The Zero Mercury Working Group (ZMWG) has been investigating mercury-added skin lightening products (SLPs) for several years, primarily due to their health risks, their illegality under many national laws, and the prohibition by the Minamata Convention on Mercury against the manufacture and trade of mercury-added SLPs, which generally became effective …
nine states in the us, along with several environmental groups, have sued the United States Environmental Protection Agency (epa) for adopting a rule that refuses to regulate mercury and other pollutants from cement plants. The petition, signed by Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York …
forest fires hasten mercury accumulation in the soil and catchments, say researchers of Michigan University. According to them, forest foliage are huge mercury traps. When burnt, the mercury accumulates in the soil. Since it has been predicted that global warming will lead to an increase in forest fires, this could …
decline of the alps: Scientists say that the Alps, spread over seven European nations, are now a mere shadow of what they were. A team led by Sean Willett of the University of Washington in the US, has found that the culprit is likely massive erosion, triggered by a sudden …
In the 1980s, worried parents and medical researchers in the us alleged that mercury in vaccines was responsible for the growing number of autism cases among children in the country. The issue was debated in medical circles, wheels moved in many western countries, but developing countries still don’t have a …
A cross-sectional epidemiological survey of 255 individuals (130 current permanent employees, 64 contract workers, 55 ex-employees and 6 scrap dealers) coupled with a retrospective cohort study of the occupational health of 290 employees (all permanent employees who ever worked in the factory over a span of 15 years) was conducted …
How hazardous is dismantling a decommissioned ship? It does have dangerous substances like asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls (pcbs) and spent oil. Who should be allowed to engage in shipbreaking? What rules exist to ensure the safety of labour involved in dismantling ships and the environment? A brief recap is essential for …
Kodaikkanal, India, suffered mercury contamination due to emissions and waste from a thermometer factory. Kodai Lake is situated to the north of the factory. The present study determined mercury in waters, sediment and fish samples and compared the values with those from two other lakes, Berijam and Kukkal. Total mercury …
A bus ride through Cuddalore's industrial belt is a nasal nightmare. Villagers outside this port town, 200 kilometres (km) south of Chennai, know different areas by their characteristic smell
baglihar collapse: A diversion tunnel at the Baglihar hydro-electric dam on the Chenab river in Jammu and Kashmir collapsed on June 5, 2005, due to the river's rising water level. Media reports said construction at the project site had to be halted. Earlier, a bridge had also reportedly been washed …
on march 29, 2005, nine us states sued the federal government against the us environmental protection agency's (epa's) recently announced mercury emission cut regulation for coal-fired power plants (see Down To Earth,
water distress: The Andhra Pradesh government has embarked upon a new programme to meet the water requirements of its parched villages. It is forcibly taking over private agricultural borewells to supply drinking water. Media reports quoted officials as saying that 528 borewells have already been taken over. The government is …
the inspector general (ig) of the us Environmental Protection Agency (epa) has slammed epa for proposing weak mercury emission standards for coal power plants and so please the Bush administration. The ig's office is an independent one within the epa; it aims to improve epa 's efficiency. To ensure such …
Burn the hazard: The Supreme Court (SC) on January 5, 2004, ordered the destruction of illegally imported hazardous waste oil, lying at Mumbai's Nhava Sheva port, by incineration. The consignment of 133 containers was illegally imported in August
Be careful, but not paranoiac about pesticides. They are harmful but only when consumed in large doses. We are what we eat and drink. And our increasingly insecure existence is mirrored in our food fears: pesticides in fruits and vegetables, mercury in fish, bad fats in snacks, bird flu in …
Reports of high mercury content in us waters have alarmed American Indians in Minnesota, among the biggest fish consumers. According to a recent report based on us Environmental Protection Agency data, 44 states, including Minnesota, have high levels of mercury in their waters. Earlier this year, the Minnesota Pollution Control …
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
Mercury:Dubious Distinction India has decided to play with the tools of the devil. It wants to import huge amounts of mercury, which the rest of the world is quickly phasing out (as it is highly toxic and dangerous). But why should this deter us? The import of mercury waste and …
california has become the second state in the us to ban the use of toxic mercury in vaccines. The state governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, signed a bill to that effect on September 28, 2004. According to the bill, children below the age of three and expectant mothers would not be given …
