Chemicals

On the Persistence of Ocean Plastics

Concerns about seaborne plastic waste go back decades, but science writer Juli Berwald suggests that myths and disinformation about sources and solutions continue to cloud the waters. From lentil-sized nurdles to sprawling fishing nets, 200 million tons of plastic now fill the ocean and, for her, it has become evident that the ocean plastics story is really a land story. But will the newly signed international treaty on plastics offer relief?

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Air Conditioner HFCs Are on the Way Out — The Kigali Amendment Explained

For the first time in years, the United States has ratified a climate change-related treaty — one that phases out HFCs, the greenhouse gas widely used as a refrigerant. That leaves environmental reporters to report how the change will affect everyday objects like ACs, refrigerators and cars. TipSheet has the backstory on the Kigali Amendment, along with story ideas and reporting resources.

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"Veteran Service Officer: Be Wary Of Camp LeJeune Ads"

"We've all see the ads on television or social media in the last few weeks. If you or your family were stationed in Camp Lejeune between 1953 and 1987, you may have been exposed to drinking water that was heavily contaminated with toxins," one ad reads. "You may be able to qualify for significant compensation for your medical costs or lost loved ones.""

Experts Decry ‘Funny Math’ Of Plastic Industry ‘Advanced Recycling’ Claims

"Environmental experts say there’s a strong possibility that a federal bill will be introduced in the U.S. that seeks to strengthen an industry known as “advanced recycling,” or “chemical recycling.” While proponents of advanced recycling tout it as a solution to the ever-growing plastic pollution issue, critics say that it’s not recycling at all, but a highly polluting incineration process that converts plastic into fuel."

Source: Mongabay, 09/30/2022

"An Explosive Problem: The Radford Arsenal’s Toxic Operations"

"At military bases across the country, the Department of Defense (DoD) has for decades relied on a practice known as open burn/open detonation (OB/OD) to destroy excess, unserviceable, or obsolete military munitions, including small arms cartridges, rockets, mortars, missiles, and other items."

Source: Ctr. for Progressive Reform, 09/29/2022

Texas Is Now the Nation’s Biggest Emitter of Toxics Into Water

"Texas is a notably easy place to set up shop for industrial projects with lots of liquid waste and nowhere good to put it. The state’s waterways are open for business, an analysis of Environmental Protection Agency data shows, to send large volumes of discarded chemicals and industrial discharge downstream and out to sea."

Source: Inside Climate News, 09/28/2022
September 26, 2023

AMA With Scientists From the Food Packaging Forum

The experts of the Switzerland-based Food Packaging Forum’s Scientific Advisory Board will be available to answer questions about how chemicals in food packaging affect human health, sustainable packaging, green chemistry, plastic and chemical pollution, microplastics, endocrine disruption, and more, 11:30 a.m. EST, on Reddit.

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"Civil Rights Law Targets ‘Cancer Alley’ Discrimination"

"Sprawling industrial complexes line the drive east along the Mississippi River to the majority-Black town of Reserve, Louisiana. In the last seven miles the road passes a massive, rust-colored aluminum-oxide refinery, then the Evonik chemical plant, then rows of white tanks at the Marathon oil refinery."

Source: AP, 09/26/2022

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