Pollution News and Research

Latest Pollution News and Research

New procurement guidelines to minimize formaldehyde and VOCs exposure

To minimize formaldehyde and exposure to other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in emergency housing, FEMA developed new procurement guidelines for allowable airborne levels in manufactured housing.

22 Oct 2009

Health Impact Project to promote the use of health impact assessments

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and The Pew Charitable Trusts (Pew) today announced the launch of the Health Impact Project, a national initiative designed to promote the use of health impact assessments (HIAs) as a decision-making tool for policymakers.

21 Oct 2009

Virginia Tech's College student receives EPA fellowship to study effects of mercury in toads

Christine Bergeron of Old Orchard Beach, Maine, a doctoral student in Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources, received a fellowship from the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Center for Environmental Research for her research on the reproductive success of American toads.

20 Oct 2009

Antioxidant extracts of G.biloba leaves may protect cells from radiation damage

Antioxidant extracts of the leaves of the Gingko biloba tree may protect cells from radiation damage, according to a study published in the International Journal of Low Radiation. The discovery may one day be used to help reduce side effects in cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.

20 Oct 2009

Smoking bans reduce risk of of heart attack in nonsmokers and smokers

Smoking bans are effective at reducing the risk of heart attacks and heart disease associated with exposure to secondhand smoke, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. The report also confirms there is sufficient evidence that breathing secondhand smoke boosts nonsmokers' risk for heart problems, adding that indirect evidence indicating that even relatively brief exposures could lead to a heart attack is compelling.

19 Oct 2009

ESC comments on France preparing to authorise the sale of cigarettes on the internet

The European Society of Cardiology wishes to comment on media reports this week that France is preparing to authorise the sale of cigarettes on the internet, to conform to European rights.

19 Oct 2009

NIH awards fund to Kaiser Permanente and UCSF for genetic epidemiology research

The Kaiser Permanente Research Program on Genes, Environment, and Health (RPGEH) and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have been awarded $24.8 million over two years by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to create a new resource for studying disease, health, and aging.

13 Oct 2009

Buehler Motor relocates and expands its U.S. headquarters

Buehler Motor, Inc. (BMI), a leading international provider of mechatronic drive solutions, has relocated and expanded its U.S. headquarters to allow it to better provide its customers in automotive, aerospace, medical devices, office and building automation with the latest advances in green technology.

12 Oct 2009

Breathe Easy, Stay Healthy Campaign for reducing toxic air pollution in Pittsburgh

Today, Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture), joined by leaders from the Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) and Clean Water Action, along with Dr. Evelyn O. Talbott of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health Department of Epidemiology and Allegheny County Council President Richard Fitzgerald, announced a major new campaign to reduce the fine soot pollution responsible for Pittsburgh’s number one ranking for dirtiest air for two years running.

9 Oct 2009

Researchers to analyze role of air pollution in respiratory and cardiovascular diseases

A new mobile air research laboratory will help a team of researchers led by a Michigan State University professor better understand the damaging health effects of air pollution and why certain airborne particles - emitted from plants and vehicles - induce disease and illness.

8 Oct 2009

Experts to develop effective surveillance system to monitor emerging infections at global level

Avian influenza (H5N1), rabies, plague, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), and more recently swine flu (H1N1) are all examples of diseases that have made the leap from animals to humans.

8 Oct 2009

Needlestick injuries in home care nursing can also affect patients

Patients continue to enter home healthcare ''sicker and quicker," often with complex health problems that may require extensive nursing care. This increases the risk of needlestick injuries in home healthcare nurses.

8 Oct 2009

German research institutes and companies to introduce their activities at WEFTEC.09

As part of the initiative "Research in Germany - Land of Ideas", German research institutes, universities and companies will introduce themselves and their activities at this year's WEFTEC.09.

7 Oct 2009

Air pollution levels change considerably within small geographical areas

Pedestrians could reduce the amount of traffic pollution they breathe in simply by crossing the street, according to the latest research from the University of Leeds.

7 Oct 2009

Nature's best mercury fighters: Bacteria

Mercury pollution is a persistent problem in the environment. Human activity has lead to increasingly large accumulations of the toxic chemical, especially in waterways, where fish and shellfish tend to act as sponges for the heavy metal.

5 Oct 2009

Social shame works better than Government subsidies: Study

Government subsidies persuade some people to change habits, but social shame works even better, suggests a recent study of efforts to reduce elevated childhood death and disease rates blamed on the microbial pathogens that cause diarrhea in rural India.

1 Oct 2009

Non-domestic air pollution is a major concern, says report

Plumes of harmful air pollutants can be transported across oceans and continents -- from Asia to the United States and from the United States to Europe -- and have a negative impact on air quality far from their original sources, says a new report by the National Research Council.

30 Sep 2009

Research study on the U.S. life expectancy

The Great Depression had a silver lining: During that hard time, U.S. life expectancy actually increased by 6.2 years, according to a University of Michigan study published in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

29 Sep 2009

New line of household disinfectant wipes and sprays launched

Seventh Generation, the nation's leading brand of non-toxic, environmentally safe household solutions, incorporates the latest breakthrough in green chemistry with the introduction of a new line of household disinfectant wipes and sprays.

25 Sep 2009

AABM Team wins two medals in a national contest

The Aquatic Animal Bio-Medicine R&D Team (AABM Team) of National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in Taiwan, led by Distinguished Prof. Huey-Lang Yang from Institute of Biotechnology, won two medals out of more than 100 teams in the national contest, “2009 Crazy Idea – King of Practical Applications on Creative Researches and Development of Biotechnology,” organized by the Industrial Development Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan.

25 Sep 2009