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 …
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 …
An exhaustive life cycle analysis of players in the Indian caustic chlorine sector and its impact on environment. Deals extensively with the alarming issue of mercy pollution, its deadly effects. A comparative study with the global scenario.
An estimate of the global emission of mercury from anthropogenicsources in 1995 has been prepared. Major emphasis is placed onemissions from stationary combustion sources, non-ferrous metalproduction, pig iron and steel production, cement production andwaste disposal. About three quarters of the total emission,estimated to be about 1900 tonnes, was from combustion …
Atomic clocks can now run on mercury rather than caesium. S Diddams at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colorado, usa , has developed an atomic clock that uses mercury atoms. The frequency of oscillations of mercury is much higher than caesium thereby providing for more accurate …
Residents of the Cajamarca province of Peru recently blocked a major highway to protest against water supplies contamination by toxic mercury from Latin America's largest gold mine, Yanacocha. The residents demanded that the mining activity be stopped till a probe is conducted into the leakage. "Our protest is against environmental …
The sales of Thai restaurants serving shark's fin soup have declined significantly after an international environmental organisation released a report stating that the mammal's fins contained mercury. Fifteen restaurants of Bangkok claim they have suffered a loss of about us $2.3 million after the report was released by the us …
The carbon-injection process for removing mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants has been successfully completed at the University of Illinois Abbott Power Plant, in the US. The technology demonstration trials tested a commercial activated carbon and a corn-derived activated carbon developed by researchers at the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) …
intense cold, sea spray and long dark winters are stripping toxic mercury from the atmosphere and pushing it into the fragile Arctic food chain where it is accumulating, new research suggests. The sudden burst of sunlight after long polar winters drives chemicals in sea salt to react with normally inert …
there is a relation between coal plant emissions and toxic levels of mercury in the air, shows new research conducted by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, usa. The study shows that the level of mercury in sediment at the bottom of New York's Central Park Lake is at least 10 …
The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has confirmed that mercury-contaminated glass pieces were dumped at various locations in Kodaikanal by a thermometer factory of Unilever, a multinational company. Though the company recently removed 5.3 tonnes of the waste from a local scrapyard, it still refuses to own up the …
after a lot of protests and pressure from activists and the civil society, the Anglo-Dutch multinational, Unilever, will permanently close its polluting thermometer manufacturing factory in the tourist town of Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu. The company has also agreed to clean up the mess 5.3 tonnes of highly toxic mercury waste …
the former employees of the Hindustan Lever Limited's ( hll ) thermometer factory in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, are protesting against the company's "unrepentant and insensitive attitude' regarding hazardous working conditions and dangerous mercury waste management practises. The worker's association alleges that instead of conducting health checkups for its workers, the …
one can't use these salts for cooking, but, with chemical structures similar to table salt, ionic salts could be useful in clearing environmental pollution. Ionic salts, present in liquid form, characterised by low melting temperatures, may one day become the environment-friendly replacement for some of the noxious solvents used by …
scientists at the us -based Scripps Research Institute have developed a screening method, similar to a home pregnancy test, that can detect mercury contamination in fish. Inventors of the device say that the method is fast and inexpensive. Mercury contamination in fish is a serious health concern, especially for children …
The US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) recently filed a case in a federal court to dismiss an electric industry lawsuit, which would stop it from regulating mercury and other toxic air pollutants. In 2000, USEPA had announced that a standard was needed for such power plant emissions because of the …
At least 50,000 flamingos died in the East African region between 1993 and 1995, largely due to pollution, reports Panafrican News Agency. A number of metals have found their way into Lake Nakuru, Kenya, home to millions of flamingos, from chemical plants in the nearby Nakuru town. The presence of …
Environmental activists in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, are protesting against Hindustan Lever Limited's (HLL) dumping of toxic mercury waste in the town and in the reserve of Pambar Shola. The waste, estimated to be around 15 tonnes, is generated from the thermometer factory of HLL situated in Kodaikanal. Initially HLL maintained …
A Canadian mining company has been dumping cyanide, mercury and copper into Guyana's biggest river, the Essequibo, alleges the Guyana Shield Media Project (gsmp), a group that disseminates information about environmental issues. According to some media reports, people have been seen vomiting after consuming the river water. The gsmp says …
A US ship laden with neurotoxic mercury on its way to India has been sent back to Port Said, Egypt, where it was stationed. This was result of strong protests by environmental organisations and the refusal of the Indian government to allow the toxic shipment to land on the country's …
in what is termed as environmental racism, a consignment of 118 tonnes of used neuro-toxic mercury from the us is on its way to an undisclosed location in India. It is reported that a portion of the mercury has reached a purification centre in Albany, New York, from where it …
