wildfire smoke in neighborhoods near the fires. It’ll be months before that data is fully analyzed, but Zhu suspects she will find a dangerous mix of chemicals, including, potentially, #asbestos and lead — materials used in many buildings constructed before the 1970s.
"The risk will linger even after the smoke clears. The plumes that wafted over the landscape will deposit chemicals into drinking #water supplies and #contaminate# soil. When rains do come, they’ll wash #ToxicAsh into streams and across the land, said Fernando Rosario-Ortiz, an environmental engineer and interim dean of the University of Colorado Boulder environmental engineering program. 'There’s a lot of manmade materials that are now being combusted. The potential is there for contamination,' he said, noting that little research on how toxic ash and other byproducts of wildfires in urban areas currently exists. 'What we don’t have a lot of information on is what happens now.'
"After the Camp Fire razed Paradise, California, in 2018, water utilities found high levels of volatile organic compounds [#VOCs] in #DrinkingWater. Similar issues have arisen in places like Boulder County, Colorado, where the Marshall Fire destroyed nearly 1,000 structures in 2021, Rosario-Ortiz said, though the presence of a contaminant in a home doesn’t necessarily mean it will be present in high levels in the water. Still, several municipal water agencies in Los Angeles issued preemptive advisories urging residents not to drink tap water in neighborhoods near the Palisades and Eaton fires. It’ll be weeks before they know exactly what’s in the water.
"As wildfires grow ever more intense and encroach upon urban areas, cities and counties must be prepared to monitor the health impacts and respond to them. 'This is the first time I’ve ever even witnessed or heard anything like this,' said Zhu, who raised her daughter in Los Angeles and has lived there for decades, said. 'Even being in the field studying wildfires and air quality impacts, I never imagined that a whole neighborhood, a whole community in Palisades, would burn down.'"
Read more:
https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-toxic-blend-of-las-urban-wildfire-smoke-will-have-lasting-health-consequences/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=flipboard_rss&utm_campaign=znetwork
#AirPollution #WaterPollution #AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #ToxicMaterials #EnvironmentalDisaster #EnvironmentalDamage #Pyrocene #PyroceneEra -
Not just human health! The #Toxic Blend of LA’s Urban #WildfireSmoke Will Have Lasting Health Consequences
Los Angeles residents are breathing bits of "cars, metal pipes, plastics."
By Zoya Teirstein, January 22, 2025“These fires are different from previous quote-unquote ‘wildfires,’ because there are so many structures that burned,” said Yifang Zhu, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles. 'Everything in the households got burned — cars, metal pipes, plastics.'
"#Wildfiresmoke is toxic. Burning trees and shrubs produce very fine #particulatematter, known by the shorthand PM 2.5, which burrow deep into the lungs and can even infiltrate the bloodstream, causing cold- and flu-like symptoms in the short term, and heart disease, lung cancer, and other chronic issues over time.
"But the fires that raced through Los Angeles burned thousands of homes, schools, historic buildings, and even medical clinics, blanketing the city in thick smoke. For several days after the first fire started, the city’s air quality index, or #AQI, exceeded 100, the threshold, typically seen during wildfires, at which air becomes unhealthy to breathe for children, the elderly, and those with asthma. In some parts of the city, the AQI reached 500, a number rarely seen and always hazardous for everyone.
"At the moment, air pollution experts know how much smoke fills the air. That’s shown improvement in recent days. But they don’t know what’s in it. 'What are the chemical mixtures in this smoke?' asked Kai Chen, an environmental scientist at the Yale School of Public Health. 'In addition to fine particulate matter, there are potentially other hazardous and #carcinogenic organic compounds — gas pollutants, trace metals, and microplastics.'
"Previous research shows that the spikes in unhealthy air quality seen during such events lead to higher rates of hospitalizations for issues like asthma, and even contribute to heart attacks among those with that chronic disease. A 2024 study on the long-term effects of smoke exposure in California showed that particulate matter from wildfires in the state from 2008 to 2018 contributed to anywhere from 52,000 to 56,000 premature deaths. A health assessment of 148 firefighters who worked the Tubbs Fire, which burned more than 36,000 acres in Northern California in 2017 and destroyed an unusually high number of structures, found elevated levels of the #PFAS known as forever chemicals, #HeavyMetals, and flame retardants in their blood and urine.
"The L.A. County Department of Public Health has formally urged people to stay inside and wear masks to protect themselves from windblown toxic dust and ash. Air quality measurements don’t take these particles into account, which means the air quality index doesn’t reveal the extent of contaminants in the air.
"Zhu and her colleagues have been collecting samples of wildfire smoke in neighborhoods near the fires. It’ll be months before that data is fully analyzed, but Zhu suspects she will find a dangerous mix of chemicals, including, potentially, #asbestos and lead — materials used in many buildings constructed before the 1970s.
"The risk will linger even after the smoke clears. The plumes that wafted over the landscape will deposit chemicals into drinking #water supplies and #contaminate# soil. When rains do come, they’ll wash #ToxicAsh into streams and across the land, said Fernando Rosario-Ortiz, an environmental engineer and interim dean of the University of Colorado Boulder environmental engineering program. 'There’s a lot of manmade materials that are now being combusted. The potential is there for contamination,' he said, noting that little research on how toxic ash and other byproducts of wildfires in urban areas currently exists. 'What we don’t have a lot of information on is what happens now.'
"After the Camp Fire razed Paradise, California, in 2018, water utilities found high levels of volatile organic compounds [#VOCs] in #DrinkingWater. Similar issues have arisen in places like Boulder County, Colorado, where the Marshall Fire destroyed nearly 1,000 structures in 2021, Rosario-Ortiz said, though the presence of a contaminant in a home doesn’t necessarily mean it will be present in high levels in the water. Still, several municipal water agencies in Los Angeles issued preemptive advisories urging residents not to drink tap water in neighborhoods near the Palisades and Eaton fires. It’ll be weeks before they know exactly what’s in the water.
"As wildfires grow ever more intense and encroach upon urban areas, cities and counties must be prepared to monitor the health impacts and respond to them. 'This is the first time I’ve ever even witnessed or heard anything like this,' said Zhu, who raised her daughter in Los Angeles and has lived there for decades, said. 'Even being in the field studying wildfires and air quality impacts, I never imagined that a whole neighborhood, a whole community in Palisades, would burn down.'"
Read more:
https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-toxic-blend-of-las-urban-wildfire-smoke-will-have-lasting-health-consequences/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=flipboard_rss&utm_campaign=znetwork
#AirPollution #WaterPollution #AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #ToxicMaterials #EnvironmentalDisaster #EnvironmentalDamage #Pyrocene #PyroceneEra -
Not just human health! The #Toxic Blend of LA’s Urban #WildfireSmoke Will Have Lasting Health Consequences
Los Angeles residents are breathing bits of "cars, metal pipes, plastics."
By Zoya Teirstein, January 22, 2025“These fires are different from previous quote-unquote ‘wildfires,’ because there are so many structures that burned,” said Yifang Zhu, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles. 'Everything in the households got burned — cars, metal pipes, plastics.'
"#Wildfiresmoke is toxic. Burning trees and shrubs produce very fine #particulatematter, known by the shorthand PM 2.5, which burrow deep into the lungs and can even infiltrate the bloodstream, causing cold- and flu-like symptoms in the short term, and heart disease, lung cancer, and other chronic issues over time.
"But the fires that raced through Los Angeles burned thousands of homes, schools, historic buildings, and even medical clinics, blanketing the city in thick smoke. For several days after the first fire started, the city’s air quality index, or #AQI, exceeded 100, the threshold, typically seen during wildfires, at which air becomes unhealthy to breathe for children, the elderly, and those with asthma. In some parts of the city, the AQI reached 500, a number rarely seen and always hazardous for everyone.
"At the moment, air pollution experts know how much smoke fills the air. That’s shown improvement in recent days. But they don’t know what’s in it. 'What are the chemical mixtures in this smoke?' asked Kai Chen, an environmental scientist at the Yale School of Public Health. 'In addition to fine particulate matter, there are potentially other hazardous and #carcinogenic organic compounds — gas pollutants, trace metals, and microplastics.'
"Previous research shows that the spikes in unhealthy air quality seen during such events lead to higher rates of hospitalizations for issues like asthma, and even contribute to heart attacks among those with that chronic disease. A 2024 study on the long-term effects of smoke exposure in California showed that particulate matter from wildfires in the state from 2008 to 2018 contributed to anywhere from 52,000 to 56,000 premature deaths. A health assessment of 148 firefighters who worked the Tubbs Fire, which burned more than 36,000 acres in Northern California in 2017 and destroyed an unusually high number of structures, found elevated levels of the #PFAS known as forever chemicals, #HeavyMetals, and flame retardants in their blood and urine.
"The L.A. County Department of Public Health has formally urged people to stay inside and wear masks to protect themselves from windblown toxic dust and ash. Air quality measurements don’t take these particles into account, which means the air quality index doesn’t reveal the extent of contaminants in the air.
"Zhu and her colleagues have been collecting samples of wildfire smoke in neighborhoods near the fires. It’ll be months before that data is fully analyzed, but Zhu suspects she will find a dangerous mix of chemicals, including, potentially, #asbestos and lead — materials used in many buildings constructed before the 1970s.
"The risk will linger even after the smoke clears. The plumes that wafted over the landscape will deposit chemicals into drinking #water supplies and #contaminate# soil. When rains do come, they’ll wash #ToxicAsh into streams and across the land, said Fernando Rosario-Ortiz, an environmental engineer and interim dean of the University of Colorado Boulder environmental engineering program. 'There’s a lot of manmade materials that are now being combusted. The potential is there for contamination,' he said, noting that little research on how toxic ash and other byproducts of wildfires in urban areas currently exists. 'What we don’t have a lot of information on is what happens now.'
"After the Camp Fire razed Paradise, California, in 2018, water utilities found high levels of volatile organic compounds [#VOCs] in #DrinkingWater. Similar issues have arisen in places like Boulder County, Colorado, where the Marshall Fire destroyed nearly 1,000 structures in 2021, Rosario-Ortiz said, though the presence of a contaminant in a home doesn’t necessarily mean it will be present in high levels in the water. Still, several municipal water agencies in Los Angeles issued preemptive advisories urging residents not to drink tap water in neighborhoods near the Palisades and Eaton fires. It’ll be weeks before they know exactly what’s in the water.
"As wildfires grow ever more intense and encroach upon urban areas, cities and counties must be prepared to monitor the health impacts and respond to them. 'This is the first time I’ve ever even witnessed or heard anything like this,' said Zhu, who raised her daughter in Los Angeles and has lived there for decades, said. 'Even being in the field studying wildfires and air quality impacts, I never imagined that a whole neighborhood, a whole community in Palisades, would burn down.'"
Read more:
https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-toxic-blend-of-las-urban-wildfire-smoke-will-have-lasting-health-consequences/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=flipboard_rss&utm_campaign=znetwork
#AirPollution #WaterPollution #AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #ToxicMaterials #EnvironmentalDisaster #EnvironmentalDamage #Pyrocene #PyroceneEra -
Not just human health! The #Toxic Blend of LA’s Urban #WildfireSmoke Will Have Lasting Health Consequences
Los Angeles residents are breathing bits of "cars, metal pipes, plastics."
By Zoya Teirstein, January 22, 2025“These fires are different from previous quote-unquote ‘wildfires,’ because there are so many structures that burned,” said Yifang Zhu, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles. 'Everything in the households got burned — cars, metal pipes, plastics.'
"#Wildfiresmoke is toxic. Burning trees and shrubs produce very fine #particulatematter, known by the shorthand PM 2.5, which burrow deep into the lungs and can even infiltrate the bloodstream, causing cold- and flu-like symptoms in the short term, and heart disease, lung cancer, and other chronic issues over time.
"But the fires that raced through Los Angeles burned thousands of homes, schools, historic buildings, and even medical clinics, blanketing the city in thick smoke. For several days after the first fire started, the city’s air quality index, or #AQI, exceeded 100, the threshold, typically seen during wildfires, at which air becomes unhealthy to breathe for children, the elderly, and those with asthma. In some parts of the city, the AQI reached 500, a number rarely seen and always hazardous for everyone.
"At the moment, air pollution experts know how much smoke fills the air. That’s shown improvement in recent days. But they don’t know what’s in it. 'What are the chemical mixtures in this smoke?' asked Kai Chen, an environmental scientist at the Yale School of Public Health. 'In addition to fine particulate matter, there are potentially other hazardous and #carcinogenic organic compounds — gas pollutants, trace metals, and microplastics.'
"Previous research shows that the spikes in unhealthy air quality seen during such events lead to higher rates of hospitalizations for issues like asthma, and even contribute to heart attacks among those with that chronic disease. A 2024 study on the long-term effects of smoke exposure in California showed that particulate matter from wildfires in the state from 2008 to 2018 contributed to anywhere from 52,000 to 56,000 premature deaths. A health assessment of 148 firefighters who worked the Tubbs Fire, which burned more than 36,000 acres in Northern California in 2017 and destroyed an unusually high number of structures, found elevated levels of the #PFAS known as forever chemicals, #HeavyMetals, and flame retardants in their blood and urine.
"The L.A. County Department of Public Health has formally urged people to stay inside and wear masks to protect themselves from windblown toxic dust and ash. Air quality measurements don’t take these particles into account, which means the air quality index doesn’t reveal the extent of contaminants in the air.
"Zhu and her colleagues have been collecting samples of wildfire smoke in neighborhoods near the fires. It’ll be months before that data is fully analyzed, but Zhu suspects she will find a dangerous mix of chemicals, including, potentially, #asbestos and lead — materials used in many buildings constructed before the 1970s.
"The risk will linger even after the smoke clears. The plumes that wafted over the landscape will deposit chemicals into drinking #water supplies and #contaminate# soil. When rains do come, they’ll wash #ToxicAsh into streams and across the land, said Fernando Rosario-Ortiz, an environmental engineer and interim dean of the University of Colorado Boulder environmental engineering program. 'There’s a lot of manmade materials that are now being combusted. The potential is there for contamination,' he said, noting that little research on how toxic ash and other byproducts of wildfires in urban areas currently exists. 'What we don’t have a lot of information on is what happens now.'
"After the Camp Fire razed Paradise, California, in 2018, water utilities found high levels of volatile organic compounds [#VOCs] in #DrinkingWater. Similar issues have arisen in places like Boulder County, Colorado, where the Marshall Fire destroyed nearly 1,000 structures in 2021, Rosario-Ortiz said, though the presence of a contaminant in a home doesn’t necessarily mean it will be present in high levels in the water. Still, several municipal water agencies in Los Angeles issued preemptive advisories urging residents not to drink tap water in neighborhoods near the Palisades and Eaton fires. It’ll be weeks before they know exactly what’s in the water.
"As wildfires grow ever more intense and encroach upon urban areas, cities and counties must be prepared to monitor the health impacts and respond to them. 'This is the first time I’ve ever even witnessed or heard anything like this,' said Zhu, who raised her daughter in Los Angeles and has lived there for decades, said. 'Even being in the field studying wildfires and air quality impacts, I never imagined that a whole neighborhood, a whole community in Palisades, would burn down.'"
Read more:
https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-toxic-blend-of-las-urban-wildfire-smoke-will-have-lasting-health-consequences/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=flipboard_rss&utm_campaign=znetwork
#AirPollution #WaterPollution #AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #ToxicMaterials #EnvironmentalDisaster #EnvironmentalDamage #Pyrocene #PyroceneEra -
CW: PFAS? Nothing to see: Germany pollutes Dutch drinking water
Dear Dutch people,
Maybe you live in an area where water from the Rhine river is used for drinking water production?
It might be of your interest that a factory of the chemical company Solvay discharges a highly toxic PFAS into the Neckar river, which ends up later in the Rhine. ☠️
And the German administration managed the situation ... just increasing the legal limits from 3 to 60 ppb (microgram/L) and gave the permission to continue discharging 24 L of this PFAS particularly toxic per day ... until 2044! 🤯
Maybe this was already in the news in the Netherlands and it's just another of these things we are seemingly helpless until we burn down something ... :acab:
Anyway, here's the shocking article, by @kontextwz, a very respectable magazine from southwest Germany.
https://opensocial.at/display/59c238fc-1ebc356f-31d0029dab5bd0f0 (article in German, sorry)
(thx to @berlinerwassertisch & @susannelilith who both pushed this into my timeline. I was following the inactive account of KontextWochenZeitung... 😅 )#ForeverChemical #ForeverPoison #PFAS #Teflon #Pollution #WaterPollution #WaterContamination #ChemicalIndustry #DrinkingWater #Netherlands #Dutch #Nederland #Germany #Rhein #Rhine #Solvay #Neckar #BadenWürttemberg #BadWimpfen #KontextWochenZeitung #Cancer
-
High #bacteria levels prompt #beach closures across several US States
NEW YORK, July 2:
"Several states have closed beaches to swimmers in recent days due to elevated levels of bacteria in the water, posing health risks to #beachgoers.
"In #Massachusetts, the Department of Public Health (#MDPH) reported closures at 37 beaches as of Monday afternoon due to 'bacterial exceedance.' High levels of fecal bacteria were detected, prompting warnings against swimming or entering the water to prevent potential illness.
"Meanwhile, in #Coronado #California, three beaches have been closed since June 26 due to bacteria levels exceeding health standards, according to the San Diego County’s Department of Environmental Health and Quality. These closures are typically linked to sewage or chemical spills.
"In #NewYork’s #SuffolkCounty, an advisory was issued last week against bathing at 63 beaches due to increased bacteria levels caused by heavy #rainfall and #stormwater runoff.
"Officials in Massachusetts identified the bacteria as enterococci, commonly found in the intestinal tracts of warm-blooded animals, including humans. The presence of enterococci suggests possible contamination of water bodies by fecal waste, as noted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
#Enterococci bacteria can cause various infections, including urinary tract infections and potentially severe conditions like blood infections and endocarditis, according to the National Institutes of Health.
"Heavy rains following prolonged droughts can wash animal or human excrement into water bodies, including oceans, while overwhelming sewage systems may lead to untreated sewage contaminating the water.
"Additionally, Massachusetts reported closures of two beaches due to high levels of #cyanobacteria, also known as #BlueGreenAlgae. Although not infectious themselves, cyanobacteria can produce #toxins harmful to humans upon ingestion, causing symptoms such as headaches, stomach pain, and skin irritation."
Read more:
#ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #WaterIsLife #WaterPollution #Extinction
-
IN-DEPTH: For clean beauty brands, getting #PFAS out of #makeup might be easier said than done
“Even the most well-intentioned brands could experience PFAS problems.”
Elizabeth Gribkoff
Mar 24, 2022"The [PFAS] compounds can be added to makeup to make products #WaterResistant, longer-lasting, and more spreadable. Until last year, there were no studies looking at how much PFAS were in North American cosmetics, although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is notoriously hands-off in regulating the safety of personal care products. With that in mind, a team of researchers from the University of Notre Dame, Indiana University, and other institutions tested more than 200 #mascaras, #concealers, #EyeShadows, and other cosmetics from North America.
"What they found surprised the researchers: roughly half the products they tested contained the PFAS indicator organic fluorine. Colored #lipsticks, mascaras, and #foundations advertised as '#LongLasting' or '#WearResistant' had particularly high levels."
Read more:
https://www.ehn.org/pfas-in-makeup-2656887006.html#Cosmetics #Proprietary #FDA #SecretativeCorporations #PFAS #PFOS #WaterIsLife #WaterPollution #PFASPollution #PFOA #PTFE #Wildlife #Cancer #Contamination #Chemicals #Environment #FoodPackaging #Plastics #FireFightingFoam #Firefighters #Health #Mining #Lubricants #Electronics #Cosmetics #PFNA #PFHxS #PFB #GenXChemicals
#Toxic #Capitalism #Crapitalism -
‘#ForeverChemicals’ – the part of cleaning you don’t want to last
"Notable categories of cleaners that either may contain, or have historically contained, PFAS are:
- glass and hard surface cleaners
- fabric, upholstery, and #CarpetCleaners and treatments
- #waxes and polishes for #floors, #furniture, #cars and #boat vessels
- dishwashing rinse aids
- #AerosolPropellant-based #cleaners and #AirFresheners
- #paints and #coatings."Floor sealers and finishes – products that cure into a film once applied – often contain PFAS. During floor stripping and waxing, PFAS concentrations in dust and air particulate matter were one order of magnitude greater than typical residential indoor air and two orders of magnitude greater than outdoor air, according to a 2022 study.
"But now the cleaning products #Industry wants to keep consumers in the dark about the use of these chemicals in their brands. Earlier this month, a bill was introduced in Congress on behalf of leading household cleaning product makers that would deny Americans the right to know about #ToxicChemicals in cleaning products.
"The manufacturer #Reckitt applauded Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) for introducing the bill, which would rob consumers of crucial information about the ingredients in their products. Reckitt makes popular household brands like #Lysol, #Woolite, #AirWick, #Vanish, #Calgon, among many others.
And industry giant #SCJohnson
called for a 'clear federal standard' on disclosing ingredients, knowing any such standard could take a decade or longer. The company manufactures #Glade, #Drano, #Pledge, #ScrubbingBubbles, #Shout and #Windex, along with many other products, including #Ziploc."Read more:
https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/2023/10/forever-chemicals-part-cleaning-you-dont-want-last#PFAS #PFOS #WaterIsLife #WaterPollution #PFASPollution #PFOA #PTFE #Wildlife #Cancer #Contamination #Chemicals #Environment #FoodPackaging #Plastics #FireFightingFoam #Firefighters #Health #Mining #Lubricants #Electronics #Cosmetics #PFNA #PFHxS #PFB #GenXChemicals
#Toxic #DowChemical #DuPont #3M #BASF #Teflon #RainWater #DrinkingWater -
Are ‘#ForeverChemicals’ In Your Favorite Sparkling Water? Here’s What to Know
Many brands have #PFAS levels of more than 1 part per trillion, exceeding the #Environmental Working Group's recommendation.
By Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner
Published on April 28, 2024"Bottled and canned water is often considered a healthier or safer option, thanks to purification and processing. But that may not necessarily be the case. In 2020, Consumer Reports ran a study to determine PFAS levels in 47 bottled waters, including 35 noncarbonated and 12 carbonated samples. Many of the carbonated waters had PFAS in them."
https://www.foodandwine.com/pfas-in-sparkling-water-8640113
#PFAS #PFOS #WaterIsLife #WaterPollution #PFASPollution #PFOA #PTFE #Wildlife #Cancer #Contamination #Chemicals #Environment #FoodPackaging #Plastics #FireFightingFoam #Firefighters #Health #Mining #Lubricants #Electronics #Cosmetics #PFNA #PFHxS #PFB #GenXChemicals
#Toxic #DowChemical #DuPont #3M #BASF #Teflon #RainWater #DrinkingWater #BlueTriton #PolandSpring -
‘#ForeverChemicals’ Are Found in Some #Milk, Including #Organic
Story by Lauren Kirchner
May 2, 2024"It was November 2016 when one of the earliest warning signs flashed, in the form of an unassuming and very unlucky dairy farm in #Arundel, #Maine.
"That’s when Fred Stone learned that water on his farm contained high levels of #PFAS. The source of the pollution was later found to be recycled sewage #sludge, which he had been told for many years was a safe #fertilizer. But per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—otherwise known as “forever chemicals” for their persistence in the environment and in humans—have been linked to cancer, immunity and endocrine problems, and infertility.
"The chemicals had contaminated not just his body but his cows and their milk. The land that three generations of his family had worked on for over a century was now toxic.
"Stone took his story public, and similar reports from other farmers around the country followed. In 2018 a dairy and cattle farmer in New Mexico learned that PFAS-containing firefighting foam from a nearby Air Force base had leached into his well water, putting him out of business. In 2022 Michigan shut down a cattle farm because fertilizer it got from a nearby wastewater treatment plant had contaminated the cows’ feed with PFAS. And earlier this year, the owners of two ranches in Texas said that PFAS-laden fertilizer had killed their livestock and made them sick, too."
#PFAS #PFOS #WaterIsLife #WaterPollution #PFASPollution #PFOA #PTFE #Wildlife #Cancer #Contamination #Chemicals #Environment #FoodPackaging #Plastics #FireFightingFoam #Firefighters #Health #Mining #Lubricants #Electronics #Cosmetics #PFNA #PFHxS #PFB #GenXChemicals
#Toxic #DowChemical #DuPont #3M #BASF #Teflon #RainWater #DrinkingWater -
The #EPA is cracking down on #PFAS — but not in #fertilizer
Story by Zoya Teirstein
4/19/2024"Although the EPA’s new restrictions are groundbreaking, they only apply to a portion of the nation’s extensive PFAS contamination problem. That’s because drinking water isn’t the only way Americans are exposed to PFAS, and not all companies spreading PFAS into the environment deliberately added the chemicals to the products. In Texas, a group of farmers whose properties were contaminated with PFAS from fertilizer are claiming the manufacturer should have done more to warn buyers about the dangers of its products. The first-of-its-kind lawsuit illustrates how much more regulation will be needed to rid the environment — and Americans’ bodies — of forever chemicals."
https://grist.org/agriculture/the-epa-is-cracking-down-on-pfas-but-not-in-fertilizer/
#PFAS #PFOS #WaterIsLife #WaterPollution #PFASPollution #PFOA #PTFE #Wildlife #Cancer #Contamination #Chemicals #Environment #FoodPackaging #Plastics #FireFightingFoam #Firefighters #Health #Mining #Lubricants #Electronics #Cosmetics #PFNA #PFHxS #PFB #GenXChemicals
#Toxic #DowChemical #DuPont #3M #BASF #Teflon #RainWater #DrinkingWater -
LEAVE IT TO HUMANS TO NOT ONLY SH*T WHERE THEY EAT -- BUT WITH HARD TO BREAK FLUORINE-CARBON BONDS! GOOD JOB HUMANS! MAYBE CONSIDER ALL POSSIBLE OUTCOMES BEFORE MAKING STUPID DECISIONS!
‘This is #Chernobyl’: #Texas ranchers say ‘forever chemicals’ in waste-based fertilizers ruined their land
Story by Rebecca Lopez
April 28, 2024"Ranchers here say their cattle, fish and horses are dying and getting sick because of a fertilizer spread on nearby farmland.
"The fertilizer is made from treated human waste from the city of Fort Worth.
"The company that makes the fertilizer says its products meet government standards.
"County officials have launched a criminal investigation, and ranchers are suing, saying runoff from the fertilizer has made their land useless."
#PFAS #PFOS #WaterIsLife #WaterPollution #PFASPollution #PFOA #PTFE #Wildlife #Cancer #Contamination #Chemicals #Environment #FoodPackaging #Plastics #FireFightingFoam #Firefighters #Health #Mining #Lubricants #Electronics #Cosmetics #PFNA #PFHxS #PFB #GenXChemicals
#Toxic #DowChemical #DuPont #3M #BASF #Teflon #RainWater #DrinkingWater -
#Maine Is a Warning for America’s #PFAS Future
Story by Zoë Schlanger
4/11/2024"Cordelia Saunders remembers 2021, the year she and her husband, Nathan, found out that they’d likely been drinking tainted water for more than 30 years. A neighbor’s 20 peach trees had finally matured that summer, and perfect-looking peaches hung from their branches. Cordelia watched the fruit drop to the ground and rot: Her neighbor didn’t dare eat it.
"The Saunderses’ home, in Fairfield, Maine, is in a quiet, secluded spot, 50 minutes from the drama of the rocky coast and an hour and 15 minutes from the best skiing around. It’s also sitting atop a plume of poison.
"For decades, sewage sludge was spread on the corn fields surrounding their house, and on hundreds of other fields across the state. That sludge is suspected to have been tainted with PFAS, a group of man-made compounds that cause a litany of ailments, including kidney and prostate cancers, fertility loss, and developmental disorders. The Saunderses’ property is on one of the most contaminated roads in a state just waking up to the extent of an invisible crisis.
Onur Apul, an environmental engineer at the University of Maine and the head of its initiative to study PFAS solutions, told me that in his opinion, the United States has seen 'nothing as overwhelming, and nothing as universal' as the PFAS crisis. Even the #DDT crisis of the 1960s doesn’t compare, he said: DDT was used only as an insecticide and could be banned by banning that single use. PFAS are used in hundreds of products across industries and consumer sectors. Their nearly 15,000 variations can help make pans nonstick, hiking clothes and plumber’s tape waterproof, and dental floss slippery. They’re in performance fabrics on couches, waterproof mascara, tennis rackets, ski wax. Destroying them demands massive inputs of energy: Their fluorine-carbon bond is the single most stable bond in organic chemistry."
Read more:
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2024/04/pfas-drinking-water-maine/678040/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/rV2vC#PFAS #PFOS #WaterIsLife #WaterPollution #PFASPollution #PFOA #PTFE #Wildlife #Cancer #Contamination #Chemicals #Environment #FoodPackaging #Plastics #FireFightingFoam #Firefighters #Health #Mining #Lubricants #Electronics #Cosmetics #PFNA #PFHxS #PFB #GenXChemicals
#Toxic #DowChemical #DuPont #3M #BASF #Teflon #RainWater #DrinkingWater -
#Australia among hotspots for toxic ‘#ForeverChemicals’, study of #PFAS levels finds
Australian limits on acceptable levels of these toxic chemicals in drinking water ‘orders of magnitude’ higher than in US
Tory Shepherd
Mon 8 Apr 2024 11.00 EDT"High levels of so-called forever chemicals have been found in surface and groundwater all over the world, with Australia one of several hotspots for toxic PFAS, a University of New South Wales study has found.
"Researchers examined groundwater samples from around the world and found 69% had per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at levels above Canada’s safe drinking water criteria and 32% had levels higher than the US proposed drinking water hazard index.
"They found Australia was one of several 'hotspots' relative to the rest of the world, along with #China, #Europe and #NorthAmerica."
#WaterIsLife #WaterPollution #PFASPollution #PFOS #PFOA #PTFE #Wildlife #Cancer #Contamination #Chemicals #Environment #FoodPackaging #Plastics #FireFightingFoam #Firefighters #Health #Mining #Lubricants #Electronics #Cosmetics #PFNA #PFHxS #PFB #GenXChemicals
#Toxic #DowChemical #DuPont #3M #BASF #Teflon #RainWater #DrinkingWater -
Map: Where the EPA found pollutants
This map shows water systems included in the EPA’s records, as of Jan. 11 [2024]. It’s based on boundaries developed by SimpleLab, a water-testing company. Click on a system to see the number of pollutants detected at or above the EPA’s minimum reporting levels and how much the most concentrated pollutant exceeded those levels. Points represent systems where the exact boundaries are not available.
Link to map:
https://data.usatoday.com/epa-pfas/#PFAS #PFASPollution #WaterIsLife #WaterPollution #PFASPollution #PFOS #PFOA #PTFE #Wildlife #Cancer #Contamination #Chemicals #Environment #FoodPackaging #Plastics #FireFightingFoam #Firefighters #Health #Mining #Lubricants #Electronics #Cosmetics #PFNA #PFHxS #PFB #GenXChemicals
#Toxic #DowChemical #DuPont #3M #BASF #Teflon #RainWater #DrinkingWater -
70 million Americans drink water from systems reporting #PFAS to EPA. Is yours on our map?
by Austin Fast, Cecilia Garzella, Yoonserk Pyun
March 21, 2024"At least 70 million Americans get their water from a system where toxic PFAS 'forever chemicals' were found at levels that require reporting to the Environmental Protection Agency.
"That's according to new data the EPA released in its ongoing 5-year review of water systems across the nation. The number will almost certainly grow as new reports are released every three months.
"PFAS, or per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances, are nearly indestructible chemicals widely used across industries for decades. Found in drinking water, food, firefighting foam, and nonstick and water-repellent items, PFAS resist degradation, building up in both the environment and our bodies.
"#SaltLakeCity; #SacramentoCalifornia; #MadisonWisconsin; and #LouisvilleKentucky, were among the major systems reporting PFAS contamination to the EPA in the latest data release."
#WaterIsLife #WaterPollution #PFASPollution #PFOS #PFOA #PTFE #Wildlife #Cancer #Contamination #Chemicals #Environment #FoodPackaging #Plastics #FireFightingFoam #Firefighters #Health #Mining #Lubricants #Electronics #Cosmetics #PFNA #PFHxS #PFB #GenXChemicals
#Toxic #DowChemical #DuPont #3M #BASF #Teflon #RainWater #DrinkingWater -
#PFAS '#ForeverChemicals' above drinking water guidelines in global source #water
We’re likely underestimating the future impact of PFAS in the environment, a new UNSW Sydney-led study shows.
by Sherry Landow
April 8, 2024"Per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances – commonly known as PFAS – are a group of over 14,000 human-made chemicals that have been popular since the 1950s for their diverse uses in resisting heat, water, grease and stains.
"They’ve been commonly found in household products like #nonStick frying pans, clothing, cosmetics, insecticides, and food packaging, as well as specialty industry products, like #FirefightingFoam.
"But despite their broad skillset, the chemicals have a dark side: they’re known as ‘forever chemicals’ because once they’re in the environment – or our bodies – they don’t degrade further.
"PFAS have been linked to environmental and health issues, including some #cancers, but a lot remains unknown about the true scale and potential impacts of the problem – including how much is in our water supply.
"A new UNSW-led international study, published today in Nature Geoscience, assessed the levels of PFAS contamination in surface and ground water around the globe.
"It found that much of our global source water exceeds PFAS safe drinking limits.
"'Many of our source waters are above PFAS regulatory limits,' says senior author of the study, UNSW Engineering Professor Denis O’Carroll.
"'We already knew that PFAS is pervasive in the environment, but I was surprised to find out the large fraction of source waters that are above drinking water advisory recommendations,' he says.
"'We're talking above 5 per cent, and it goes over 50 per cent in some cases.'"
#WaterIsLife #WaterPollution #PFASPollution #PFOS #PFOA #PTFE #Wildlife #Cancer #Contamination #Chemicals #Environment #FoodPackaging #Plastics #FireFightingFoam #Firefighters #Health #Mining #Lubricants #Electronics #Cosmetics #PFNA #PFHxS #PFB #GenXChemicals
#Toxic #DowChemical #DuPont #3M #BASF #Teflon #RainWater #DrinkingWater -
U.S., Canada Agree to IJC Intervention on Transboundary Mining Pollution
Calling it 'an important first step' to solve mining pollution on the Elk-Kootenai River watershed, tribal and First Nation governments in Montana, Idaho and British Columbia cheered the long-awaited reference to the International Joint Commission
By Tristan Scott
March 11, 2024"Federal governments in #Canada and the U.S. have agreed to ask the #InternationalJointCommission (#IJC) to study and take steps to mitigate the inflow of mining pollution to the #ElkRiver-#KootenaiRiver watershed through a joint reference, signaling a breakthrough in bilateral talks that have stalled for years, even as the company that owns the mines expands its footprint along the border with #Montana.
"The agreement was announced Monday by tribal and #FirstNation governments in Montana, #Idaho and #BritishColumbia (B.C.) who cheered the development after years of intensifying pressure on the #US and Canada. The reference means that an independent governance body representing both nations will convene to craft solutions to address the contaminants spilling into a watershed that crosses the international boundary at #LakeKoocanusa and spans #traditional #Aboriginal territory.
"The federal governments of both U.S. and Canada also confirmed the reference on Monday and issued a joint statement from the Ambassador of Canada to the United States, Kirsten Hillman, and the Ambassador of the United States to Canada, David L. Cohen. According to Pierre Cuguen, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada (#GAC), both countries 'have reached an Agreement-in-Principle (AIP) on next steps to further bilateral cooperation to reduce and mitigate the impacts of #WaterPollution” in the #transboundary #watershed.
"'The AIP provides a plan for Canada and the United States, with the assistance of the International Joint Commission, to take a holistic look at the watershed and build a shared understanding of the best available water quality data and science,' Cuguen said in an email, adding that both countries will work in concert 'with #IndigenousPeoples and #TribalNations and alongside provincial and state partners in the region.'
"'The Government of Canada is committed to safeguarding the transboundary #ElkKootenay watershed to protect the people and species that depend on this vital river system' according to Cuguen (the Canadian and First Nation spelling of Kootenai is “#Kootenay”).
"Meanwhile, tribal leaders on both sides of the border were triumphant after urging a reference for more than a decade, often with vague support from their federal counterparts.
"In Montana, Michael Dolson, chairman of the Confederated #Salish and #Kootenai Tribes (#CSKT), said the IJC reference is an essential first step in protecting fish and water quality in#LakeKoocanusa and the Kootenai River.
"'For too long, the U.S. and Canada have stood by while our waters suffered,' Dolson said in a prepared statement released Monday. “We are encouraged by the'federal governments’ change in direction and the progress that was achieved when we all worked together these past months. We will continue to work tirelessly to restore our rivers and the fish and wildlife that depend upon them. We’re at the beginning of what will likely be a long process, one that will require sustained effort from all governments involved.'"
#WaterIsLife #CoalMining
#Canada #FirstNations #WaterPollution #OpenPitMining #Environment -
A new deal may help reduce water pollution in Montana, Idaho
The U.S. and tribal governments make progress against contaminated coal mine runoff from British Columbia, which has been polluting Montana and Idaho for years
April 1, 2024
by Aaron Bolton"A new agreement between the U.S., Canada and Indigenous people on both sides of the northern border may signal a breakthrough in reducing transboundary water pollution. Tribes and the U.S. government have complained about Canadian inaction for more than a decade. Montana Public Radio's Aaron Bolton reports."
Listen [includes transcript]: https://www.npr.org/2024/04/01/1242104131/a-new-deal-may-help-reduce-water-pollution-in-montana-idaho
#WaterIsLife #CoalMining #Canada #FirstNations #WaterPollution #Salish #Kootenai #SeleniumPollution #IJC #ElkValley
-
Plan to discharge water into #HudsonRiver from closed #NuclearPlant sparks uproar
The #IndianPoint nuclear plant along the Hudson River is at the center of a controversy two years after it was shut down
By MICHAEL HILL Associated Press
June 20, 2023, 5:07 PM"But opponents along the river question the health and safety claims. They say the releases of #radioactive water could be a step back for a once notoriously polluted river that is now a popular summer attraction for sailors, #kayakers and #swimmers.
"Communities along the river have already passed resolutions opposing the discharges, and an online petition has gathered more than 440,000 signatures. On Tuesday, a bill sponsored by two Hudson Valley Democrats that would ban #radiological discharges into the river was approved by state Assembly.
"'It leaves a bad taste in your mouth ... the idea that we would be polluting our beautiful Hudson River with waste when we’ve spent so many years trying to clean it up. This shouldn’t be a dumping ground,' Assembly member Dana Levenberg said at a state Capitol rally for her bill before the debate.
"The bill, approved by the state Senate earlier this month, is opposed by some labor officials, who say it could interrupt the decommissioning and cause layoffs.
"The bill will be sent to Gov. #KathyHochul, who has not said whether she supports the measure."
#WaterIsLife #WaterPollution #Nuclear
Read more:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/plan-discharge-water-hudson-river-closed-nuclear-plant-100255780 -
After a pair of kayakers discovered thousands of metal coils in the #Alameda shoreline, we investigated--and uncovered a long-forgotten toxic legacy hiding in plain sight.
Now our legal team is compelling the polluters & landowners to clean it up! https://baykeeper.org/blog/hiding-plain-sight
#waterpollution #pollution #metalpollution #alamedaca #alamedacalifornia #sfbay #sanfranciscobay