For the Love of God, Stop Microwaving Plastic
A study of baby-food containers shows that microwaving plastic releases millions upon millions of polymer bits.
Trashed: The Secret Life of Plastic Recycling
ABC News' groundbreaking investigation looks into how well the U.S. plastic bag recycling system is working, and how communities are impacted by nearby landfills and incinerators.
The Little-Known Unintended Consequence of Recycling Plastics
Instead of helping to tackle the world’s staggering plastic waste problem, recycling may be exacerbating a concerning environmental problem: microplastic pollution. A recent peer-reviewed study that focused on a recycling facility in the United Kingdom suggests that anywhere between 6 to 13 percent of the plastic processed could end up being released into water or the air as microplastics — ubiquitous tiny particles smaller than five millimeters that have been found everywhere from Antarctic snow to inside human bodies.
Who Said Recycling Was Green? It Makes Microplastics By the Ton
Research out of Scotland suggests that the chopping, shredding and washing of plastic in recycling facilities may turn as much as six to 13 percent of incoming waste into microplastics—tiny, toxic particles that are an emerging and ubiquitous environmental health concern for the planet and people.
‘The Poison Plastic’: Why Calls Are Growing for a Ban on PVC
A toxic train derailment in Ohio has forced an uncomfortable conversation in the US. The pollution and response to the accident was bad enough for local residents, but black and lower-income communities face the effects of America’s dirty plastic industry on a daily basis.
Are Microplastics Invading the Male Reproductive System?
A new pilot study shows that microplastics — plastic particles that are smaller than five millimeters or close to the size of a short rice grain – can be found in human testis and semen, according to the paper published last month inScience of The Total Environment. While experts believe more data are needed to confirm the findings, this study sheds light on the possible penetration of microplastics into the human reproductive system and the urgency for understanding their potential health impact.
East Palestine Families Living in Limbo Months After Fire
Almost 3 months after a fiery Norfolk Southern train derailment blackened the skies, sent residents fleeing and thrust East Palestine into a national debate over rail safety, residents say they are still living in limbo. They’re unsure how or whether to move on from the accident and worry what will happen to them and the village where they have deep family roots, friendships and affordable homes.
A New Research Review Describes Plastics, ‘From Cradle to Grave,’ as a Toxics Crisis and Says the UN Must Act to Limit Production
Chemicals found in plastics cause cancer, disrupt hormones, harm human reproductive systems and lead to obesity and diabetes, the Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Human Health finds.
‘Wakeup Call’: Braintree Chemical Fire, Ohio Derailment Show Need for Stronger Emergency Planning, Experts Say
Government officials don’t pay enough attention to preventing accidents due to a lack of funding devoted to such efforts, said Judith Enck, a former EPA regional administrator now president of environmental advocacy group Beyond Plastics. And communication around evacuation plans is an issue across the nation, she said. Almost 124 million people, or 39 percent of the US population, live within 3 miles of a hazardous facility, according to the Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters.
East Palestine Toxic Train Crash Shows Plastics Industry Toll on Planet. Will U.S. Ban Vinyl Chloride?
Five weeks after the Norfolk Southern toxic train derailment and so-called controlled burn that blanketed the town with a toxic brew of at least six hazardous chemicals and gases, senators grilled the CEO of Norfolk Southern over the company’s toxic train derailment. The company has evaded calls to cover healthcare costs as residents continue to report headaches, coughing, fatigue, irritation and burning of the skin.
Former EPA Regional Administrator Critical of Response to East Palestine Toxic Train Derailment
Allegations of missteps and mistakes in the federal EPA’s response to the East Palestine toxic train derailment are coming from someone who’s been in the agency’s top ranks. The criticism comes as mistrust and anger linger in and around the village. More than a month after a dark chemical plume billowed over East Palestine, there are signs of resilience. But there are also high demands for baseline medical tests and water many people want to trust to drink.
Why Is the E.P.A. So Timid in the East Palestine Train Disaster?
When a Norfolk Southern train carrying nearly 116,000 gallons of vinyl chloride derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, last month, local officials made a pivotal decision: to drain the highly toxic chemical into a ditch and set it on fire in a “controlled burn” to avoid a catastrophic explosion. Officials didn’t mention that the plume could rain dioxins and other enduring poisons down on the community and others downwind. And two days after the burn, residents in the one-by-two-mile evacuation zone were allowed back into their homes — before any testing for dioxins and other contaminants on the surfaces inside had been done.
Op-ed: Beignets, Coffee and Petrochemicals
Though Black History Month is coming to an end, let’s continue to amplify the voices of fenceline communities fighting toxic pollution.
Did Dioxins Spread After the Ohio Train Derailment?
After a catastrophic 38-train car derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, some officials are raising concerns about a type of toxic substance that tends to stay in the environment.
The East Palestine Disaster Was a Direct Result of the Country’s Reliance on Fossil Fuels and Plastic
The hazardous chemicals being transported by the derailed train — including vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen — are used to make PVC, the world’s third most used type of plastic.
Former EPA Official Breaks Down Ohio Train Derailment
Judith Enck, a former regional administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Obama administration, joined Errol Louis on "Inside City Hall" Thursday to discuss how she thinks officials should respond to the situation in East Palestine, Ohio, where a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed earlier this month, threatening the safety of residents.
One Planet: The Norfolk Southern Ohio Train Derailment Reveals the Dangers of Plastic Production
On this edition of Your Call’s One Planet Series, we discuss the environmental and health impacts of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio and our growing reliance on plastics. Derailed train cars were carrying several petrochemicals, including vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen. Vinyl chloride exposure is associated with an increased risk of a rare form of liver cancer, primary liver cancer, brain and lung cancers, lymphoma, and leukemia, according to the National Cancer Institute.
On the Frontlines in a ‘Cancer Alley,’ Black Women Inspired by Faith Are Powering the Environmental Justice Movement
Religious belief has been central to the movement since its start. Sharon Lavigne, a 70-year-old grandmother in Louisiana taking on the plastics industry, is hailed as “a modern-day prophet.”
Opinion: This Deadly Chemical Should Be Banned
Like a scene out of some postapocalyptic movie, Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio convened a news conference on Feb. 5 to deliver a stark warning. “We are ordering them to leave,” he said of residents of the small rural community of East Palestine, Ohio, and a neighboring part of Pennsylvania. “This is a matter of life and death.” To emphasize the point, he added: “Those in the red area are facing grave danger of death if they are still in that area.”
The Ohio Derailment Lays Bare the Hellish Plastic Crisis
The plastic crisis looks like a sperm whale filling up its stomach with bags. It looks like cucumbers and bananas—which have perfectly good skins of their own—wrapped in single-use plastic. But before all that, it looks like a burning train wreck in East Palestine, Ohio.