Pollutants

Aerial view of the Amazon Rainforest. Credit: lubasi/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA New research published today in Communications Earth & Environment suggests that the Amazon rainforest and its Indigenous territories can absorb as much as 26,000 metric tons of dangerous pollutants released by fires every year, thus preventing thousands of cases of deadly respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and significantly reducing…

Put away the Little Trees air freshener, Panasonic has a more advanced solution the next time you want to make your car smell its best. At this year’s CES, the company showed off a portable air purifier that can fit in the cupholder of nearly any car, and filter out odors and even some pathogenic viruses and bacteria. The device uses Panasonic’s Nanoe X technology, which employs hydroxyl radicals, a diatomic molecule that’s known to act as a “detergent” when it comes into contact with pollutants, to clean the air.…

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Every day, people all across the world breathe in poison. Outdoor air pollution kills an estimated 7 million people annually, according to the World Health Organization. Most of that toxic, deadly pollution is fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, which comes from industry, agriculture, burning fossil fuels, dust storms, and other sources.Inhaling PM2.5 is known to have big health consequences, and research has linked long-term exposure to lung problems, heart disease, cancer, premature death, and mental health…

Torn deck plating of the V-1302 John Mahn that was damaged by the bomb that hit amidships. Credit: VLIZScientists have discovered that an 80-year-old historic shipwreck from World War II is still influencing the microbiology and geochemistry of the ocean floor where it rests. In the scientific journal Frontiers in Marine Science, they show how the wreck is leaking hazardous pollutants, including explosives and heavy metals, into the ocean floor sediment of the North Sea, influencing the marine microbiology around it.The…

Even low-level gas leaks from kitchen stoves when they are off can generate benzene concentrations in homes up to seven times California’s recommended exposure limit.Leaks from gas stoves can create potentially hazardous indoor benzene concentrations.Scientists find natural gas throughout California contains numerous hazardous air pollutants that can impact air quality and public health.According to new research from the nonprofit energy science and policy research institute PSE Healthy Energy, the natural gas piped into…

Photo: NKnN (Shutterstock)Even the name makes the problem seem intractable: “forever chemicals.” This group of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, broadly called PFAS, are persistent organic pollutants that don’t readily degrade and can affect human health, with links to liver problems, infertility, thyroid disruption, birth defects, hypertension, and many other harmful effects. They’re in our water, clothes, food, dust—even in umbilical cord blood—and there may be no safe level of exposure. Can anything be done?Where…

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain While the Asian monsoon brings rain that is vital for the agricultural economy of the vast region, it is also known to suck up into the upper atmosphere chemical pollutants that accelerate climate change. …

Air pollution doesn't just impact the health of your lungs and heart. Recent research has found fine particulate matter can also cause damage to the brain, and scientists think they've finally figured out how.  In mouse models, it appears that ultra-fine particles in the air can enter the lungs, seep into the bloodstream, and ultimately invade the brain.Once the toxins are present in neurological tissue, they are much harder for the immune system to clear. In fact, the authors found airborne particles were retained in…

Planting more crops isn't the only way to feed a growing population. Cutting air pollution could go a long way towards increasing crop production while saving precious land and money, according to new research.  If the world cuts the emissions of just one type of air pollutant in half, estimates suggest winter crops could yield about 28 percent more in China and up to 10 percent more in other parts of the world. The pollutants in question are oxides of nitrogen, a family of invisible, poisonous gasses produced by car…