Air pollution is the second-largest risk factor for early death globally. Traditionally, our response has focused on reducing the levels of pollution people breathe, but this is only part of the story.
"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.
All of the headphones studied contained hazardous substances, including bisphenols, phthalates, and flame retardants. The study notes that these findings do not pose a threat to people using these headphones in the immediate future, but goes on to observe that repeated exposure to the substances mentioned above pose a long-term risk to public health.
Recovered CWMs continue to pose worker and food safety risks. Because of ocean drift, storms, and offshore industries, sea-disposed CWMs locations are largely unknown and potentially far from their originally documented dump site. The three incidents exposed at least six crew members to mustard agent, which causes blistering chemical burns on skin and mucous membranes.
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.
A 71-year-old man died on Monday after falling into a large vat of mineral oil at a New Jersey chemical plant, police and the company said Tuesday. The incident occurred at around 1:30 p.m. at the Bayway Chemical Plant in Linden when the subcontractor fell into a 6,000-gallon container he was loading with oil. He was retrieved by responders from the Bayway and Linden fire departments, but pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Police sources say a Con Edison worker was electrocuted in East Flatbush Wednesday. Officers found the 47-year-old man just after 10:30 a.m. near Kings Highway and Avenue D. The FDNY says the man went into cardiac arrest and EMS performed CPR before taking him to One Brooklyn Health-Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center. He was initially listed in critical condition but is now expected to recover, according to police.
Digital surveillance can affect workers' physical and mental health in both positive and negative ways, according to a recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. For instance, monitoring tools or apps can alert employees about potential health problems or increase their sense of safety. However, these technologies can also increase anxiety or the risk of injury by pushing workers to move faster to meet productivity goals.
Several offices have lifted the work-from-home mandate after the pandemic ended, claiming that workers are more productive in offices. A user who goes by u/furrows_diocese-8q shared a post on January 18 about how their sister dealt with the situation when her boss made the same claim. The crew was doing their job well and were content with their prior remote arrangement, but were forced to come to the office.
Midlife is a sensitive biological window where the body becomes more susceptible to age-related stressors, which may explain why this group responds more strongly to chemical exposure. We suspect that men may be at higher risk because the aging markers we analysed are heavily influenced by lifestyle factors such as smoking, which can compound the damaging effects of these pollutants.
Donald Trump's EPA has said that easing the pollution standards for coal plants would alleviate costs for utilities that run older coal plants at a time when demand for power is soaring amid the expansion of datacenters used for artificial intelligence. But environmental groups have said that weakening standards for mercury, a neurotoxin that can impair babies' brain development, and other air toxics will lead to higher health-related costs.
Mexico's Attorney General's Office said on Monday that authorities have identified five bodies found at a property in El Verde, a rural locality in the state of Sinaloa, and are working to identify the remains of five other people. It is important to note that prosecutorial authorities have remained in contact with the victims' relatives, the office said in a statement. In the cases where the bodies have already been identified, they will be transferred to the states of Zacatecas in two cases, as well as to Chihuahua, Sonora, and Guerrero, it added.
A potent neurotoxin capable of causing lifelong damage to the lungs, brain, skin and other organs, mercury is strictly regulated worldwide. Children, in particular, can suffer severe developmental impairment when exposed. A trace element that occurs naturally in rocks such as limestone, as well as in coal and crude oil, mercury remains locked underground for millions of years, largely entering the ecological cycle through human activity.
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.
On a cold morning in December 2024, florist Madeline King was on a buying trip to her local wholesaler when a wave of dizziness nearly knocked her over. As rows of roses seemed to rush past her, she tried to focus. She quickly picked the blooms she needed and left. I'm not doing this any more, she thought. That month, after eight years, she closed her Minneapolis-based florist.