Arsenic contamination is a problem in countries worldwide, but the situation is particularly bad in Bangladesh. Millions of people there are affected by groundwater that is tainted with arsenic.
Freshwater and marine harmful algal blooms (HABs) are a global problem, and toxic freshwater and/or marine algae have been implicated in human and animal illness and death in over 45 countries worldwide and in at least 27 U.S. States.
Warming ocean temperatures and runoff waters are contributing to flourishing jellyfish populations. The jellyfish swarms, or blooms, cause problems for fish and humans alike. This article links to a slideshow with photos.
Faculty at Michigan State University have been creating a new type of robot to study water conditions: mechanical fish. The fish will be able to measure things like water temperature, oxygen levels, contaminants, and more.
Women and children in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, are teaming with geologists to identify contaminated ground water. Some water in this area contains dangerous levels of arsenic.
ExxonMobil was fined $104.7 million for contaminating New York City ground water with M.T.B.E. (methyl tertiary butyl ether) leaked from underground gasoline storage tanks. There are many similar cases pending across the United States.
EPA plans to revoke an issued permit for a mountain top removal coal mine in West Virginia. The agency says that the surface mining operation could violate the Clean Water Act.
A few years ago a building boom stretched the capacity of United States drywall makers and some contractors bought drywall manufactured in China. Now many of those homes are having corrosion problems as gases are released from the drywall – and some homeowners insurance companies are not renewing coverage.
A lengthy article on the 60 Minutes website describes several places where coal as is either intentionally or unintentionally in locations where people can contact it, water that has contacted it or breathe the dust particles. Is it unsafe in any of these situations?
More and more people are building homes next to natural or man-made water bodies. When nutrient levels and other conditions are right these lakes and canals can host heavy blooms of blue-green algae. These can result in objectionable odors and illness or death of people and animals that come in contact with the algae. A growing number of states now have programs to monitor the problem and educate. This program at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services is an example. Here is another at the Oregon Department of Human Services.
“An oil well in the Timor Sea northwest of Australia has been leaking for more than a week. Operators continue to wait for a new rig to be brought to the site so that they can drill a relief well and cap the leaking one.” Quote from Earth Observatory that accompanies a satellite image showing probable oil slicks in the Timor Sea about 250 kilometers northwest of Western Australia.
An oil rig in the Timor Sea, off the coast of Northern Territory and Western Australia, has been leaking oil badly enough to require an emergency clean-up by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. To stop the leak another rig is being towed to the site where it will drill into the well and plug the leak. Towing the rig to the site will take 17 days.
This video shows an area along the southern coast of England where sewage discharge and runoff rich in dissolved fertilizer produces a rich growth of algae in the intertidal zone.
Mercury is a global pollutant that ultimately makes its way into every aquatic ecosystem through the hydrologic cycle. USGS published a study that examined mercury in top-predator fish, bed sediment, and water from streams across the United States.
The United States Department of Energy funded nine natural gas from shale projects. Most of them are intended to improve the management of hydraulic fracturing water at shale drilling sites or waste water treatment sites.
“USGS scientists have discovered that concentrations of E. coli bacteria in beach sand are often much higher than those in beach water. Although beach water is monitored for E. coli as mandated in the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act (BEACH Act 2000), beach sand is not currently monitored for contamination.”
The mining town of Picher, Oklahoma is slowly becoming a ghost town. The lead mines have contaminated the area’s water, soil, and air, and now the government is trying to encourage the 80 or so remaining residents to leave – before the utilities are shut off for good.
Some locations in Asia and Africa are being used as dump sites for other countries’ unwanted electronics. This is causing contamination issues in these areas, as well as health problems for people who explore the dumps in search of precious metals.
Stormwater runoff and sewage contaminate many US beaches. A study done by the Natural Resources Defense Council sampled, tested and rated 200 of the most popular beaches in the United States – both ocean and freshwater beaches were included in the study. Some of them had consistently high water quality and some had consistently low. You can view the report and a listing of the beaches on their website.
The United States Government is looking for a place to store thousands of tons of mercury. There are suitable locations in Washington, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, South Carolina, Nevada, and Texas – but not surprisingly, most people don’t want a toxic substance in their area.
The NOAA and MBARI have teamed up to test a device that can remotely observe coastal conditions and identify potentially toxic algae. The Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) can be used to help monitor domoic acid contamination in California’s Monterey Bay.
One way to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released from a coal-fired power plant is the “carbon capture and storage” process. This process captures carbon dioxide from the plant’s emissions and pumps it into underground storage. There are projects in the United States, Australia, China and Europe to develop this technology.
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is holding hearings to discuss natural gas drilling near Project Rulison, the location of a 1969 underground nuclear explosion.
After the December 2008 dam break at a coal ash waste site near Kingston, Tennessee, the surrounding area was inundated with coal sludge. In this article, local residents talk about how the spill has affected them.
An article at CNN reports on the amount of carbon dioxide produced by the use of computers. Did you know that a computer could indirectly be responsible for as much carbon dioxide production as a sports utility vehicle and that the power spent on spam email could power two million homes?
A hearing was recently held to discuss the regulation of bottled water. Some groups have pointed out that the FDA does not have the power to ensure certain aspects of water safety.
USGS published: Water Quality and Evaluation of Pesticides in Lakes in the Ridge Citrus Region of Central Florida. This report presents the results of a water sampling program of lakes in the citrus growing part of the state.
“Consistent detections of parents and degradates in quarterly samples indicated the presence of pesticide compounds in the lakes many months or years after their application, signaling the persistence of some pesticide compounds in the lakes and/or ground-water systems.”
Amnesty International published a critique of the oil industry in the Niger Delta. The report titled: “Petroleum, Pollution and Poverty in the Niger Delta” pointed at environmental and human rights practices.
The EPA has created a list of over 40 coal ash waste sites that are potentially hazardous. The list was made in response to a dam failure at a Tennessee facility in December 2008.
There are very few point sources of mercury in the Arctic, however, researchers have found significant amounts of mercury being delivered by the Mackenzie River into the Arctic Ocean.
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