Scientists have published a major study which links outdoor air pollution with 2.7 million preterm births per year. The study, which was led by a team from The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) at the University of York, found that in…
Category: Pollution
UK gets “final warning” from EU for breaching air pollution limits
The UK government must introduce Clean Air Zones across the country and commit to cleaning up the UK’s air faster says Friends of the Earth, as the European Commission today (15 February) issues a “final warning” demanding that the UK…
Pesticide firms challenges ban on bee-harming pesticides
A pesticide industry legal challenge to current EU restrictions on neonicotinoid pesticides is taking place Tuesday and Wednesday (15-16 February).
Environment Deptt action against 23 polluting factories
Dhaka – The department of environment (DoE) has taken legal action against 23 factories including 14 washing and dyeing factories whose electricity connections were snapped for polluting the environment. According to DoE, a court of monitoring and enforcement under the…
Holcim fined for discharging cement waste into Poshur River
Dhaka – A mobile court Tuesday fined Tk 1.5 lakh to Holcim cement factory in Mongla Port for illegally disposing waste from their factory into the Poshur river and for not printing the maximum retail price in the cement bags.
Coal-laden vessel sinks in Bay
Bagerhat – A coal-laden cargo vessel capsized near Fairway Buoy in Mongla in the Bay of Bengal on Friday. Abdur Rahman Biswas, officer-in-charge (investigation) of Mongla Police Station, said the cargo vessel named ‘MV Lady Marry’ sank in the bay…
China restricts cars, factories amid latest smog alert
China’s capital and other northern cities have banned half of all vehicles from city streets and ordered factories, schools and construction sites closed in response to a five-day smog red alert.The emergency steps significantly reduced traffic in Beijing on Saturday,…
Delhi schools closed for 3 days as smog pollution worsens
Delhi’s chief minister has shut all schools in the Indian capital for three days as its citizens struggle with choking smog. After an emergency cabinet meeting, Arvind Kejriwal promised a raft of measures to combat the extreme air pollution. All…
Household air pollution kills 8500 BD children a year: Unicef
Over 8,500 children die every year in Bangladesh from diseases caused by household air pollution (HAP) and 89 percent of households use solid fuels – mostly wood, agricultural waste and cow dung – for cooking and space heating.
Smog chokes Indian capital after Diwali festival
A thick blanket of toxic smog covered parts of New Delhi on Monday after millions of revelers let off firecrackers to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) said that…
2 billion children breathe toxic air worldwide, UNICEF says
New Delhi (AP/UNB) — A new report from UNICEF says most of the 2 billion children in the world who are breathing toxic air live in northern India and neighboring countries, risking serious health effects including damage to their lungs,…
Giant air cleaner unveiled in Amsterdam by Envinity Group
Dutch inventors have unveiled a large outside air vacuum cleaner they say is capable of filtering large quantities of toxic particles from the atmosphere.The purifier can clean about 800,000 cubic metres of air per hour, tech start-up Envinity Group said.”A…
Rampal Power Plant: Fly ash a big threat to environment
The fly ash to be generated from the Rampal coal-fired power plant has the potential to cause “substantial” damage to the environment, say experts. They also pointed out the tender document does not clearly specify how exactly the contaminants of…
Over 90pc of world breathing polluted air: WHO
Nine out of 10 people globally are breathing poor quality air, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, calling for dramatic action against pollution that is blamed for more than six million deaths a year.New data in a report from the…
Pathogenic river pollution on rise in Asia, Africa, Latin America
More than half of the rivers in Asia, Africa and Latin America have become more dangerous due to steep rises in organic and pathogen pollution over the last 20 years.According to a recent UN study, more than 300 million people…
Scrap ships must not pollute Third World beaches
The Minister for Environment and Food is taking the first steps towards rules on scrapping ships that will ensure that people and the environment are better protected globally when ships are broken up and recycled.Worldwide, approximately 1,000 scrap merchant vessels…
Fertilizer factory gas tank blast: Two officials found liable
Dhaka – A probe body has recommended withdrawal and divisional action against two top officers of Di-Ammonium Phosphate Fertilizer (DAP) Company Ltd in Anwara upazila over the ammonia tank explosion nine days ago, causing at least 50 workers to fall…
Air pollution’s true costs
Simon Upton Paris – Air pollution takes years off people’s lives. It causes substantial pain and suffering, among adults and children alike. And it damages food production, at a time when we need to feed more people than ever. This…
Dozens hospitalised after Ctg fertiliser factory gas leak
Fire service officials say that the density of gas in the air, leaked from a Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) fertiliser factory in Chittagong has decreased.The gas had spread across to the other bank of the river Karnaphuli after the leak at…
Georgia has highest mortality rate caused by air pollution
The FINANCIAL — Georgia leads the countries with the highest mortality rate caused by air pollution according to the study by The International Energy Agency (IEA). This is due to a sharp rise in the number of old, dirty diesel…
Ten students fall sick ‘drinking water’ at Rajshahi madrasah
Dhaka – At least ten students of a madrasah fell sick reportedly after drinking water from a tank in the madrasah premises in Kakonhat of Godagari upazila of Rajshahi on Monday night, UNB news agency reported. Eight of the sick…
Fisheries catches threatens Caribbean marine life
Marine fisheries catches have been drastically under-reported in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean, threatening the marine environment and livelihoods of the local community, reveals a recent study published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Marine Science.
Mistrust slows spread of solar disinfection tech
Manchester – Local mistrust is slowing take up of simple innovations that use sunlight to disinfect water, a UK conference has heard. Researchers working on low-cost, low-tech water purification systems for developing countries are struggling to convince local people that…
Navy plan to control encroachment, pollution in Dhaka rivers
Dhaka – Bangladesh Navy has submitted a strategy before the government to control pollution and encroachment as well as maintaining proper navigability in four rivers that are considered the lifeline of capital Dhaka, official sources said, according to BSS.
Govt. is working to protect rivers from pollution, grabbing
The government will take a crash programme to check river pollution and grabbing, said Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan on Sunday.
Radiation levels off Fukushima up 100s of times: Greenpeace
The amount of radioactive substances in seabed off Fukushima is hundreds of times higher than before the disaster, a report issued by Greenpeace reveals. The figures mean that there is absolutely “no return to normal after nuclear catastrophe” in the…
Report links 6.5 million deaths worldwide to air pollution
The International Energy Agency says each year about 6.5 million deaths worldwide are linked to air pollution and warns that the number will grow unless the energy sector steps up its efforts to slash emissions.
Efforts for saving marine ecology in ship-breaking pledged
Islamabad – Experts and government representatives have pledged to jointly tackle degradation of marine and coastal ecosystems, caused by environmentally-damaging and unsustainable ship-recycling activities. They were speaking at a two-day national policy workshop on “Hazardous waste assessment for environmentally-sound management…
World No Tobacco Day Tuesday
Dhaka – World No Tobacco Day is being observed in the country today (Tuesday) as elsewhere across the globe, aiming to make people aware of the adverse impacts of tobacco use. Every year, on May 31, World Health Organization (WHO)…
Another deadline expires for Capital’s tanneries to relocate
Dhaka – Though the extended deadline for the relocation of tanneries from the city’s Hazaribagh area expires on Sunday, no sign was seen on Saturday to move those to the designated leather industrial park in Savar. Industry insiders said it…