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Tag: Pollution

  • After massive shrimp recalls, the FDA finds radioactive contamination in spices too

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    Federal regulators have detected possible radioactive contamination in a second food product sent to the U.S. from Indonesia, even as recalls of potentially tainted shrimp continue to grow. The discovery adds to questions about the source of the unusual problem.

    U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials last week blocked import of all spices from PT Natural Java Spice of Indonesia after federal inspectors detected cesium 137 in a shipment of cloves sent to California.

    That follows the import alert imposed in August on the company PT Bahari Makmuri Sejati, or BMS foods, which sends millions of pounds of shrimp to the U.S. each year.

    Here’s what you need to know about potential cesium 137 contamination:

    Cesium 137 is a radioactive isotope created as a byproduct of nuclear reactions, including nuclear bombs, testing, reactor operations and accidents. It’s widespread around the world, with trace amounts found in the environment, including soil, food and air.

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials detected cesium 137 in shipping containers of shrimp sent by PT Bahari Makmur Sejati to several U.S. ports. CBP officials flagged the potential contamination to the FDA, which tested samples of the shrimp and detected cesium 137 in one sample of breaded shrimp.

    The company has sent about 84 million pounds (38 million kilograms) of shrimp to U.S. ports this year, according to data from Import Genius, a trade data analysis company. It supplies about 6% of foreign shrimp imported in the U.S.

    This month, FDA officials detected cesium 137 in one sample of cloves exported by PT Natural Java Spice, which sends spices to the U.S. and other countries. Records show the company sent about 440,000 pounds ( 200,000 kilograms) of cloves to the U.S. this year.

    No food that triggered alerts or tested positive has been released for sale in the U.S., FDA officials emphasized.

    But hundreds of thousands of packages of imported frozen shrimp sold at Kroger and other grocery stores across the U.S. have been recalled because they may have been manufactured under conditions that allowed them to be contaminated, the agency said.

    Although the risk appears to be small, the foods could pose a “potential health concern” for people exposed to low levels of cesium 137 over time.

    The levels of contamination detected are far below the level that could trigger the need for health protections, but long-term exposure could raise the risk of certain cancers.

    It’s not clear whether there’s a common source of contamination for the shrimp and the spices. FDA and CBP officials said their investigations are continuing. The two processing facilities appear to be about 500 miles (800 kilometers) apart in Indonesia.

    Contaminated scrap metal or melted metal at an industrial site near the shrimp processing plant in Indonesia may be the source of the radioactive material, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Nuclear regulators in Indonesia said they detected the radioactive isotope at the site outside Jakarta.

    It’s possible that that type of contamination could come from recycling old medical equipment that contained cesium 137, according to Steve Biegalski, a nuclear medicine expert at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

    Contaminated transport containers or shipping methods, such as trucks, boats or shared materials could also be a source, he said.

    For now, consumers should avoid eating or serving shrimp recalled for possible cesium 137 contamination, the FDA said.

    To date, four firms have issued recalls of shrimp since August, including those listed here.

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  • Scientists find marine life thriving on World War II explosives in the Baltic Sea

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    NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — An undersea submersible has spotted crabs, worms and fish thriving on the surfaces of World War II explosives thought to be toxic to marine life.

    At a former weapons dump site in the Baltic Sea, scientists found more creatures living on top of warheads than in the surrounding seabed.

    “We were prepared to see significantly lower numbers of all kinds of animals,” said study author Andrey Vedenin with the Senckenberg Research Institute in Germany. “But it turned out the opposite.”

    Past conflicts have left their mark on the world’s oceans, Vedenin said. German waters alone contain about 1.6 million tons (1.5 million metric tonnes) of dumped weapons, mostly from the two world wars in the 20th century. Dumped relics can contain nuclear and chemical remnants as well as explosives like TNT.

    It’s the latest example of wildlife flourishing in polluted sites. Previous research has shown shipwrecks and former weapons complexes teeming with biodiversity.

    In the new study, researchers filmed networks of anemones, starfish and other underwater life in the Bay of Lübeck off the coast of Germany. They were lurking on pieces of V-1 flying bombs used by Nazi Germany.

    “Normally, one does not study the ecology of bombs,” said University of Georgia ecologist James Porter, who was not involved with the research.

    The research was published Thursday in the journal Communications Earth and Environment.

    Why would sea creatures make their home on contaminated weapons? They could be drawn to the hard surfaces, which are in short supply in the Baltic Sea. The seafloor is mainly a flat bed of mud and sand because stones and boulders were fished out of the water for construction in the 1800s and 1900s, Vedenin said.

    The area is also fairly isolated from human activity because of the chemicals, creating a somewhat protective bubble for the critters to thrive despite some toxic tradeoffs.

    Scientists hope to calculate how much contamination was absorbed by sea life. Another important next step is to see what happens after the critters settle and whether they’re capable of reproducing, Porter said.

    Studies like these are a testament to how nature takes advantage of human leftovers, flipping the script to survive, said marine conservation biologist David Johnston with Duke University. He recently mapped sunken World War I ships that have become habitats for wildlife along the Potomac River in Maryland.

    “I think it’s a really cool testimony to the strength of life,” Johnston said.

    ___

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Al Gore’s satellite and AI system is now tracking sources of deadly soot pollution

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    NEW YORK — Soon people will be able to use satellite technology and artificial intelligence to track dangerous soot pollution in their neighborhoods — and where it comes from — in a way not so different from monitoring approaching storms under plans by a nonprofit coalition led by former Vice President Al Gore.

    Gore, who started Climate TRACE, which uses satellites to monitor the location of heat-trapping methane sources, on Wednesday expanded his system to track the source and plume of pollution from tiny particles, often referred to as soot, on a neighborhood basis for 2,500 cities across the world. Particle pollution kills millions of people worldwide each year — and tens of thousands in the United States — according to scientific studies and reports.

    Gore’s coalition uses 300 satellites, 30,000 ground-tracking sensors and artificial intelligence to track 137,095 sources of particle pollution, with 3,937 of them categorized as “super emitters” for how much they spew. Users can look at long-term trends, but in about a year Gore hopes these can become available daily so they can be incorporated into weather apps, like allergy reports.

    It’s not just seeing the pollutants. The website shows who is spewing them.

    “It’s difficult, before AI, for people to really see precisely where this conventional air pollution is coming from,” Gore said. “When it’s over in their homes and in their neighborhoods and when people have a very clear idea of this, then I think they’re empowered with the truth of their situation. My faith tradition has always taught me you will know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”

    Unlike methane, soot pollution isn’t technically a climate issue because it doesn’t cause the world to warm, but it does come from the same process: fossil fuel combustion.

    “It’s the same combustion process of the same fuels that produce both the greenhouse gas pollution and the particulate pollution that kills almost 9 million people every single year,” Gore said in a video interview Monday. “I’ll give you an example. I recently spent a week in Cancer Alley, the stretch between Baton Rouge and New Orleans where the U.S. petrochemical industry is based. That’s a 65-mile (105-kilometer) stretch, you know, and on either side of the river we did an analysis with the Climate TRACE data. If Cancer Alley were a nation, its per capita global warming pollution emissions would rank fourth in the world, behind Turkmenistan.”

    Gore’s firm found Karachi, Pakistan, had the most people exposed to soot pollution, followed by Guangzhou, China, Seoul, South Korea, New York City and Dhaka, Bangladesh.

    ___

    The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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  • California Gov. Gavin Newsom extends signature program aimed at curbing carbon emissions

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    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday extended a signature state program aimed at reducing planet-warming emissions through 2045, a move Democrats cheered but Republicans warned would raise gas prices.

    The program known as cap and trade sets a declining limit on total greenhouse gas emissions in the state from major polluters. Companies must reduce their emissions, buy allowances from the state or other businesses, or fund projects aimed at offsetting their pollution. Money the state receives from the sales funds climate-change mitigation, affordable housing and transportation projects, as well as utility bill credits for Californians.

    It was set to expire after 2030. The law Newsom signed Friday at the Morrison Planetarium in San Francisco potentially boosts carbon-removal projects and requires the program to align with California’s target of achieving so-called carbon neutrality by 2045. That means the state will remove as many carbon emissions as it releases. The law changes the name to “cap and invest” to emphasize that the money goes toward other programs.

    “We’re doubling down on our best tool to combat Trump’s assaults on clean air — Cap-and-Invest — by making polluters pay for projects that support our most impacted communities,” Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement.

    Newsom also signed a law committing $1 billion in program revenue for the state’s long-delayed high-speed rail project, $800 million for an affordable housing program, $250 million for community air protection programs and $1 billion for the Legislature to decide on annually.

    He approved other measures aimed at advancing the state’s energy transition and lowering costs for Californians. They include laws to speed up permitting for oil production in Kern County, refill a fund that covers the cost of wildfire damage when utility equipment sparks a blaze and allow the state’s grid operator to partner with a regional group to manage power markets in western states.

    Newsom also signed a bill that would increase requirements for air monitoring in areas overburdened by pollution and codify a bureau within the Justice Department created in 2018 to protect communities from environmental injustices.

    California has some of the highest utility and gas prices in the country. Officials face increased pressure to stabilize the cost and supply of fuel amid the planned closures of two oil refineries that make up roughly 18% of the state’s refining capacity, according to energy regulators.

    Environmental justice advocates said the cap-and-trade extension doesn’t go far enough to address air pollution affecting low-income Californians and communities of color more likely to live near major polluters. The program’s “cap” applies to planet-warming emissions, not other pollutants impacting air quality. Cap and trade doesn’t set emissions limits for individual facilities, meaning an industrial polluter could continue to emit the same amount of greenhouse gases over time so long as it has the right amount of credits or offsets.

    Other critics of the cap-and-trade extension are worried about it raising costs. The program has increased gas costs by about 26 cents per gallon, according to a February report from the Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee, a group of experts that analyzes the program. It has played “a very small role” in increasing electricity prices because the state’s grid isn’t very carbon intensive, the report says.

    “I said it in June and I’ll say it again: legislative Democrats live in ‘Bizarro World,’” Republican state Sen. Tony Strickland said in a statement. “Their idea of tackling affordability is extending the Cap-and-Trade program, a hidden tax that drives up costs on everything from gas to groceries. That’s not climate leadership. I call it economic sabotage.”

    But Democratic Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, who wrote the reauthorization bill, said it will help the state fight climate change because “the cost of inaction is immeasurable.” She referenced the devastating wildfire that ripped through Pacific Palisades in her district in January.

    Daniel Barad, the western states acting co-director for the Union of Concerned Scientists, said last week that the extension comes at a key time.

    “The most important thing is it extends it to 2045, which was the most critical thing that the state could have done, especially in the face of federal rollbacks and attacks on California’s authority to enforce our lifesaving regulations,” he said.

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  • Endangered pink river dolphins face a rising mercury threat in the Amazon

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    PUERTO NARINO, Colombia — A flash of pink breaks the muddy surface of the Amazon River as scientists and veterinarians, waist-deep in the warm current, patiently work a mesh net around a pod of river dolphins. They draw it tighter with each pass, and a spray of silver fish glistens under the harsh sun as they leap to escape the net.

    When the team hauls a dolphin into a boat, it thrashes as water streams from its pink-speckled sides and the crew quickly ferries it to the sandy riverbank where adrenaline-charged researchers lift it onto a mat. They have 15 minutes — the limit for how long a dolphin can safely be out of the water — to complete their work.

    Fernando Trujillo, a marine biologist leading the effort, kneels beside the animal’s head, shielding its eye with a small cloth so it can’t see what’s happening. He rests his hand gently on the animal and speaks in low tones.

    “They’ve never felt the palm of a hand. We try to calm them,” said Trujillo, sporting a pink dolphin bandana. “Taking a dolphin out of the water, it’s a kind of abduction.”

    One person counts the dolphin’s breaths. Another wets its skin with a sponge while the others conduct multiple medical tests that will help show how much mercury is coursing through the Amazon’s most graceful predators.

    Trujillo directs the Omacha Foundation, a conservation group focused on aquatic wildlife and river ecosystems, and leads health evaluations of river dolphins. It’s a painstaking operation involving experienced fishermen, veterinarians and locals that takes months of planning and happens a couple of times a year.

    “We take blood and tissue samples to assess mercury,¨ Trujillo told The Associated Press from the Colombian riverside town of Puerto Narino. “Basically, we’re using dolphins as sentinels for the river’s health.”

    Mercury contamination comes mainly from illegal gold mining — a growing industry across the Amazon Basin — and forest clearing that washes mercury that naturally occurs in soil into waterways.

    The miners use mercury to separate gold from sediment, then dump the sludge back into rivers, where it enters fish eaten by people and dolphins. Rising global gold prices have fueled a mining boom, and mercury pollution in remote waterways has increased.

    Mercury can damage the brain, kidneys, lungs and immune system and cause mood swings, memory loss and muscle weakness in people, according to the World Health Organization and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Pregnant women and young children are most at risk, with prenatal exposure linked to developmental delays and reduced cognitive function.

    “The maximum any living being should have is 1 milligram per kilogram,” Trujillo said. “Here, we’re seeing 20 to 30 times that amount.”

    In previous years, his team found 16 to 18 milligrams per kilogram of mercury in dolphins, which can suffer the same neurological damage, organ damage and other problems as humans. In Colombia’s Orinoco River, levels in some dolphins have reached as high as 42, levels scientists say are among the most extreme ever recorded in the species.

    Trujillo said it’s difficult to prove the toxin is directly killing dolphins. Further studies are underway, he added, noting that “any mammal with a huge amount of mercury will die.”

    When Trujillo and his team tested their own blood three years ago, his results showed more than 36 times the safe limit — 36.4 milligrams per kilogram — a level he attributes to decades working in mercury-affected areas and a diet heavy in fish. With medical assistance, his levels have dropped to about 7 milligrams.

    “Mercury is an invisible enemy until it builds up to a sufficient amount, then it starts to affect the central nervous system,” Trujillo told AP after his team managed to capture and test four pink dolphins. “We’re already seeing evidence of it in Indigenous communities.”

    A series of scientific studies and reports — including work by the International Pollutants Elimination Network and academic researchers — have found high mercury exposure among Indigenous peoples across the Amazon, including in Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Suriname and Bolivia. Hair samples showed averages well above WHO’s safe threshold of 1 part per million, with one Colombian community registering more than 22 milligrams per kilogram.

    Dolphin populations in this part of the Amazon have plunged, with Trujillo’s monitoring showing a 52% decline in pink dolphins and a 34% drop in gray river dolphins, a different species, in recent decades. The International Union for Conservation of Nature listed the pink dolphin as endangered in 2018. Trujillo said exact numbers for the Amazon are unknown, but his organization estimates 30,000 to 45,000 across the basin.

    Pink river dolphins also face threats from overfishing, accidental entanglement in nets, boat traffic, habitat loss and prolonged drought.

    Colombia says it’s tackling illegal mining and mercury pollution. It banned mercury use in mining in 2018, ratified the Minamata Convention aimed at reducing mercury in the environment and submitted an action plan in 2024. Authorities cite joint operations with Brazil and recent enforcement sweeps, but watchdogs say efforts remain uneven and illegal mining persists across much of the country.

    Other Amazon nations say they’re stepping up. Brazil has launched raids and moved to restrict satellite internet used by illegal gold-mining camps that use mercury, aiming to disrupt logistics and supply lines. Peru recently seized a record 4 tons of smuggled mercury. Ecuador, Suriname and Guyana have filed action plans to cut mercury use in small-scale gold mining.

    The dolphin testing operation relies on José “Mariano” Rangel, a charismatic former fisherman from Venezuela. He leads the charge when it’s time to haul the animals — which can weigh as much as 160 kilograms (about 353 pounds) — into the small boats. It’s a moment that can end with a stinging blow to the jaw as the dolphins thrash to break free.

    “The most difficult part of the captures is enclosing the dolphins,” Rangel said.

    A portable ultrasound machine scans lungs, heart and other vital organs for disease. The team checks for respiratory problems, internal injuries and signs of reproduction, photograph the animals’ skin and scars, swab blowholes and genital openings for bacterial cultures, and collect tissue for mercury testing. Microchips are implanted so researchers can identify each animal and avoid duplicating tests.

    Omacha has recorded antimicrobial resistance — bacteria that can’t be killed by common medicines — and respiratory problems. They have also identified possible emerging diseases, such as papilloma virus, that could pose risks to both dolphins and humans.

    After a long morning hauling and testing dolphins, the scientists return to a laboratory in Puerto Narino that’s covered with posters of dolphins and manatees and the bones and skulls of dolphins and other animals. They test some samples, prepare others to send to larger facilities and end their day repairing nets and refilling kits to do it all again at dawn.

    For Trujillo, each capture, scan and blood test is part of a larger fight.

    “We are one step away from being critically endangered and then extinct,” Trujillo said.

    ___

    The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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  • Scientists extract silver from e-waste using cooking oil

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    NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

    What if your old bottle of cooking oil could help save the planet and your smartphone? That’s the big idea behind a groundbreaking discovery by researchers in Finland. 

    Scientists from the University of Helsinki and the University of Jyväskylä have found that you can recover silver from electronic waste using common kitchen ingredients like vegetable oil and hydrogen peroxide. This sustainable, scalable method published in the Chemical Engineering Journal could change how we mine precious metals from our growing piles of electronic junk.

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    OLD SMARTPHONES ARE BEING TURNED INTO TINY DATA CENTERS

    Scientists have discovered a new method of silver extraction from electronics by using cooking oil. (Bloomberg via Getty Images)

    How cooking oil recovers silver from electronic waste

    Here’s how it works. Fatty acids found in oils like sunflower or olive oil are mixed with hydrogen peroxide. When heated slightly, this combo safely dissolves silver from old circuit boards, wires or keyboard connectors. Then, using ethyl acetate, a far less toxic alternative to industrial solvents, researchers pull out the silver in a solid form. Unlike traditional methods that rely on harsh acids or cyanide-based solutions, this technique avoids toxic runoff and air pollution. Think of it as salad dressing meets science lab, without the environmental mess.

    Why recycling silver from e-waste is urgently needed

    Silver powers the devices you use every day, such as phones, solar panels, electric vehicles and even medical tech. But less than 20% of it gets recycled. As demand rises and natural resources shrink, finding clean ways to reclaim silver isn’t just smart, it’s necessary. Silver prices have surged sixfold in the last 25 years. At the same time, supply has lagged. That makes e-waste a goldmine, literally, for anyone who can unlock its hidden metals without poisoning the environment.

    NEW TECH RECOVERS 92% OF EV BATTERY METALS

    Cell phone waste

    Fatty acids found in cooking oil can stabilize silver ions for easier extraction. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

    How scientists extract silver using fatty acids and light

    To figure out exactly how this all works, researchers used advanced computer models to study how fatty acids interact with silver ions. The process not only stabilizes the silver but also allows for easy recovery using light and simple solvents. Better still, the ingredients can be reused, and there’s no chemical waste or massive cost. And it’s highly selective. The method targets silver while leaving other metals behind, a major step forward in urban mining. In testing, even silver-coated keyboard connectors were cleanly processed into pure elemental silver powder using this system.

    A pile of cell phone waste

    Indian laborers sift through a heap of pre-owned mobile phones in an electronic waste workshop Dec. 5, 2023, in New Delhi, India.  (Yawar Nazir/Getty Images)

    What this means for you

    This research brings us closer to safe, at-home or small-scale recycling kits that could recover silver from old gadgets. Recyclers and manufacturers could adopt this method to reduce chemical waste and operating costs, while protecting workers and the environment. This method supports a future where nothing goes to waste. It keeps valuable materials in use, cutting down the need for mining and pollution. Silver is vital for making many of the tech items we use every day. Reusing it responsibly means cleaner energy at a lower cost and less reliance on mined resources.

    Take my quiz: How safe is your online security?

    Think your devices and data are truly protected? Take this quick quiz to see where your digital habits stand. From passwords to Wi-Fi settings, you’ll get a personalized breakdown of what you’re doing right — and what needs improvement. Take my Quiz here: Cyberguy.com/Quiz

    Kurt’s key takeaways

    We’ve long known that waste is a problem. Now, it might also be the solution. By turning everyday ingredients into powerful recycling tools, scientists are showing us what’s possible when chemistry and sustainability meet. The process is still being refined, but the promise is clear: a greener future where reclaiming valuable metals doesn’t cost the earth, or our health.

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    If you could extract silver from your old gadgets with tools in your kitchen, would you do it? Or should this be left to the pros? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com/Contact

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    Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com.  All rights reserved. 

    Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

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  • California lawmakers to decide on extending key climate program and boosting grid reliability

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    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The fate of a key California climate program Gov. Gavin Newsom has championed as a crucial tool to respond to the Trump administration’s environmental rollbacks is in the hands of state lawmakers.

    The Democrat-dominated Legislature is slated to vote Saturday on whether to extend the state’s cap-and-trade program, which is set to expire after 2030. The program, which launched in 2013, allows major greenhouse gas emitters to buy emission allowances from the state, with fewer available over time. Revenues fund climate change mitigation, affordable housing and transportation projects, as well as utility bill credits for Californians.

    Newsom, a Democrat, and legislative leaders, who said months ago they would prioritize reauthorizing the program, almost ran out of time to introduce the proposal before the statehouse wraps for the year.

    “After months of hard work with the Legislature, we have agreed to historic reforms that will save money on your electric bills, stabilize gas supply, and slash toxic air pollution — all while fast-tracking California’s transition to a clean, green job-creating economy,” Newsom said after striking the deal this week.

    The proposal would reauthorize the program through 2045, better align the declining cap on emissions with the state’s climate targets and potentially boost carbon removal projects. It would also change the name to “cap and invest” to emphasize its funding of climate programs.

    The Legislature will vote on another bill committing annual funding from the program’s revenues. It includes $1 billion for the state’s long-delayed high-speed rail project, $800 million for an affordable housing program, $250 million for community air protection programs and $1 billion for the Legislature to decide on annually.

    The votes come as officials contend with balancing the state’s ambitious climate goals and the cost of living. California has some of the highest utility and gas prices in the country. Officials face increased pressure to stabilize the cost and supply of fuel amid the planned closures of two oil refineries that make up roughly 18% of the state’s refining capacity, according to energy regulators.

    Proponents of the extension say it will give companies certainty over the program’s future. The state lost out on $3.6 billion in revenues over the past year and a half, largely due to uncertainty, according to a report from Clean and Prosperous California, a group of economists and lawyers supporting the program. Some environmentalists say the Trump administration’s attacks on climate programs, including the state’s first-in-the-nation ban on the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, added urgency to the reauthorization effort.

    Cap and trade is an important cost-effective tool for curbing carbon emissions, said Katelyn Roedner Sutter, the California state director for the Environmental Defense Fund.

    “Supporting this program and making this commitment into the future is extremely important — now more than ever,” she said.

    But environmental justice advocates opposing the proposal say it doesn’t go far enough and lacks strong air quality protections for low-income Californians and communities of color more likely to live near major polluters.

    “This really continues to allow big oil to reduce their emissions on paper instead of in real life,” said Asha Sharma, state policy manager at the Leadership Council for Justice and Accountability.

    Critics have also said it will increase the cost of living.

    “This moving forward, instead of lowering costs, it makes California even more expensive,” Republican state Sen. Tony Strickland said. “They’re raising the price of energy and gas and goods and services.”

    Cap and trade has increased gas costs by about 26 cents per gallon, according to a February report from the Independent Emissions Advisory Committee, a group of experts that analyzes the program. It’s played “a very small role” in increasing electricity prices because the state’s grid isn’t very carbon intensive, the report says.

    Lawmakers and lobbyists criticized the governor and legislative leaders for rushing the deal through with little public input.

    Ben Golombek, executive vice president of the California Chamber of Commerce, said at a hearing this week that the Legislature should have taken more time “to do this right.”

    Democratic state Sen. Caroline Menjivar said it shouldn’t be par for the course for lawmakers to jam through bills without the opportunity for amendments.

    “We’re expected to vote on it,” she said of Democrats. “If not, you’re seen to not be part of the team or not want to be a team player.”

    Menjivar ultimately voted to advance the bill out of committee.

    The cap-and-trade bills are part of a sweeping package aimed at advancing the state’s energy transition and lowering costs for Californians.

    One of the bills would streamline permits for oil production in Kern County, which proponents have hailed as a necessary response to planned refinery closures and critics have blasted as a threat to air quality.

    Another would increase requirements for air monitoring in areas overburdened by pollution and codify a bureau within the Justice Department created in 2018 to protect communities from environmental injustices.

    The state could refill a fund that covers the cost of wildfire damage caused by utility companies and set up public financing to build electric utility projects.

    Lawmakers will also vote on a measure allowing the state’s grid operator to partner with a regional group to manage power markets in western states. The bill aims to improve grid reliability. It would save ratepayers money because California would sell power to other states when it generates more than it needs and buy cheaper energy from out of state when necessary, the governor’s office said.

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  • Detroit contractor suspended over allegations of using contaminated dirt at demo sites

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    Overview:

    Results show 33 of 41 properties — more than 80% — handled by Gayanga Co. failed to meet state residential standards.

    A Detroit demolition contractor has been suspended from city work after investigators said it used contaminated dirt to backfill dozens of residential properties.

    The city’s Office of Inspector General announced Thursday that Gayanga Co. LLC and its owner, Brian McKinney, are barred from receiving new contracts or performing demolition work while an investigation is underway. The interim suspension, effective immediately, will last up to 90 days or until the inspector general decides whether the company should be formally debarred.

    The OIG launched its probe on June 5 after receiving allegations that Gayanga had been hauling soil from the redevelopment of Northland Mall in Southfield to Detroit neighborhoods. The agency ordered testing of dirt at various Gayanga sites across the city. Results showed 33 of 41 properties — or more than 80% — failed to meet state residential standards, according to the OIG.

    The allegations first surfaced publicly in a story written by reporter Charlie LeDuff for the website Michigan Enjoyer, which did not name Gayanga but raised concerns that soil from Northland had been ending up in Detroit demolitions for about two years.

    City records show Gayanga has performed more than 2,400 demolitions in Detroit, earning nearly $64 million in contracts. That makes the firm one of the city’s largest demolition contractors.

    The suspension is the latest controversy surrounding Detroit’s massive demolition program, which has resulted in penalties for other companies. 

    The inspector general’s office said it could not provide further details because the investigation remains open.

    LeDuff has been raising questions about soil used by Detroit contractors for at least a decade.


    Steve Neavling is an award-winning investigative journalist who operated Motor City Muckraker, an online news site devoted to exposing abuses of power and holding public officials accountable. Neavling…

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  • Study links frequent, severe heat waves to pollution from major fossil fuel producers

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    Fifty-five heat waves over the past quarter-century would not have happened without human-caused climate change, according to a study published Wednesday.

    Planet-warming emissions from 180 major cement, oil and gas producers contributed significantly to all of the heat events considered in the study, which was published in the journal Nature and examined a set of 213 heat waves from 2000 to 2023. The polluters examined in the study include publicly traded and state-owned companies, as well several countries where fossil fuel production data was available at the national level.

    Collectively, these producers are responsible for 57% of all the carbon dioxide that was emitted from 1850 to 2023, the study found.

    “It just shows that it’s not that many actors … who are responsible for a very strong fraction of all emissions,” said Sonia Seneviratne, a climate professor at the Swiss university ETH Zurich who was one of the study’s contributors.

    The set of heat waves in the study came from the EM-DAT International Disaster Database, which the researchers described as the most widely used global disaster repository. The Nature study examined all of the heat waves in the database from 2000 to 2023 except for a few that weren’t suitable for their analysis.

    Global warming made all 213 of the heat waves examined more likely, the study found. Out of those, 55 were 10,000 times more likely to have happened than they would have been before industrialization began accelerating in the 1800s. The calculation is equivalent to saying those 55 heat waves “would have been virtually impossible” without human-caused climate change, the authors wrote.

    “Many of these heat waves had very strong consequences,” said Seneviratne. She said the series of heat waves that struck Europe in 2022 that was linked to tens of thousands of deaths sticks out in her mind as one of the events with particularly grave consequences.

    Climate scientists can use complex computer programs and historic weather data to calculate the connection between extreme weather events and the planet-warming pollutants humans emit. Climate change attribution studies often focus on how climate change influenced a specific weather event, but the scientists say this new Nature study is unique because it focused on the extent to which cement and fossil fuel producers have contributed to heat waves.

    “They are drawing on a pretty well-established field of attribution science now, which has existed for about 20 years,” said Chris Callahan, a climate scientist at Indiana University who was not involved in the study. Callahan has used similar attribution methodologies in his research and said the new study is appropriate and high-quality.

    Scientists say the new study could be taken into consideration in legal cases. Globally, dozens of lawsuits have been filed against fossil fuel companies by climate activists, American state governments and others seeking to hold the companies accountable for their role in climate change.

    For example, Vermont and New York have passed laws that aim to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for their emissions and the damage caused.

    “For a while, it was argued that any individual contributor to climate change was making too small or too diffuse a contribution to ever be linked to any particular impact. And this emerging science, both this paper and others, is showing that that’s not true,” said Callahan.

    Justin Mankin, a Dartmouth College climate scientist who wasn’t involved in the study, said the findings provide insight into the origins of the heat waves and how potential hazards from them could be minimized in the future.

    “As we contend with these losses, the assessment of who or what’s responsible is going to become really important,” Mankin said. “I think there are some really appropriate questions, like who pays to recoup our losses, given that we’re all being damaged by it.”

    ___

    The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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  • Brickbat: Leno’s Loss

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    A proposed California law, Senate Bill 712, would have exempted older, collector vehicles from the state’s strict smog-check requirements—if they were insured as collector motor vehicles and had historic license plates—because these cars are driven only occasionally. The bill passed earlier committees but was ultimately halted in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, apparently over concerns about negative effects on air quality and state revenue. The law was nicknamed “Leno’s Law” after one of its backers, former Tonight Show host and classic car collector Jay Leno.

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    Charles Oliver

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  • RFK Jr. promised to ‘Make Our Children Healthy Again.’ Here’s how he plans to do it

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    (CNN) — President Donald Trump’s strategy to ‘Make America Healthy Again’ includes investigating vaccine injuries and pharmaceutical practices but stops short of new regulatory action, for now.

    US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. unveiled the MAHA strategy on Tuesday, joined by Agriculture Department Secretary Brooke Rollins, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, and other top Trump officials.

    The report hews closely to a draft document circulated in August that cites earlier Trump administration announcements — developing a definition for ultraprocessed foods, educating the public about synthetic kratom — but largely bypassed industry crackdowns.

    Language around pesticides strategy also remained unchanged. Environmental and food activists had rallied for the administration to include steps to reduce pesticide usage and probe potential health risks of commonly used chemicals such as RoundUp.

    The report says that USDA, EPA and the National Institutes of Health will develop a framework to study cumulative exposures to chemicals including pesticides and microplastics. USDA and EPA will also invest in new farming approaches to reduce chemical use, and EPA will launch a public awareness campaign about the limited risk of approved products.

    The commission’s first report this May suggested a broad range of factors driving chronic disease in the US, including ultraprocessed foods, environmental exposures, and overprescription of pharmaceuticals like antidepressants.

    The report noted previous announcements that HHS, the NIH and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are studying the causes of autism. Kennedy had previously promised some answers on the root causes in September; NIH is expected to announce autism research grants this month.

    Recent reports suggest that HHS will issue a report that links the development of autism to taking Tylenol during pregnancy.

    Medicines and vaccines

    Kennedy has drawn criticism for suggesting antidepressants, particularly those that are part of a family known as SSRIs are as addictive as heroin and can be dangerous. Following the August 27 shooting in Minneapolis, he told Fox News that HHS is launching studies “on the potential contribution of some of the SSRI drugs and some of the other psychiatric drugs that might be contributing to violence.”

    SSRIs, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, are the most prescribed class of antidepressants for depression, anxiety disorders and many other mental health conditions. Several SSRIs have been on the market in the United States since the 1990s, including Prozac, Zoloft and Celexa. Experts agree that there is no scientific evidence or correlation between these drugs and violence towards others.

    Tuesday’s report states that HHS will assemble a working group of federal officials to evaluate SSRI prescribing patterns, specifically among children. HHS will also “evaluate the therapeutic harms and benefits of current diagnostic thresholds,” or the current common practices doctors use to diagnose patients with mental health disorders.

    Dr. Theresa Miskimen Rivera, president of the American Psychiatric Association said access to care, not over-medication is the bigger problem when it comes to helping kids’ mental health in the country, and there is no mention of the issue in the report. The report said addressing a child’s nutrition, screen time, and exercise can improve their mental health, but can’t address everything. “Psychiatric conditions are complex in nature,” she said. Extreme poverty, post traumatic stress disorder, trauma-related factors should also be addressed, but there is no mention in the report of any of those issues either.

    “In terms of over medication, that’s not what we do. We have a comprehensive evaluation and we are evidence based. We diagnose than create a comprehensive treatment plan, “ Miskimen Rivera told CNN. “Medication can save lives, not only in children, but in adults and elderly.”

    When asked about whether or not the commission chose to consider gun violence – the leading cause of death for children – as one of the issues to be investigated, Kennedy doubled down on the issue of prescription drugs, saying “We are doing studies now, or initiating studies to look at the correlation and the connection, potential connection between over medicating our kids and this violence.”

    HHS will also work with the White House Domestic Policy Council on a new vaccine framework that, the report said, will ensure “America has the best childhood vaccine schedule” and ensure “scientific and medical freedom.”

    The report comes as Kennedy continues to defend his shakeup of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over vaccine policy, including the ouster of CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez.

    The administration will also increase oversight of “deceptive” direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceutical products, including from social media influencers and telehealth companies, it said.

    Food policy stays the course

    FDA will continue work on developing a definition for ultraprocessed foods, but the report bypasses recommendations, like those of former FDA Director Dr. David Kessler, to essentially order certain additives off the market until they are reviewed.

    Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, director of Tufts Food is Medicine Institute said a definition of ultraprocessed foods would be “really important.” With more than half of calories in the food supply coming from ultraprocessed foods, addressing this and other issues involving the nation’s diet would mean a “massive fight with the industry and is going to be incredibly controversial, but is much needed.”

    “Overall, this is really quite thorough, quite specific, and even if parts of this are accomplished, this could have tremendous positive impact for Americans,” Mozaffarian told CNN.

    Other experts, like Marion Nestle, agreed the report was ambitious in scope, but noted it fell short on regulatory action. “What’s still missing is regulation. So much of this is voluntary, work with, promote, partner,” said Nestle, who is the Paulette Goddard professor emerita of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University.

    The report also nods to new, user-friendly dietary guidelines expected later this year. Kennedy has promised a vastly shortened set of recommendations that will emphasize whole foods.

    The commission also cited ongoing work to reduce ultraprocessed foods in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Head Start.

    While the report also touches on agriculture deregulation with the aim of making it easier for small farms to get greater access to markets and schools, Ken Cook, co-founder of the Environmental Working Group, a health advocacy organization said the report abandons earlier MAHA promises to ban toxic pesticides and instead “echoes the pesticide industry’s talking points.”

    “Secretary Kennedy and President Trump cynically convinced millions they’d protect children from harmful farm chemicals – promises now exposed as hollow,” Cook said in a statement.

    There were minor changes from the draft document leaked in August. For instance, the August 6 draft stated that the FDA and other agencies will crack down on “Illegal Chinese Vapes,” while the final version promises enforcement on vapes more broadly.

    “We support the goal of making children healthier and addressing and preventing chronic disease, but unfortunately, the recommendations fall short in some really critical ways,” Laura Kate Bender, vice president nationwide advocacy and public policy for the American Lung Association told CNN.

    “They continue to cast doubt on vaccines, one of the most, important, proven public health interventions that we can have for kids health. They don’t address some major contributors to diseases in kids like pollution, tobacco use, beyond the mention of vaping, and this report is coming out at the same time that we’re continuing to see dramatic cuts in staff and funding of a lot of the programs that could make the good parts of the report a reality.”

    The report’s emphasis on kids’ health can help overall, Dr. Michelle Macy, director of the Mary Ann & J. Milburn Smith Child Health Outcomes, Research and Evaluation Center in Chicago told CNN. “I’m really trying to look for bright spots in this report, and I think that the focus on data and infrastructure for us to be able to answer big questions about what environmental and food exposures and medication exposures do to shape the trajectory of someone’s health and chronic disease across the lifespan is something that has promise and potential.”

    Dr. Richard Besser, pediatrician and president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation said that having a focus on preventing chronic disease in children is a good thing, but he said, with Kennedy’s track record that includes firing thousands of federal health employees, slashing millions in health research funding, dismantling entire offices that managed important issues like smoking and chronic disease specifically, in addition to his “assault on vaccinations” will undermine any potential good of this kind of report.

    “Neither RFK Jr.’s record, nor his policies outlined in the report give me confidence that he is going to make any difference whatsoever on chronic diseases in children,” Besser told CNN.

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    Sarah Owermohle, Jen Christensen and CNN

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  • Lawmakers meet to discuss health of Merrimack River

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    NEWBURYPORT — Support for new projects addressing combined sewage overflows and updates on ongoing ones were discussed by dozens of local and state officials during Thursday’s meeting at the Newburyport Senior/Community Center.

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    By Matt Petry | mpetry@northofboston.com

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  • Wildfire smoke, ozone causes air quality alert for Front Range, Denver metro

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    Hot, dry weather and wildfire smoke from out-of-state fires will contribute to lower air quality across the Front Range and Denver metro through Friday afternoon, Colorado public health officials said.

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    Katie Langford

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  • Hungry Worms Could Help Solve Plastic Pollution

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    Plastics that support modern life are inexpensive, strong, and versatile, but are difficult to dispose of and have a serious impact when released into the environment. Polyethylene, in particular, is the most widely produced plastic in the world, with more than 100 million tons distributed annually. Since it can take decades to decompose—and along the way can harm wildlife and degrade into harmful microplastics—its disposal is an urgent issue for mankind.

    In 2017, European researchers discovered a potential solution. The larvae of wax moths, commonly known as wax worms, have the ability to break down polyethylene in their bodies. Wax worms have been considered a pest since ancient times because they parasitize beehives, feeding on beeswax. However, we now know that they also spontaneously feed on polyethylene, which has a chemically similar structure.

    “Around 2,000 wax worms can break down an entire polyethylene bag in as little as 24 hours, although we believe that co-supplementation with feeding stimulants like sugars can reduce the number of worms considerably,” said Dr Bryan Cassone, a professor of biology at Brandon University in Canada, in a news release. Cassone and his team have been researching how these insects could be harnessed to help combat plastic pollution. “Understanding the biological mechanisms and consequences on fitness associated with plastic biodegradation is key to using wax worms for large-scale plastic remediation,” he says.

    In previous experiments, Cassone and his team found out exactly how wax worms break down polyethylene. To understand their digestive mechanism, Cassone’s team fed polyethylene to wax worms for several days and followed the insects’ metabolic processes and changes in their gut environment. They found that as the wax worms ate the polyethylene, their feces liquefied and contained glycol as a byproduct.

    But when the insects’ intestinal bacteria were suppressed by administering antibiotics, the amount of glycol in their feces was greatly reduced. This revealed that the breaking down of polyethylene is dependent on the wax worms’ gut microbes.

    The team also isolated bacteria from the guts of wax worms and then cultured strains that could survive on polyethylene as their sole food source. Among them was a strain of Acinetobacter, which survived for more than a year in the laboratory environment and continued to break down polyethylene. This revealed how robust and persistent the wax worm’s gut flora is in its ability to break down plastics.

    Yet in reality, when it comes to consuming plastic, gut bacteria are not working alone. When the researchers conducted genetic analysis on the insects, they found that plastic-fed wax worms showed increased gene expression relating to fat metabolism, and after being fed plastic, the wax worms duly showed signs of having increased body fat. Armed with their plastic-digesting gut bacteria, the larvae can break down plastics and convert them into lipids, which they then store in their bodies.

    However, a plastic-only diet didn’t result in wax worms’ long-term survival. In their latest experiment, the team found that wax worms that continued to eat only polyethylene died within a few days and lost a great deal of weight. This showed that it is difficult for wax worms to continually process polyethylene waste. But researchers believe that creating a food source to assist their intake of polyethylene would mean wax worms are able to sustain healthy viability on a plastic diet and improve their decomposition efficiency.

    Looking ahead, the team suggests two strategies for using the wax worm’s ability to consume plastics. One is to mass produce wax worms that are fed on a polyethylene diet, while providing them with the nutritional support they need for long-term survival, and then integrating them into the circular economy, using the insects themselves to dispose of waste plastic. The other is to redesign the plastic degradation pathway of wax worms in the lab, using only microorganisms and enzymes, and so create a means of disposing of plastic that doesn’t need the actual insects.

    In the insect-rearing route, a byproduct would be large amounts of insect biomass—countless larvae that have been fed on plastic. These could potentially be turned into a highly nutritious feed for the aquaculture industry, as according to the research team’s data, the insects could be a good source of protein for commercial fish.

    This story originally appeared on WIRED Japan and has been translated from Japanese.

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    Ritsuko Kawai

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  • New style of recycling leaves Sonoma County community concerned about pollution

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    Sonoma County start-up Resynergi says it has developed a new way to recycle most plastics that would normally end up in a landfill. They say they will use a method called pyrolysis, which uses a microwave to heat the plastics to separate their molecules from contaminants. That turns the plastic into an oil that will be reused to make more plastics. “Instead of drilling out of the ground, which causes a lot of greenhouse gases, we take the plastic, chip it, process that plastic,” said Resynergi CEO Brian Bauer. Their warehouse in Rohnert Park is full of various plastics waiting to be recycled while the company waits for the green light from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. However, some in the community claim Resynergi isn’t paying attention to its potential emissions. They say pyrolysis is just another form of incineration. “The lack of regard for the potential health impacts,” said Molly Rubardt, a Rohnert Park resident. “The lack of regard for the potential real fire and explosion risk, we live in a fire-risky area.”The company claims its methods will not involve burning plastics. “Incineration requires oxygen, you’re burning plastic,” said Sasha Kosek, Resynergi’s lead chemist. “Pyrolysis, you have removed all the oxygen and the molecules literally cannot burn.”The other concern is about the plant’s close proximity to Credo High School. Residents fear the emissions will create a health risk for the students. “You can’t have a petro-chemical plant that produces thousands of gallons of oil next to schools and communities next to homes,” said Mike Puccetti, another Rohnert Park resident. Many of the concerned residents protested in front of city hall, asking their council to revoke Resynergi’s permit to operate. They are also gathering a petition to send to the BAAQMD to ask them not to offer Resynergi a permit to start their machines. “Rohnert Park doesn’t allow incinerators within city limits,” Rubardt said. “If it is not an incinerator and it is what they say it is, they need to go back and get reclassified.”However, the company continues to insist emissions will be low. “The emissions coming from here are the equivalent of a semi truck driving down the road,” Bauer said. The BAAQMD sent out three notices of violations in August, claiming Resynergi built equipment without proper permits. They also told the San Francisco Chronicle that its experts evaluated the added risk of cancer from the plant’s estimated emissions would be minimal.Some in the city think this technology could be beneficial for recycling plastics, but they don’t want it this embedded in their community. “Why not build it near Recology or near a highway?” Puccetti said. “I don’t think anybody is thinking it is a bad idea, but why is it in a subcommunity? Why is it right next to a high school?”See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    ROHNERT PARK, Calif. —

    Sonoma County start-up Resynergi says it has developed a new way to recycle most plastics that would normally end up in a landfill.

    They say they will use a method called pyrolysis, which uses a microwave to heat the plastics to separate their molecules from contaminants. That turns the plastic into an oil that will be reused to make more plastics.

    “Instead of drilling out of the ground, which causes a lot of greenhouse gases, we take the plastic, chip it, process that plastic,” said Resynergi CEO Brian Bauer.

    Their warehouse in Rohnert Park is full of various plastics waiting to be recycled while the company waits for the green light from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. However, some in the community claim Resynergi isn’t paying attention to its potential emissions. They say pyrolysis is just another form of incineration.

    “The lack of regard for the potential health impacts,” said Molly Rubardt, a Rohnert Park resident. “The lack of regard for the potential real fire and explosion risk, we live in a fire-risky area.”

    The company claims its methods will not involve burning plastics.

    “Incineration requires oxygen, you’re burning plastic,” said Sasha Kosek, Resynergi’s lead chemist. “Pyrolysis, you have removed all the oxygen and the molecules literally cannot burn.”

    The other concern is about the plant’s close proximity to Credo High School. Residents fear the emissions will create a health risk for the students.

    “You can’t have a petro-chemical plant that produces thousands of gallons of oil next to schools and communities next to homes,” said Mike Puccetti, another Rohnert Park resident.

    Many of the concerned residents protested in front of city hall, asking their council to revoke Resynergi’s permit to operate. They are also gathering a petition to send to the BAAQMD to ask them not to offer Resynergi a permit to start their machines.

    “Rohnert Park doesn’t allow incinerators within city limits,” Rubardt said. “If it is not an incinerator and it is what they say it is, they need to go back and get reclassified.”

    However, the company continues to insist emissions will be low.

    “The emissions coming from here are the equivalent of a semi truck driving down the road,” Bauer said.

    The BAAQMD sent out three notices of violations in August, claiming Resynergi built equipment without proper permits. They also told the San Francisco Chronicle that its experts evaluated the added risk of cancer from the plant’s estimated emissions would be minimal.

    Some in the city think this technology could be beneficial for recycling plastics, but they don’t want it this embedded in their community.

    “Why not build it near Recology or near a highway?” Puccetti said. “I don’t think anybody is thinking it is a bad idea, but why is it in a subcommunity? Why is it right next to a high school?”

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

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  • Swimmers face fecal contamination at beaches along US coastline

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    OGUNQUIT, Maine — Thousands of Americans will head to beaches for one last summer splash this Labor Day weekend, but taking a dip might be out of the question: Many of the beaches will caution against swimming because of unsafe levels of fecal contamination.

    Beaches from Crystal River, Florida, to Ogunquit, Maine, have been under advisories warning about water quality this week because of elevated levels of bacteria associated with fecal waste. The advisories typically discourage beachgoers from going in the water because the bacteria can cause gastrointestinal illness, rashes and nausea.

    There have been closures this week at some of the country’s most popular beach destinations, including Keyes Memorial Beach in the Cape Cod village of Hyannis in Barnstable, Massachusetts; Benjamin’s Beach on Long Island in Bay Shore, New York; and a portion of the Imperial Beach shoreline near San Diego. Even on the pristine, white sand beaches of Hawaii, the Hawaii State Department of Health is warning of a high bacteria count at Kahaluu Beach Park on the Big Island.

    It’s a longstanding and widespread problem. Nearly two-thirds of beaches tested nationwide in 2024 experienced at least one day in which indicators of fecal contamination reached potentially unsafe levels, conservation group Environment America said in a report issued this summer.

    The group reviewed beaches on the coasts and Great Lakes and found that 84% of Gulf Coast beaches exceeded the standard at least once. The number was 79% for West Coast beaches, 54% for East Coast beaches and 71% for Great Lakes beaches.

    The report also said more than 450 beaches were potentially unsafe for swimming on at least 25 percent of the days tested. A key reason is outdated water and sewer systems that allows contamination from sewage to reach the places where people swim, said John Rumpler, clean water director and senior attorney with Environment America.

    “These beaches are a treasure for families across New England and across the country. They are a shared resource,” said Rumpler, who is based in Boston. “We need to make the investment to make sure that literally our own human waste doesn’t wind up in the places where we are swimming.”

    Other factors have also played a role in contaminating beaches, including increasingly severe weather that overwhelms sewage systems, and suburban sprawl that paves over natural areas and reduces the ecosystem’s ability to absorb stormwater, Rumpler said.

    But many people plan to jump in the ocean anyway. Despite a two-day warning of elevated fecal indicator bacteria last month at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, beachgoer Yaromyr Oryshkevych was not concerned.

    “I really don’t expect to be in any kind of danger of fecal contamination,” said Oryshkevych, a retired dentist. He said he didn’t think Rehoboth was close enough to notable pollution to be concerned, and he expected the ocean’s natural currents to take care of any problems with contamination in the area.

    Dana West, a federal worker visiting Rehoboth Beach, recalled an instance earlier this year where a dozen members of his vacationing party experienced gastrointestinal issues. The symptoms occurred after they went on a snorkeling excursion, an activity that increases the likelihood of swallowing seawater, off the coast of Isla Mujeres, Mexico.

    It was an unpleasant experience, but he doesn’t expect a repeat this weekend in Delaware.

    “But generally, I have no concerns about the level of fecal and bacterial matter,” said West while admiring Rehoboth’s shore. ”I assume the local authorities will tell us if there are higher levels than normal.”

    Despite West’s confidence, some beaches in the area of Rehoboth, including nearby Rehoboth Bay and Dewey Beach bayside, were indeed under water advisories this week. Such advisories are not always posted on public signs.

    Environment America assessed beach safety in its report by examining whether fecal bacteria levels exceeded standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that trigger an alert to avoid the water. Fecal bacteria at those levels can cause illness in 32 out of every 1,000 swimmers.

    In North Carolina, five beaches were under advisories in late August because of elevated levels of fecal bacteria. The beaches are open, but swimmers are advised that going in the water could be risky, said Erin Bryan-Millush, environmental program supervisor with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.

    Hurricane Erin caused extensive erosion and storm surge in some coastal areas, according to the Department of Environmental Quality. Heavy rain events this summer also exacerbated the contamination problem in some areas, Bryan-Millush said.

    “Those storm drains carry everything,” Bryan-Millush said. “It could be really bad for someone who is immune compromised.”

    ___

    Lau reported from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

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  • Fire departments concerned about cancer risks are buying gear that is free of forever chemicals

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    EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Every time he rushed out on a fire call, East Providence Lt. Thomas Votta knew he put himself at risk for cancer. There are potential carcinogens in the smoke billowing out of a house fire, but also risks from wearing his chemically-treated gear.

    Last month, the Rhode Island fire department became the nation’s first to give the 11-year veteran and all his 124 fellow firefighters new gear free of PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

    Known as forever chemicals because of how long they remain in the environment, PFAS have been linked to a host of health problems, including increased risk of certain cancers, cardiovascular disease and babies born with low birth weights.

    “We are exposed to so many chemicals when we go to fires,” Votta said. “Having it inside our gear, touching or very close to our skin was very, very concerning. Knowing that’s gone now, it gives us a little bit of relief. We’re not getting it from every angle.”

    The PFAS in the multilayered coats and pants — primarily meant to repel water and contaminants like oil and prevent moisture-related burns — have been a growing concern among firefighters for several years.

    Cancer has replaced heart disease as the biggest cause of line-of-duty deaths, according to the International Association of Fire Fighters, the union that represents firefighters and EMS workers. Firefighters are at higher risk than the general population of getting skin, kidney and other types of cancer, according to a study led by the American Cancer Society.

    Firefighters are exposed to smoke from faster and hotter blazes in buildings and wildfires, many containing toxic chemicals like arsenic and asbestos. In addition to the PFAS in their gear, the IAFF is also concerned about firefighting foam that contains the chemical and is being phased out in many places.

    “The question that is obvious to us is that why would we have carcinogens intentionally infused into our personal protective equipment?” IAFF General President Edward Kelly, who was elected in 2021 in part on a campaign to address PFAS dangers, said at a news conference this month.

    It can be difficult to determine the cause of a firefighter’s cancer since the disease can take years to develop and genetics, diet and other lifestyle factors can play a role, experts say. Where a firefighter works — cities, suburbs or rural areas — also can impact the level of exposure to toxins.

    “That’s good they’re shining a light on the health of their workers,” said Dr. Lecia Sequist, program director at the Cancer Early Detection and Diagnostics Clinic at Mass General Hospital.

    “But I don’t think the data is mature enough that we have a clear understanding of what the unique causes of cancer in firefighters might be that’s different from the general population.”

    Still, health concerns among firefighters have sparked a flurry of lawsuits against makers of gear and PFAS chemicals. Seven states, including Massachusetts and Rhode Island, have passed laws banning PFAS in gear and two others introduced bills calling for bans, according to the IAFF.

    The union has also targeted the agency that sets voluntary standards for firefighting gear and other safety requirements. In a 2023 lawsuit, the union accused the National Fire Protection Association, or NFPA, of setting standards that can only be met with PFAS-treated material and working with several gear makers to maintain that requirement — something the association denied.

    Last year, the agency announced new standards restricting use of 24 classes of chemicals including PFAS in gear — though it is considering delaying the law until March to give companies more time to comply.

    “The development of this new standard marks the most significant and complex shift in how firefighter protective gear is made in a generation,” said NFPA spokesperson Tom Lyons.

    Amid the state bans and legal fights, some of the largest gear makers are shifting away from PFAS. Smaller companies have also emerged marketing what they claim is PFAS-free gear. Hydrocarbon wax or silicone-based finish often replaces PFAS in the outer shell and removes it from the middle, moisture barrier.

    The changing gear landscape is giving fire departments an opportunity to make the switch to safer alternatives.

    Vancouver, Canada, purchased PFAS-free gear last year while Manchester, New Hampshire, bought new gear in March. Gilroy, California, and Belmont, Massachusetts, are in the process of making the switch, the IAFF said.

    “We’re trying to take every step possible to limit their exposure to the chemicals,” said Manchester Assistant Chief Matt Lamothe.

    But switching to PFAS alternatives hasn’t been easy.

    Since companies often don’t list chemicals in gear, fire departments are often in the dark as to whether it’s actually safer while also complying with heat stress, moisture and durability requirements. And PFAS-treated gear is still on the market, supported by the American Chemical Council, which argues these materials are the “only viable options” to “meet vital performance properties.”

    San Francisco was considering getting PFAS-free gear from one company until tests showed the chemical was present. The company addressed the problem and the fire department bought its first 50 of 700 sets this month.

    “The biggest challenge has been trust — or more accurately, the lack of it,” said Matthew Alba, a San Francisco department battalion chief who is being treated for a brain tumor he blames on fighting wildfires.

    In Quincy, Massachusetts, the department bought what it thought were 30 sets of PFAS-free gear, but independent tests revealed the chemical’s presence.

    “These last few months dealing with this issue has been frustrating, angry and truthfully sad seeing what these companies continue to pull,” Tom Bowes, president of the IAFF local, told a news conference attended by dozens of Quincy firefighters this month.

    Researchers at Duke and North Carolina State universities argue concerns over the new gear suggest the transition away from PFAS has been rushed — potentially exposing firefighters to new chemicals and giving them gear that hasn’t been proven safe.

    “I’ve talked to fire chiefs, fire departments across the country, across the world, they’re all dealing with it,” said Bryan Ormond, a professor at North Carolina State and director of its Milliken Textile Protection and Comfort Center. “They’re all trying to figure out … how to move forward safely and protect our people because we don’t necessarily know what the new gear is going to do.”

    But Graham Peaslee, an emeritus professor at the University of Notre Dame who tested gear for San Francisco and Quincy and is working with five other departments, said concerns about PFAS-free gear were a “scare tactic” from the chemical companies that want to keep selling their products.

    In East Providence, testing showed the fire department’s first attempt to buy PFAS-free gear contained flame retardants that pose increased cancer risk and didn’t adequately protect from heat. A new supplier provided PFAS-free materials that offered the heat protection.

    “It’s a home run,” Fire Chief Michael Carey said of the gear, which cost $658,000 and was paid for by pandemic funds.

    “It takes a sizable weight off of my shoulders,” he said. “I don’t have to worry about them being in that gear and being exposed to a known carcinogen.”

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  • Takeaways from scientists on the Trump administration’s work on climate change and public health

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    WASHINGTON — A Trump administration proposal to reverse a landmark finding that climate change is dangerous to the public relies heavily on a report from the Department of Energy that dozens of scientists say is flawed.

    The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking to use the DOE’s work to overturn the climate concept known as the “endangerment finding.” If the administration succeeds, many laws and rules aimed at reducing or restricting greenhouse gas emissions could be eliminated.

    The Associated Press surveyed scientists for their views. Here are some key takeaways from those who responded to AP’s questions:

    The most common critique from 64 scientists who responded to questions from AP was that the administration’s reports ignored, twisted or cherry-picked information to manufacture doubt about the severity and threat of climate change. Fifty-three of the 64 scientists criticized the quality of the reports.

    The Department of Energy report said Arctic sea ice has declined about 5% since 1980. That number is accurate for Antarctica, while Artic sea ice actually declined more than 40% in the period.

    Jennifer Marlon, director of data science at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, highlighted a section on U.S. wildfires that acknowledged that fire data from before 1960 isn’t reliable for comparisons. Yet the administration used that unreliable data in a chart going back to 1920, leaving readers with the impression that wildfire rates were higher many decades ago than they are now, Marlon said.

    Experts repeatedly said the reports were biased. Nineteen scientists used variations of the phrase “cherry pick” to describe citations in the administration reports.

    Francois Bareille, a French economist, has done work concluding that previous estimates about climate-related crop losses in French agriculture were overly pessimistic. The administration’s reports cited that work, but Bareille said it shouldn’t have because it’s wrong to generalize his findings to other regions.

    Climate scientist Zeke Hausfather said the reports pulled a single figure from his work on climate modeling to build a case that the models scientists use are often overly pessimistic. Hausfather said his research actually concluded that climate models have performed quite well.

    He called the government’s process a “farce.”

    The authors of the report said any errors found will be corrected.

    In a joint statement, authors of the Energy Department report said the document clearly says it’s not meant to be a comprehensive review of climate science. Instead, the authors said, it’s focused on data and topics that the media and others have underreported and overlooked.

    A handful of scientists contacted by AP spoke positively about the report.

    One expert cited in the work praised it, saying it departed from unnecessarily alarmist findings of other national and international climate assessments.

    James Davidson, a professor at the University of Exeter focused on economics, has published work that disputes the mainstream consensus that rising carbon dioxide levels in the past caused warming.

    He said the Department of Energy report is giving voice to beliefs that were previously shut out.

    Mainstream scientists have already mobilized to respond. A few have voiced criticism on social media. The National Academy of Sciences, a collection of private, nonprofit institutions set up to provide independent and objective analysis, is preparing a fast-tracked special report on the latest evidence about whether greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health.

    The Energy Department is taking public comments on its work until Sept. 2. The EPA is holding several days of public hearings, with comments due by Sept. 22.

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    The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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  • More frozen shrimp recalled for possible radioactive contamination

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    More packages of frozen shrimp potentially affected by radioactive contamination have been recalled, federal officials said Thursday.

    California-based Southwind Foods recalled frozen shrimp sold under the brands Sand Bar, Arctic Shores, Best Yet, Great American and First Street. The bagged products were distributed between July 17 and Aug. 8 to stores and wholesalers in nine states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, and Washington state.

    The products have the potential to be contaminated with Cesium-137, a radioactive isotope that is a byproduct of nuclear reactions.

    Walmart stores this week recalled packages of Great Value frozen raw shrimp sold in 13 states because of potential radioactive contamination.

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a safety alert after federal officials detected Cesium-137 in shipping containers sent to four U.S. ports and in a sample of frozen breaded shrimp imported by BMS Foods of Indonesia.

    The FDA advises consumers not to eat the recalled products. Traces of Cesium-137 are widespread in the environment including food, soil and air. The primary health risk is through long-term, repeated low-dose exposure, which can increase the risk of cancer.

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • At the US Open, tennis stars shine under dark sky-friendly outdoor lights

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    NEW YORK — When the court lights flicker on at the U.S. Open, tennis stars shine under illumination designed to cut light pollution.

    The wedge-shaped lamps around the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows direct light onto the players without spewing it into the surrounding skies.

    The stadium complex is the only professional sports venue certified by a group that’s trying to preserve the night sky around the world. Across North America and Canada, schools and local parks have also swapped out their lights on baseball fields, running tracks and other recreation grounds to preserve their view of the stars and protect local wildlife.

    Night lights can disrupt bird migration and confuse nocturnal critters like frogs and fireflies. Lights on sports fields are especially bright and cool, and often cast their glare into neighborhoods.

    In renovations over the past decade, the U.S. Tennis Association swapped metal halide bulbs for shielded LED lights. The complex’s 17 tournament courts — including Arthur Ashe Stadium — and five practice courts were approved as dark sky-friendly last year.

    USTA officials wanted the best lighting possible on their courts, which also happened to be friendly to dark skies. Their lighting company suggested striking a balance that would satisfy crowds and TV crews while cutting down spillover into the surrounding environment.

    “This is an international event that has an impact on the community,” said the USTA’s managing director of capital projects and engineering Chuck Jettmar. “Let’s minimize that and make sure that everybody’s happy with it.”

    U.S. Open qualifying matches this week were punctuated by players grunting, crickets chirping and audiences cheering. Rows of lights stood like sentries above, adorned with flat visors that guided the glow onto the action.

    The lights at Flushing Meadows glow at a quarter of their brightness when the courts are rented for play during the year. They’re approved by DarkSky International, a nonprofit that gives similar designations to cities and national parks. The group widened its focus to include sports arenas in recent years and has certified over 30 venues since 2019 — including high school football fields and youth soccer fields.

    “We live in a world where we need to engage with one another in the nighttime environment, and that’s OK,” said DarkSky spokesperson Drew Reagan. “That’s a beautiful thing and there’s a way to do that responsibly.”

    The organization typically approves proposals at sports fields before any light fixtures are installed or replaced. Once construction is complete, a representative measures the glow and glare against a set of guidelines that benefit the night.

    Renovating a field with dark skies in mind can cost about 5% to 10% more than traditional sports lighting, according to James Brigagliano, who runs DarkSky’s outdoor sports lighting program. Venues may require a few extra fixtures since the light shining from them is more targeted.

    Most arenas make the change during scheduled maintenance and renovation, working with sports lighting company Musco. The company lights over 3,000 venues a year including college football stadiums, tennis courts and rail yards.

    At Superstition Shadows Park in Apache Junction, Arizona, kids play T-ball and baseball in the evenings, when the darkness offers a brief respite from the summer heat. The city’s parks and recreation department replaced its already-aging lights with shielded, dark sky-friendly fixtures last year with federal and local government funding.

    People venture to Apache Junction partly because “they can get out of the city and still see stars,” said the city’s parks and recreation director Liz Langenbach. The city is at the edge of the Phoenix metro area, bordered by rolling mountains and sweeping deserts.

    “The choices we make on lighting, I think, affect all of that,” Langenbach said.

    At Université Sainte-Anne in Canada, students run on a new track and soccer field outfitted with lights that DarkSky approved last year. Researchers at the university study native, nocturnal animals like the northern saw-whet owl.

    The lights are “good for everyone,” said university spokesperson Rachelle LeBlanc. “For tourism, for our students, for our neighbors, for the animals that we share our campus with.”

    Night lights harm the surrounding environment no matter how shielded they are. DarkSky-approved fields still allow a small fraction of their light to be pointed up since it’s necessary to keep track of flying balls.

    “You can have the absolute best, most carefully designed stadium lighting in the world, and you’re still creating light pollution,” said Travis Longcore, an urban light pollution expert at the University of California, Los Angeles.

    The U.S. Open courts are side-by-side with bright lights from Manhattan and Queens — so they can only darken a slice of the sky. But DarkSky says every light fixture makes a difference, and one professional arena can influence others.

    “I’m not saying we as humans have to turn all the lights off,” said Longcore. “I think you have to make improvements from where you are.”

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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