Hacker News with Generative AI: Pollution

Plastic-like materials that dissolve in the sea (riken.jp)
Microplastics—small fragments of plastics less than 5mm across—now infiltrate every corner of our planet, from remote regions of the deep ocean and the Arctic, to the very air we breathe.

Environmental Science, Microplastics, Pollution, Materials Science

5 points by geox 4 days ago | 0 comments

Mid-pregnancy pollution exposure linked to postpartum depression (bps.org.uk)
New work finds that exposure to particular pollutants during pregnancy is associated with depression up to three years postpartum.

Health, Pregnancy, Pollution, Mental Health

60 points by wjb3 5 days ago | 11 comments

UK tyres meant for recycling sent to furnaces in India (bbc.com)
Millions of tyres being sent from the UK to India for recycling are actually being "cooked" in makeshift furnaces causing serious health problems and huge environmental damage, the BBC has discovered.

Recycling, Environment, India, UK, Pollution

6 points by NoRagrets 7 days ago | 0 comments

Microbes can capture carbon and degrade plastic – why aren't we using them more? (nature.com)
Microorganisms have shaped Earth for almost four billion years.

Microbiology, Environmental Science, Sustainability, Bioremediation, Pollution

8 points by GavCo 8 days ago | 2 comments

Chewing gum is plastic pollution, not a litter problem (theconversation.com)
Thousands of tonnes of plastic pollution could be escaping into the environment every year … from our mouths. Most chewing gum on sale is made from a variety of oil-based synthetic rubbers – similar to the plastic material used in car tyres.

Pollution, Environment, Materials Science

47 points by zeristor 16 days ago | 37 comments

A river 'died' overnight in Zambia after an acidic waste spill at a Chinese mine (apnews.com)
Authorities and environmentalists in Zambia fear the long-term impact of an acid spill at a Chinese-owned mine that contaminated a major river and could potentially affect millions of people after signs of pollution were detected at least 100 kilometers (60 miles) downstream.

Environmental Disaster, Pollution, Mining, Zambia, China

23 points by perihelions 17 days ago | 0 comments

Plastic pollution leaves seabirds with brain damage similar to Alzheimer's (theguardian.com)
Ingesting plastic is leaving seabird chicks with brain damage “akin to Alzheimer’s disease”, according to a new study – adding to growing evidence of the devastating impact of plastic pollution on marine wildlife.

Environmentalism, Science, Wildlife, Pollution, Health

6 points by pseudolus 20 days ago | 0 comments

Microplastics Are Messing with Photosynthesis in Plants (scientificamerican.com)
Microplastics are now a ubiquitous part of our daily physical reality.

Environmental Science, Pollution, Plants, Microplastics

5 points by Brajeshwar 22 days ago | 0 comments

Microplastics Are Messing with Photosynthesis in Plants (scientificamerican.com)
Microplastics are now a ubiquitous part of our daily physical reality.

Science, Environmental Science, Pollution, Biology, Plants

17 points by twiddling 22 days ago | 3 comments

Microplastics hinder plant photosynthesis, study finds (theguardian.com)
The pollution of the planet by microplastics is significantly cutting food supplies by damaging the ability of plants to photosynthesise, according to a new assessment.

Microplastics, Pollution, Environment, Science, Plants

9 points by pseudolus 22 days ago | 0 comments

There's a Spoon's Worth of Plastic in Our Brains. Now What? (nymag.com)
In 2019, a toxicologist named Matthew Campen drove into the wilderness of the San Juan Mountains in northern New Mexico with his 12-year-old son.

Environment, Health, Science, Pollution

6 points by cable2600 23 days ago | 1 comments

Bird study finds larger volumes of toxic PFAS chemicals than previously reported (phys.org)
Researchers studying birds and the food they eat are now finding much larger volumes of the toxic PFAS chemicals than before.

Environmental Science, Chemistry, Wildlife, Pollution, PFAS

6 points by PaulHoule 27 days ago | 0 comments

A waste dump is constantly on fire in London. Why will no one stop it? (theguardian.com)
Under Arnolds Field, tonnes of illegally dumped waste have been burning for years, spewing pollution over the area. Locals fear for their health – and despair that no one seems willing to help

Environment, Pollution, London, Politics, Waste Management

9 points by tapper 29 days ago | 0 comments

Scented products cause indoor air pollution on par with car exhaust (newatlas.com)
Using scented products indoors changes the chemistry of the air, producing as much air pollution as car exhaust does outside, according to a new study.

Environmental Science, Health, Pollution, Chemistry

383 points by clumsysmurf 41 days ago | 197 comments

Dust from car brakes more harmful than exhaust, study finds (e360.yale.edu)
In cars, pollution doesn’t come from exhaust alone. It also comes from wear and tear on roads, tires, and brakes. According to new research, tiny bits of dust cast off by brake pads may inflict more harm than car exhaust.

Environmental Science, Transportation, Health, Pollution

456 points by Brajeshwar 46 days ago | 455 comments

Age of Invention: How Coal Won (ageofinvention.xyz)
Over the course of 1570-1600, people all along the eastern coast of England, and especially in the rapidly-expanding city of London, stopped using wood to heat their homes. They instead began to burn an especially crumbly, sulphurous coal from near Newcastle in Northumberland — a fuel whose thick, heavy smoke reeked, stinging their eyes, making them wheeze and cough, and tarnishing their clothes, furnishings, and skin.

History, Energy, England, Pollution, London

10 points by Khaine 49 days ago | 1 comments

Accumulation of Microplastics in Human Brain Tissue Rising Rapidly: Study (ecowatch.com)
In a new study, health sciences researchers at the University of New Mexico (UNM) have found microplastics in human brain tissue in concentrations much higher than in other organs.

Environmental Science, Human Health, Pollution, Microplastics, Research

8 points by mikhael 54 days ago | 0 comments

Microplastics in the human brain (smithsonianmag.com)
The human brain may contain up to a spoon’s worth of tiny plastic shards—not a spoonful, but the same weight (about seven grams) as a plastic spoon, according to new findings published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine.

Science, Health, Environment, Pollution

245 points by headclone 55 days ago | 206 comments

Trump administration halts proposed EPA limits on PFAS pollution (thenewlede.org)
Amid a flurry of actions curtailing Biden’s environmental policies, the administration of newly inaugurated President Donald Trump this week withdrew a plan to set limits on toxic PFAS chemicals in industrial wastewater.

Politics, Environment, Pollution, Chemicals

30 points by adomasm3 64 days ago | 5 comments

Burning Teslas Add to Toxic Mix of Pollution Delaying LA Return (bloomberg.com)
As the smoke clears from devastating Los Angeles wildfires, efforts to clean up the affected areas are being complicated by burnt-out electric and hybrid vehicles and home-battery storage systems.

Wildfires, California, Pollution, Electric Vehicles

14 points by petethomas 75 days ago | 0 comments

The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem (japantimes.co.jp)
Flowing more than 4,300 kilometers from the Tibetan Plateau in China, through mainland Southeast Asia and then into Vietnam’s Mekong Delta before finally emptying into the South China Sea, the Mekong River is among the top 10 waterways in Asia most responsible for riverine plastic waste reaching the world’s oceans.

Environmental Issues, Pollution, Mekong River, Southeast Asia, Plastic Waste

5 points by PaulHoule 94 days ago | 0 comments

Microplastics in the Air May Be Leading to Lung and Colon Cancers (ucsf.edu)
Tires and degrading garbage shed tiny pieces of plastic into the air, creating a form of air pollution that UC San Francisco researchers suspect may be causing respiratory and other illnesses.

Health, Environment, Pollution, Cancer, Research

15 points by srameshc 103 days ago | 1 comments

Car tires shed a quarter of all microplastics in the environment (phys.org)
Every year, billions of vehicles worldwide shed an estimated 6 million tons of tire fragments. These tiny flakes of plastic, generated by the wear and tear of normal driving, eventually accumulate in the soil, in rivers and lakes, and even in our food. Researchers in South China recently found tire-derived chemicals in most human urine samples.

Microplastics, Environment, Pollution, Tires, Science

295 points by geox 124 days ago | 321 comments

Is a 'Green' Revolution Poisoning India's Capital? (nytimes.com)
India promised to burn its trash mountains and safely turn them into electricity. But a New York Times investigation found hazardous levels of toxic substances around homes, playgrounds and schools.

Environmental Issues, India, Pollution, Public Health, Journalism

9 points by bobthepanda 143 days ago | 3 comments

It's raining PFAS in South Florida – study (sciencedirect.com)
Atmospheric deposition plays a crucial role in the fate and transport of per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), especially in areas far from production sites.

Environmental Science, Pollution, Chemistry, South Florida, PFAS

85 points by Jimmc414 147 days ago | 40 comments

'Shocking' microplastic research prompts review (bbc.com)
A water company has said it is reviewing research by an undergraduate that found high levels of microplastics in an Isle of Wight estuary.

Environment, Science, Pollution, Water, Research

7 points by lsllc 150 days ago | 0 comments

Tesla spills chemicals into Palo Alto creek (paloaltoonline.com)
Tesla Motors last week dumped more than 500 gallons of water-treatment chemicals that it uses to cool its supercomputer into a storm drain near Matadero Creek, prompting a cleanup effort at the creek and in the nearby Ventura neighborhood, according to local and state officials.

Tesla, Environmental Issues, California, Pollution, Water Contamination

11 points by dsv3099i 160 days ago | 2 comments

Farm waste can filter microplastics in surface runoff, prevent pollution (phys.org)
Using treated plant waste as a filter reduced the presence of harmful microplastics in agricultural runoff by more than 92%, according to a new study authored by a University of Mississippi research team.

Environmental Science, Pollution, Agriculture, Sustainability, Water Treatment

8 points by PaulHoule 167 days ago | 0 comments

Migrating Seabirds Are Bringing Forever Chemicals into the Arctic (hakaimagazine.com)
Between March and May each year, 15 million black-legged kittiwakes gather from across the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to nest and breed on rocky Arctic cliffs—some making the journey from as far as Florida or North Africa.

Environmental Science, Climate Change, Wildlife, Arctic, Pollution

20 points by pseudolus 180 days ago | 0 comments

Airborne plastic levels shock researchers (chronic DEHP/DiNP/DEHT exposure) (news.ucr.edu)
A new study documents how Southern Californians are chronically being exposed to toxic airborne chemicals called plasticizers, including one that’s been banned from children’s items and beauty products.

Environmental Science, Health, California, Pollution, Research

49 points by nabla9 182 days ago | 15 comments