EWG
Twitter
InstagramRise in air pollution fuels antibiotic resistance, study suggests
By Grace van Deelen
Air pollution could be helping drive a rise in drug-resistant infections, which pose a dangerous threat to global public health, according to a new study.
air pollution
As wildfire smoke clears, scientists warn air quality impacts aren’t over
By Shannon Kelleher
On Tuesday morning, Austin Channell was starting his day at home in Hudson, New York when he discovered the rays of sunlight on his wall were an odd orangey pink. As the day progressed, the sky grew stranger.
After repeated air pollution violations, Shell plastics plant hit with federal lawsuit
By Dana Drugmand
A unit of the British multinational Shell plc is repeatedly violating state and federal air pollution rules and harming the health of area residents, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court by an environmental group after a series of air permit violations at the company’s new plastics production plant in Pennsylvania.
Beyond East Palestine, report finds widespread toxic vinyl chloride pollution
By Dana Drugmand
When the Norfolk Southern train transporting hazardous material derailed in East Palestine, Ohio on February 3, the subsequent release and explosion of chemicals fouled the air and exposed the community to a toxic cocktail of contaminants, including a substance known to cause cancer called vinyl chloride.
The ravages of cancer and a new fight for prevention
A growing understanding that exposure to certain chemicals in the environment may be a huge contributor to rising cancer rates has led to a new coalition of scientists and advocates working to alert the public and push regulators to protect people from carcinogens.
EPA proposes limits on cancer-causing gas used to sterilize medical equipment
By Shannon Kelleher and Grace van Deelen
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday proposed new standards to protect workers and communities from exposure to ethylene oxide, a toxic gas used to sterilize medical equipment and some spices. The agency estimates the new health protections could cut commercial facilities’ emissions of the colorless cancer-causing gas by 80% per year.
Common dry-cleaning chemical could be a cause of Parkinson’s disease, scientists say
A chemical commonly used to dry clean clothes could be key contributor to the sharp rise in the spread of Parkinson’s disease in the United States, according to a paper published on Tuesday.
Almost nobody on Earth is safe from air pollution, study says
Nearly the entire global population is regularly exposed to unsafe levels of air pollution, according to a study published this week. Researchers at Monash University in Australia analyzed air pollution data from across the globe between 2000 and 2019 to estimate global daily exposure to PM 2.5, a type of air pollution made up of inhalable particles 2.5 micrometers or smaller.
Across state line from East Palestine, repeated air permit violations at a petrochemical plant
By Dana Drugmand
On the afternoon of February 13, just 10 days after the Norfolk Southern train transporting hazardous chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, a Shell petrochemical plant located less than 30 miles away in Pennsylvania began flaring and spewing black smoke into the air for several hours.
Evidence mounts linking air pollution to Parkinson’s disease
By Grace van Deelen
New research adds to evidence that people living in areas with high air pollution are at a higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neurological disorder.