Amid growing concerns about the spread of harmful mercury in plants and animals, a new study compared levels of the chemical in captive dolphins with dolphins found in the wild. The captive animals were fed a controlled diet, while the wild mammals dined on marine life that may carry more of the toxic metal.
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Short-term exposure (for up to 7 days) to all major air pollutants, with the exception of ozone, is significantly associated with an increased risk of heart attack.
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Who would have believed it? Cleaning up pollution may lead to more hurricanes!
We’re not sure how this might effect tornadoes, but recent research suggests that cleaning up air pollution from factories in North America and Europe could have helped to cause more disastrous hurricanes in the US in recent years. Since 1995, according to NOAA, severe hurricanes have become much more frequent in the US.
It was always assumed that natural causes were behind the temperature fluctuations that lead to hurricanes, but a new study suggests that tiny airborne particles from industrial pollution (as well as from volcanic eruptions), are the more likely culprit.
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Humans pump thousands of tons of vapor from the metallic element mercury into the atmosphere each year, and it can remain suspended for long periods before being changed into a form that is easily removed from the atmosphere.
New research shows that the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere work to transform elemental mercury into oxidized mercury, which can easily be deposited into lakes and oceans and ultimately enter the food chain. Mercury-filled fish are not safe to eat.
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