As of 31 December 2021, 84 countries – comprising 43% of all countries – have legally binding controls to limit the production, import and sale of lead paints. In the majority of countries worldwide, using lead paint in homes and schools is not prohibited, creating a significant risk of children’s …
September 30, 2004. Eleven trucks carrying imported metal scrap trundled into Sahibabad-based Bhushan Steels and Stripes Limited (BSSL), a steel smelting and rolling unit. One of them exploded, killing 10 workers
ironite, a widely used fertiliser in the us, releases enough of lead and arsenic in standard leaching tests to be classified as a hazardous waste. Moreover, its heavy metals are
In the largest recall of its kind in US history, four toy jewellery importers recently announced a voluntary withdrawal of 150 million pieces of toy jewellery from the country's market. The decision was taken after the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) found many of these items containing dangerous levels …
shocking levels of lead in Washington's tap water have prompted us lawmakers to introduce a bill to amend the Safe Drinking Water Act (sdwa). The new bill, called Lead-free Drinking Water Act of 2004, proposes several changes, including increasing funding to clean up tap water. One of the main recommendations …
The objective of this study was to investigate the sources of lead in the environment in children with elevated blood, with the help of a Field Portable X-Ray Fluorescence Analyzer.
Exactly what is the new millenium all about? Some call it the time of the information technology (it) revolution. Some say it is globalisation turning mature. But, as one looks for ways to name the present, there pops up a phrase with a murky neologism in it: the new millenium …
It may disregard its massive carbon emissions and try to explain away the greenhouse effect. But when it comes to defence equipment, the us is choosing to play it environmentally safe. The Pentagon is paying Minnesota-based Alliant, the world's largest ammunition manufacturer, us $5 million to develop lead-free combat bullets. …
the soft drink episode has apparently made the authorities wise up to the need for hard resolve. On August 26, 2003, the Union ministry of health and family welfare (mohfw) issued a draft notification amending the Prevention of Food Adulteration (pfa) Rules, 1955, to give them more teeth. The proposed …
A group of scientists in Bangalore have a dream: to create a district-wise lead map of India, showing areas heavily contaminated with the toxic heavy metal. "The map will pinpoint lead alert zones in a city and inform people about the associated risks so that they can take precautionary measures. …
Fluoride is an acute toxin, with a rating slightly higher than lead. It is, in fact, one of the most bone-seeking elements known to human beings. And groundwater in India shows the presence of unhealthy quantities of fluoride. A worrying scenario: daily ingestion of just 2 milligram (mg) of fluoride …
soil poisoned by lead can be easily decontaminated with the help of composted biosolids (organic residuals produced during wastewater treatment). Over the years the problem has become acute, especially in the case of children determined to taste
In a ringing endorsement of ecofriendly practices, cellular phone manufacturers signed a declaration at the Sixth Conference of Parties (cop-6) to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. Major industry players made a commitment to cooperate with the convention and other stakeholders …
A group of scientists studying salinity levels in the aquifers of Haryana stumbled across a bigger problem. The team from the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (cssri) found arsenic in the groundwater of Gohana block in Sonepat district of Haryana. Worse still, the levels of the contaminant were well above …
Damodar river is in deep water. Rampant mining in the North Karanpura coalfield spread over Hazaribagh, Ranchi and Palamau district of Jharkhand is contaminating the water body. A study has found high levels of lead, arsenic, iron, cobalt, chromium and manganese in the sediments and surface water of Damodar and …
cleaner recycling of electronic waste is something the industry has been looking forward to for the last one decade. It might just have got lucky. Considering that in the us alone in 1988 5-7 million tonnes of e-waste was generated and that 50-80 per cent of it was exported to …
A recent study of foodstuff from an ex-tin mining area in Bidor, Malaysia, has revealed high levels of potentially toxic elements (ptes) that could be carcinogenic. The study was conducted by the University Kebangsaan Malaysia, Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (frim) and the Mineral Research Centre. It has been discovered …
heavy metals can persist in the environment for thousands of years. This astounding fact was proved recently after researchers from the uk-based Nottingham Trent University analysed ancient and current environmental pollution in a place called Wadi Faynan in southern Jordan. They found that pollutants from mines and smelters operating thousands …
In 1977, S R Kamath, then professor of respiratory medicine at kem hospital, Mumbai, took up a detailed study to find out how people in the city were suffering from air pollution. It was one of the earliest studies to be undertaken in India
