Pollution
The latest chemistry news and research on pollution, including remediation, environmental monitoring, contamination and toxicity, from the Royal Society of Chemistry's magazine, Chemistry World
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NewsNew study to measure exposure to PFAS in the UK population
Health Security Agency aims to establish a baseline level of ‘forever chemicals’ in the blood of the UK population
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PodcastA salmon-safe alternative to 6PPD & the first known example of naturally produced MOFs
Can we find a less toxic tyre additive while balancing delicate tyre chemistry? And we discuss a bacteria that appears to synthesise its own MOFs at the bottom of the seafloor.
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ResearchCovalent organic frameworks could clean up water pollution and generate ‘green’ ammonia
Supramolecular structures can break down nitrates to produce ammonia and close the fertiliser loop
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OpinionUS atrazine cancer lawsuit revives hazard vs risk debate in pesticide regulation
Should firms have to issue cancer warnings in states that use different assessment criteria to national regulators?
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BusinessTyremakers are searching for alternatives to salmon-killing additive
6PPD protects rubber from ozone, but forms a quinone that is extremely toxic to salmon
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ResearchRare N2 dimer could let scientists answer questions about global nitrogen cycle
New technique could track how synthetic fertiliser use has disturbed ecological balance
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NewsPFAS chemicals represent a human rights threat, UN told
The UN’s current and former toxics advisers are urging an immediate ban on all non-essential uses of these chemicals
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ResearchUpcycling sulfide-laden wastewater offers way to shelter chemical industries from sulfur supply crisis
Researchers suggest that method could generate a profit of up to $200 per tonne of sulfur recovered
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PodcastThermo Fisher data manipulation & the shrinking chemical recycling industry
We discuss fabricated images in Thermo Fisher’s online catalogue. And, what barriers are preventing chemical plastic recycling from taking off?
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NewsHouse of Lords committee calls for ban on over-the-counter flea and tick treatments
Overuse of these treatments is potentially causing widespread damage to the environment
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BusinessEU relaxes methane and carbon emission rules
Methane regulation fines delayed carbon trading restrictions eased amid concerns over energy supply and security
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OpinionWhere does chemical recycling of plastics go from here?
US and EU plant closures highlight economic difficulties of scaling technology alongside associated policy and infrastructure
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BusinessChemical recycling plants closing in EU and US
Firms aiming to break down and re-make plastics are struggling with economic feasibility and environmental impact
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NewsCan we have a world without PFAS?
Chemistry World spoke to Rudy Dams, a former 3M scientist, about our uneasy relationship with PFAS, proposed bans and the search for alternatives
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Podcast50 years after Seveso & changing the way we separate hydrocarbons
What have we learned 50 years on from the Seveso accident? And we discuss three promising membrane strategies that could replace fractional distillation in crude oil refineries.
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BusinessNew York state sues chemical companies over PFAS pollution
Lawsuit alleges 3M, Chemours, DuPont and others knowingly sold polluting products, and seeks damages and cleanup cost payments
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ResearchPaint in buildings a huge reservoir of PFAS waiting to enter the environment
Decades worth of chemicals stored in paints that have been applied to homes and businesses
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ResearchMetabolised antibiotics can drive antimicrobial resistance just as much as their parent compounds
Studies on wastewater show that antibiotic transformation products may play an underappreciated role in driving antimicrobial resistance
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FeatureSeveso disaster at 50: how Italy’s dioxin catastrophe transformed chemical safety
On 10 July 1976, a chemical reactor near Milan released a cloud containing dioxin over residential areas. The Seveso disaster traumatised a community, sparked pan-European environmental campaigns and transformed industrial safety regulation across the continent.
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NewsScientists fear that microplastics may be helping bacteria outsmart antibiotics
Emerging evidence reveals that plastics particles can induce stress and boost exchange of resistance genes