#lead-contamination

#lead-contamination

Records show the plant discharged an average of two to three million gallons of processed wastewater each year between 1962 and 2021, including treated radioactive effluents.

San Jose fire officials warned that lithium-ion batteries are highly toxic when ablaze due to 'highly irritating gases' like carbon monoxide.

"What surprised me is we are still seeing so many visits to emergency departments associated with very common household cleaning products," Lara McKenzie, Ph.D., stated, emphasizing the ongoing issue despite safety advancements.

Environmental monitoring has traditionally relied on snapshots of exposure from a water sample collected on a single day, a blood sample drawn at one point in time, or soil tested from a specific location. But exposure unfolds gradually as people move through different environments and come into contact with air, dust, and surfaces throughout the day.

Plasticizers are a general term for a whole range of chemicals added to materials, typically plastic and rubber, to make them softer and more pliable. They're found in countless everyday items like plastic shower curtains, shrink-wrap, PVC raincoats or flexible tubing and wire insulation for homes. Plasticizers, sometimes called phthalates, are also found in cosmetics, like nail polishes, lotions and shampoos.

Studies consistently indicate that air pollution, for example in the form of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), is associated with depression and depressive symptoms. Exposure to lead, endocrine disruptors and other chemical substances, especially in developmental life phases, may increase the risk of mental health issues later in life.

In a calm, thoughtful voice, he explained that though the equipment in his home lab was simple—including items such as a hot plate, scales and standard glassware found in a school science classroom—the experiment itself was more advanced. Fritz said the work focused on molecular structures used in pharmaceuticals and how they might be adapted to improve treatments for various diseases.

The Trump administration is slowly dismantling the federal disaster management system that protects the nation from chemical catastrophes, such as fires and explosions at high-risk facilities. The US Environmental Protection Agency's Response Management Program (RMP) requires more than 12,500 high-risk facilities to develop protocols to prevent catastrophes, or limit fallout, and was largely designed to protect workers, first responders, and fence-line communities.

Local mushroom experts and enthusiasts have bemoaned the state's messaging around the poisonings as narrow and fear-based. Many would prefer to see an emphasis on education, rather than a prohibition on all foraging, and point out that touching, smelling and looking at mushrooms is safe. "There's a lot more nuance," said Debbie Viess, co-founder of the Bay Area Mycological Society. "It's much more important to steer people to places where they can educate themselves about the safety and the dangers of eating wild mushrooms."

Many human activities - from improper disposal of waste to the degradation of car tyres - release small plastic particles, which have infiltrated the atmosphere, oceans and other ecosystems. These include nanoplastics - particles measuring less than 1 micrometre across - and microplastics, which range from 1 micrometre to around 5 millimetres. They've entered our bodies and brains, and scientists are still working to understand their effects on people's health.

Clean Harbors just locked in a $110 million contract for PFAS water filtration at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. This isn't just another project win. It's validation of the company's end-to-end PFAS solution: lab analytics, water filtration, site remediation, and most critically, high-temperature incineration disposal.

Around 11 p.m. Sunday, residents inside a West 6th Street home between Avenues U and T began feeling ill, prompting firefighters to respond to a report of an unconscious person. Crews found 12 people suffering from symptoms consistent with carbon monoxide exposure, and initial readings inside the home measured about 300 parts per million - a dangerous level, according to safety officials.

The state health department reports that, between late November 2025 and early February 2026, there have been four deaths and 40 hospitalizations linked to consumption of dangerous mushrooms, an outbreak the department describes as unprecedented. That's far above the average for the state, which typically sees fewer than five mushroom-poisoning cases annually. The people who have been sickened include a seasonal farm worker couple from Oaxaca, Mexico.