Chemical contaminants ‘ubiquitous in the environment’

By JEFF DONN — Video Pollution experts on Tuesday pressed a congressional panel for stronger action to keep pharmaceuticals and other contaminants out of the water, saying they are hurting fish and may threaten human health. Thomas P. Fote, a New Jersey conservationist who sits on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, said the pollutants […]

EPA finds high levels of lead in Raritan Bay

EPA finds high levels of lead at Raritan Bay sites by Aliyah Shahid/For The Star-Ledger OLD BRIDGE — Tests on mussels, clams and foraging fish near the Laurence Harbor Sea Wall in Old Bridge, have revealed high levels of lead, the Environmental Protection Agency reported today. The amount of lead found in ribbed mussels ranged […]

Dioxins in food chain threaten breastfeeding in mammals

ROCHESTER, New York, June 9, 2009 (ENS) – During pregnancy, exposure to a toxic family of chemicals called dioxins harms the cells in rapidly-changing breast tissue, according to new research from the University of Rochester Medical Center. The researchers believe their findings, although only demonstrated in mice at this point, may explain why some women […]

What Is killing Chile's coastal wildlife?

By Gideon Long / Santiago First, in late March the bodies of about 1,200 penguins were found on a remote beach in southern Chile. Next came the sardines — millions of them — washed up dead on a nearby stretch of coastline in April, causing a stench so noxious that nearby schools were closed and […]

Estrogen pollution wrecks fish immune systems

Exposure to estrogen reduces production of immune-related proteins in fish. This suggests that certain compounds, known as endocrine disruptors, may make fish more susceptible to disease. The research may provide new clues for why intersex fish, fish kills and fish lesions often occur together in the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers. The research may provide new […]

Pesticide causes mass bird death in Australia

By Amanda O’Brien BIRDS are again dropping dead from the sky in a new toxic drama in Western Australia. Nearly 200 ibises, ravens, gulls, ducks and a pelican were found dead or frothing and convulsing in Perth at the weekend. The discovery comes a year after the mysterious mass death of 200 birds only a […]

Study links marine mammal strandings to pollution

By Doug Fraser, dfraser@capecodonline.com WOODS HOLE — Cape Cod is one of the top areas in the world for marine mammal strandings. The animals are sometimes loaded with parasites or are sick. But, despite a long history of pollution in our coastal waters, the toll pollution takes on sea creatures has been harder to establish. […]

Oil sands development poisoning Athabasca River

By Mark Hume With growing evidence that pollutants are causing fish deformities in the Athabasca River and one native village struggling to understand its elevated cancer rates, 33 communities in the Northwest Territories have called for a moratorium on oil sands developments because of fears about water quality. At a conference in Inuvik, the NWT […]

UK bird decline driven by farmland changes

People have been listening to skylarks singing in Britain for 10,000 years. But now they, and many other much-loved species, are vanishing fast. By David Adam, environment correspondent …the star attraction of the neighbouring fields has flown. Until a year ago, a clutch of woodlark nested there, one of Britain’s rarest birds with just 1,000 […]

Chemical in Yangtze River causes deformities in Chinese sturgeon

By Tan Ee Lyn HONG KONG (Reuters) – A paint chemical that is widely used in China is leaking into the Yangtze river and may be responsible for deformities and decreasing numbers of rare wild Chinese sturgeon, a study has found. In an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers […]

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