blog posts

• To study how PFAS moves in the air, MPCA turns to pine needles

  Nov 28, 2025 4:15 pm

  Source: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, 11/5/25

  Volunteers across all of Minnesota’s 87 counties have been busy carefully plucking pine needles from coniferous trees in their neighborhoods and collecting them in plastic bags. Why? They’re gathering clues about how PFAS move through the air so the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) can better understand how to protect Minnesotans from PFAS pollution. Air monitoring equipment can detect PFAS in the air, but it has limitations. It requires a fenced-in area with electricity, trained staff to operate the monitoring equipment, and expensive analysis only available at a few laboratories. Pine needles, on the other hand, become a natural and much less expensive way to gather data.

• Space pollution levels in the atmosphere are rocketing

  Nov 27, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Chemical & Engineering News, 11/18/25

  As more rockets and satellites in low Earth orbit burn up in the atmosphere at the end of their lives, the amount of introduced vapors and particulate matter there is dramatically rising. A new study under review in Advances in Space Research calculates just how much waste this traffic is injecting into Earth’s upper atmosphere. The results show that last year, the mass of metals introduced to the atmosphere by human activity annually nearly doubled from the levels seen from 2015 to 2020. For 24 different elements, this influx now contributes more mass than natural sources. Both records are on track to be shattered this year.

• Required PFAS testing at Minnesota WWTFs

  Nov 26, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: BioCycle, 11/18/25

  On September 1, 2025, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) began requiring all wastewater treatment facilities (WWTF) intending to apply biosolids to agricultural land or used for reclamation projects to collect at least one representative sample of their biosolids and test it for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) each year using draft EPA Method 1633A. The results from this sample must be received prior to biosolids being applied to land. 

• Deadly in Small Doses: New Research Shows the Lethal Effects of Ingested Plastic on Marine Animals

  Nov 25, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Inside Climate News, 11/17/25

  Ingesting just six pieces of rubber—each smaller than a pea—can all but seal a seabird’s fate, leaving it with a 90 percent chance of death. A 300-pound adult green sea turtle has about a 50 percent chance of survival after swallowing two golf balls’ worth of plastic bags and food wrappers. Gulping down less than a soccer ball’s volume of fishing line or nets is enough to kill nearly all sea lions, seals, dolphins and porpoises.

  These are just some of the fatal thresholds marine wildlife face when plastic ends up inside their bodies, according to a new analysis by scientists from the Ocean Conservancy, an international marine conservation nonprofit. In a study released Monday, researchers outline the amount of swallowed debris it takes to block an animal’s gut, tear its digestive tract or force its intestines to twist. 

• Microplastics hit male arteries hard

  Nov 24, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: University of California - Riverside, 11/18/25

  A mouse study led by University of California, Riverside biomedical scientists suggests that everyday exposure to microplastics — tiny fragments shed from packaging, clothing, and countless plastic products — may accelerate the development of atherosclerosis, the artery-clogging process that leads to heart attacks and strokes. The harmful effects were seen only in male mice, offering new clues about how microplastics may affect cardiovascular health in humans.

• Tracking down the hidden pollutants that make wildlife sick

  Nov 19, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Knowable Magazine, 10/13/25

  A new technique for detecting unknown and unlooked-for chemicals is revealing dozens of contaminants in alligators, sea lions and condors 

• Pesticides used near farm communities tied to rare but deadly childhood cancer

  Nov 18, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: The New Lede, 10/16/25

  Previous studies have found an association between some pesticides and neuroblastoma, but this is the first to examine links between prenatal exposure from specific sprayed pesticides near the home and the disease.

• Analysis suggests cigarette butts are a source of antibiotic-resistance genes

  Nov 17, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Inside Precision Medicine, 10/27/25

  Cigarette butts may pose a risk to the health of smokers and nonsmokers alike by acting as genetic pools of microbial antibiotic resistance, researchers report. With estimated annual cigarette consumption reaching nine trillion this year, the findings suggest that discarded butts present both a major health and environmental issue. The study, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, revealed that cigarette butts were significant reservoirs and amplifiers of antibiotic resistance genes, which can drive the emergence of drug-resistant pathogens.

• Wetlands help remedy agricultural pollution. Some Illinois farmers are installing new ones.

  Nov 14, 2025 3:00 pm

  Source: Inside Climate News, 10/23/25

  Farmers trying to minimize nitrate running off their fields and contaminating water are partnering with the Wetlands Initiative to build “smart wetlands.”

• Even low PFAS in drinking water raise blood levels, California study shows

  Nov 12, 2025 11:45 am

  News Medical, 11/2/25

  In a recent article in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, researchers examined blood chemical levels in adults exposed to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) through public drinking water systems. Their findings suggest that even in areas without industrial PFAS manufacturing, people can be significantly exposed to these “forever chemicals” through contaminated drinking water, requiring ongoing monitoring.

• Plastic smog alert: New published research from 5 gyres reveals a single laundromat emits more than 7 trillion microfibers into the air each year

  Nov 11, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: The 5 Gyres Institute, 11/5/25

  New research from The 5 Gyres Institute identifying commercial dryers as a major source of airborne microfiber pollution was published today in Environmental Research Communications. According to the published article, a single laundromat releases up to 7.2 trillion microfibers into the air each year. When scaled city-wide, emissions could reach 1.1 quadrillion microfibers annually, underscoring the need for targeted mitigation strategies that address these emissions at the source.

• This reaction turns Teflon into toothpaste’s key ingredient

  Nov 10, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Chemical & Engineering News, 10/27/25

  In the past year, several research groups have reported methods for upcycling PTFE, better known by its brand name, Teflon, into useful chemicals. The latest work in this area comes from chemists led by Roly J. Armstrong at Newcastle University and Erli Lu and Dominik J. Kubicki at the University of Birmingham. The team developed a process that transforms PTFE into sodium fluoride and amorphous carbon (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5c14052). The chemists use a ball mill to grind chunks of sodium metal together with PTFE in what’s known as a mechanochemical reaction. Because the reaction uses no solvents and has no by-products, it’s environmentally friendly and has 100% atom economy. Other PTFE-upcycling reactions that have been reported to date use organic solvents or complex catalysts, or they create by-products. 

• New research reveals what’s really hiding in bottled water

  Nov 3, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Concordia University, 10/6/2025

  A chance encounter with plastic waste on a tropical beach sparked a deep investigation into what those fragments mean for human health. The research reveals that bottled water isn’t as pure as it seems—each sip may contain invisible microplastics that can slip through the body’s defenses and lodge in vital organs. These tiny pollutants are linked to inflammation, hormonal disruption, and even neurological damage, yet remain dangerously understudied.

• EU adopts rules to curb plastic pellet pollution

  Oct 31, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Le Monde, 10/23/25

  The European Parliament on Thursday, October 23, definitively adopted rules clamping down on pollution from the tiny pellets that constitute the building blocks of most plastic products. The text introduces new rules to hold handling and transport firms accountable for spills of the lentil-sized pellets, called nurdles, which are used in everything from car bumpers to salad bowls. 

• Recovering arsenic from wastewater sludge

  Oct 30, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Chemical & Engineering News, 10/17/25

  Arsenic is a potent carcinogen and one of the world’s most dangerous drinking-water contaminants, particularly in South Asia, where millions are exposed through groundwater. Removing the toxin from groundwater helps protect public health but leaves behind sludge laced with arsenic, which is expensive and hazardous to dispose of properly. Researchers in Denmark have now found a way to turn that toxic waste into something valuable: high-purity elemental arsenic, a material in growing demand for green electronics and batteries (Sci. Adv. 2025, DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adz5816).

• Why The Search Is On For PFAS-Free Batteries

  Oct 28, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Forbes, 10/22/25

  The demand for Lithium-ion batteries might be on the rise, but how many of us are aware they contain harmful PFAS compounds, otherwise known as “forever chemicals”? The use of such compounds is obviously not good for the environment, and the search is now on for alternative compounds, which can be used in the next generation of batteries.

• How microplastic pollution is boosting antimicrobial resistance

  Oct 27, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, 10/17/25

  Excessive microplastics contamination could be fuelling antimicrobial resistance (AMR), already a spiralling problem worldwide, a new research report reveals. The report, published in The Journal of Hazardous Materials, finds that plastics act as a platform for biofilms – communities of bacteria and other microbes that cling to their surfaces. These biofilms can help accelerate the spread of drug resistance by creating a protective barrier that blocks the entry of antibiotics into the microbes, and helps resistance genes to transmit more easily within the biofilm community.

• The invisible chemical in the air that could be raising Parkinson’s risk

  Oct 24, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: American Academy of Neurology, 10/3/25

  A massive nationwide study has linked long-term exposure to the industrial chemical trichloroethylene (TCE) with a higher risk of Parkinson’s disease in older adults. Researchers examined over 1.1 million people, finding that those living in areas with the highest outdoor TCE levels faced a 10% greater risk of developing Parkinson’s.

• Scientists find hidden brain damage behind dementia

  Oct 23, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, 10/6/25

  A University of New Mexico scientist is revealing what might be one of the most overlooked causes of dementia — damage in the brain’s tiny blood vessels. Dr. Elaine Bearer has created a new way to classify these changes, showing that many people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s also suffer from vascular damage that quietly destroys brain tissue. Even more surprising, she’s finding microplastics inside the brain that appear linked to inflammation and memory loss. 

• The invisible plastic threat you can finally see

  Oct 22, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Universitaet Stuttgart. 9/10/25

  Researchers in Germany and Australia have created a simple but powerful tool to detect nanoplastics—tiny, invisible particles that can slip through skin and even the blood-brain barrier. Using an "optical sieve" test strip viewed under a regular microscope, these particles reveal themselves through striking color changes.

• Biochar’s secret power could change clean water forever

  Oct 20, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Shenyang Agricultural University, 9/26/25

  Scientists found that biochar doesn’t just capture pollutants, it actively destroys them using direct electron transfer. This newly recognized ability accounts for up to 40% of its cleaning power and remains effective through repeated use. The discovery opens the door to cheaper, greener, and more efficient water treatment methods worldwide.

• First comprehensive review of plastic pollution in the Amazon reveals contamination poses urgent health risks

  Oct 17, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Phys.org, 10/1/25

  In a study published in the journal Ambio, researchers examined 52 peer-reviewed scientific papers on plastic found in the Amazon since 2000, particularly in fauna, fish, sediment and water. More than 90% of the research was concentrated in Brazil along the main Amazon River channel, and the most frequently reported microplastic fragment size was less than five millimeters. The findings make for troubling reading. Plastic contamination is not limited to a few spots; it's widespread across the basin. The review found plastic fragments and litter in the water, river sediments, and among plants and wildlife, including birds, fish and mammals. The most alarming discovery was the threat to human health. Researchers found that two-thirds (66%) of the studied animals (mostly fish) that contain plastic are regular food sources for local communities. This high level of contamination puts many people at risk of ingesting plastic fragments, especially microfragments.

• Microplastics in the placenta linked to increased risk of miscarriage

  Oct 15, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Environmental Health News, 10/3/25

  In a recent study published by eBioMedicine, researchers found that women with higher levels of microplastics in their placenta were at an increased risk of experiencing spontaneous miscarriage in the first trimester. 

• Microplastics found to change gut microbiome in first human-sample study

  Oct 14, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: EurekAlert, 10/6/25

  New research presented at UEG Week 2025 shows that microplastics – plastic particles smaller than 5mm commonly found in the environment – can alter the human gut microbiome, with some changes resembling patterns linked to depression and colorectal cancer. 

• Advocates raise alarm over Pfas pollution from datacenters amid AI boom

  Oct 13, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: The Guardian, 10/4/25

  Advocates are particularly concerned over the use by datacenters of PFAS gas, or f-gas, which can be potent greenhouse gases, and may mean datacenters’ climate impact is worse than previously thought. Other f-gases turn into a type of dangerous compound that is rapidly accumulating across the globe. Two kinds of cooling systems are used to prevent the semiconductors and other electronic equipment stored in datacenters from overheating. Water cooling systems require huge volumes of water, and chemicals like nitrates, disinfectants, azoles and other compounds are potentially added and discharged in the environment. Many centers are now switching to a “two phase” system that uses f-gas as a refrigerant coolant that is run through copper tubing. In this scenario, f-gas is not intentionally released during use, though there may be leaks, and it must be disposed of at the end of its life.

• Scientists just found out forever chemicals are shockingly acidic

  Oct 6, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: University at Buffalo, 9/13/25

  Scientists have uncovered that “forever chemicals” like PFAS are even more acidic than anyone realized, meaning they dissolve and spread in water with alarming ease. Using a cutting-edge method combining NMR spectroscopy and computer modeling, researchers showed that the acidity of notorious compounds like PFOA and GenX had been vastly underestimated—sometimes by factors of a thousand.

• New and simple detection method for nanoplastics

  Oct 3, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: University of Stuttgart, 9/8/25

  A joint team from the University of Stuttgart in Germany and the University of Melbourne in Australia has developed a new method for the straightforward analysis of tiny nanoplastic particles in environmental samples. One needs only an ordinary optical microscope and a newly developed test strip—the optical sieve. The research results have now been published in “Nature Photonics” (doi: 10.1038/s41566-025-01733-x).

• Phthalates in everyday products may fuel breast cancer, new study warns

  Sep 30, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: U.S. Right to Know, 9/5/25

  Common chemicals in plastics, personal care products, and food packaging may drive the onset, growth, and spread of breast cancer—the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in women, new research suggests. The findings, published this month [September 2025] in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, suggest phthalates hijack the body’s hormone systems, activate cancer-promoting genes, and make tumors easier to form. and harder to treat. The study raises new questions about the safety of chemicals that millions of Americans encounter every day in air, food, and water.   

• The chronic risks from single-use plastic water bottles are dangerously understudied, new Concordia research shows

  Sep 29, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Concordia University, 9/9/25

  In a paper published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, Sarah Sajedi and colleagues from Concordia University look at the science around the health risks posed by single-use plastic water bottles. They are serious, Sajedi says, and seriously understudied. In her review of over 140 scientific articles, Sajedi writes that individuals on average ingest between 39,000 and 52,000 microplastic particles per year, and bottled water users consume 90,000 more particles than tap water consumers. Once inside the body, these small plastics can cross biological boundaries, enter the bloodstream and reach vital organs. This can lead to chronic inflammation, oxidative stress on cells, hormonal disruption, impaired reproduction, neurological damage and various kinds of cancer. However, the long-term effects remain poorly understood due to a lack of widespread testing and standardized methods of measurement and detection.

• New maps show how risk from ‘forever chemicals’ varies

  Sep 24, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: The Conversation, 9/4/25

  To better understand the ways people are being exposed to PFAS, researchers examined four exposure pathways – drinking water contamination, food contamination, recreational exposure and industrial emissions, such as from Superfund sites, airports, military bases and manufacturing plants – across three Great Lakes states: Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania. The interactive map and online dashboard that they created lets residents look up their communities’ known PFAS exposure risks and calculate their own risks. The results also offer insights for people across the U.S. who share similar environments, dietary choices and lifestyles.

• Slow burn: The vital need for benign flame retardants

  Sep 18, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Chemical & Engineering News, 9/3/25

  Flame retardants slow the spread of fires but they can have serious, unintended human health and environmental impacts. Inadequate toxicity testing and inconsistent regulations make it difficult to keep potentially harmful fire-resisting chemicals out of products. Researchers in industry and academia are trying to develop safer chemistries and working on next-generation biobased flame retardants.

• Sites contaminated by toxic ‘forever chemicals’ are much more widespread than previously thought, researchers find

  Sep 17, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Northeastern University, 9/10/25

  Toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS or “forever chemicals,” are in everything from Band-Aids and clothing to water and floss. However, new research reveals they are potentially even more widespread in the U.S. than previously thought. The research done by Northeastern University’s PFAS Project Lab reveals that while there are about 2,200 known sites of PFAS contamination in the U.S., there are close to another 80,000 likely contaminated sites. It presents what the researchers say is a much more complete — and stark — picture of PFAS contamination while also presenting legislators, communities and environmental activists with a roadmap of where to focus their efforts. 

• Banned pesticides found in clouds, sparking new health concerns

  Sep 16, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: U.S. Right to Know, 9/11/25

  Pesticides banned years ago in the European Union are drifting through the skies and turning up in clouds above France, raising concerns about how long these toxins persist and how far they can travel, with potentially harmful global health impacts, according to a pathbreaking new study.  The research, published in Environmental Science & Technology, is the first to detect dozens of agricultural chemicals—including insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and other substances—suspended in cloud water droplets. That means pesticides not only linger in the environment but also move through the atmosphere and fall back to Earth in rain or snow, sometimes at levels exceeding European safe drinking water limits, the research suggests. 

• USC study shows how PFAS disrupt healthy function in human liver cells

  Sep 15, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: USC Keck School of Medicine, 9/10/25

  Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), manmade chemicals that accumulate in the body over time, have been linked to liver disease and cancer, but it is not yet clear how they cause damage. Researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC used a lab model of the human liver to analyze changes at the cellular level, finding that some PFAS triggered fat accumulation and others caused cell damage linked to cancer. The study was just published in the journal Environment International. 

• Heat-styling hair care products release billions of nanoparticles that can accumulate in lungs, engineers find

  Sep 5, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Purdue University, 8/20/25

  A typical morning hair-care routine can expose you to as much immediate nanoparticle pollution as standing in dense highway traffic, report Purdue University engineers. A Purdue research team led by Nusrat Jung, an assistant professor in the Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering, and her Ph.D. student Jianghui Liu, found that a 10–20-minute heat-based hair care routine exposes a person to upward of 10 billion nanoparticles that are directly deposited into their lungs. These particles can lead to serious health risks such as respiratory stress, lung inflammation, and cognitive decline. The team's findings are published in Environmental Science & Technology.
  
  
  

• A potential ‘green’ alternative to formaldehyde and PFAS in fabric finishing

  Sep 2, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: American Chemical Society, 8/18/25

  More than half of the 7.5 million bales of cotton produced annually in the U.S. will be used in clothing manufacturing. The finishing techniques used to make cotton fabric smooth, water-repellant and resistant to wrinkling can be detrimental to the environment and the wearer. Now, researchers propose a method for using cottonseed oil as a “greener” and safer alternative to formaldehyde and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often called forever chemicals, when finishing cotton fabrics.

  Taylor Kanipe, a graduate student at North Carolina State University (NC State), presented her results at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), held Aug. 17-21.

• PFAS exposure linked to teen weight regain after bariatric surgery

  Sep 1, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: HealthDay, 8/19/25

  For adolescents, exposure to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is associated with weight regain after bariatric surgery, according to a study published online Aug. 14 in Obesity. 

• Bioreactors reduce phosphorus from agricultural drainage water, Illinois study shows

  Aug 26, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: University of Illinois College of ACES, 8/11/25

  Tile drainage is a common practice used in agricultural fields to remove excess water, but it also transports harmful nutrients into water bodies, contributing to algal blooms that deprive aquatic life of oxygen. Woodchip bioreactors are an efficient way to reduce nitrogen pollution by treating the water as it exits the field. However, these denitrifying bioreactors may leach phosphorus from the woodchips into the environment. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign evaluates data from 10 bioreactors in Illinois to determine whether they are a source of phosphorus pollution.

• Exposure to PFAS, ‘forever chemicals’, linked to increased type 2 diabetes risk

  Aug 20, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Medical News Today, 7/24/25

  Vishal Midya is the corresponding author of a new study recently published in the journal eBioMedicine that found exposure to a class of synthetic chemicals called perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)Trusted Source — also known as "forever chemicals" — may increase a person's risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

• New research uncovers gene impacts of PFAS exposure in firefighters

  Aug 19, 2025 9:00 am

  Medical Express, 7/25/25

  Researchers at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health found that certain kinds of long-lasting chemicals firefighters are exposed to may affect the activity of genes linked to cancer and other diseases. The findings appear in the journal Environmental Research. The study is among the first to connect common industrial chemicals called PFAS—per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—to changes in microRNAs, or miRNAs, which are molecules that act as guardrails to help control gene expression.

• Researchers at Notre Dame detect ‘forever chemicals’ in reusable feminine hygiene products

  Aug 18, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: University of Notre Dame, 7/22/25

  The results of a study conducted by researchers from Notre Dame and Indiana University focusing on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in reusable feminine hygiene products have been published in Environmental Science & Technology.  Most of the samples contained PFAS concentrations low enough to be characterized by study authors as "non-intentionally fluorinated." But period underwear (33 percent) and reusable pads (25 percent) had the greatest rates of "intentional fluorination." 

• One of the biggest microplastic pollution sources isn’t straws or grocery bags – it’s your tires

  Aug 14, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: The Conversation, 7/22/25

  Every few years, the tires on your car wear thin and need to be replaced. But where does that lost tire material go? The answer, unfortunately, is often waterways, where the tiny microplastic particles from the tires’ synthetic rubber carry several chemicals that can transfer into fish, crabs and perhaps even the people who eat them.

• From masterpieces to makeup: eco-friendly art conservation gentle enough for human skin

  Aug 11, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Horizon Magazine, 7/1/25

  Green art conservation methods developed by EU-funded researchers are setting new standards and proving useful far beyond museums, from cosmetics to agriculture. 

• Pollution solution with a pinch of clay

  Aug 7, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: University of Cambridge, 7/28/25

  A low-cost material made from clay and vitamin B2 could one day help clean up pollution using only sunlight. Developed by researchers in the University of Cambridge Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (CEB), the new material – Flaponite – combines a clay base with compounds derived from vitamin B2, also known as riboflavin, to create a sustainable photocatalyst. It’s affordable, recyclable, and designed to work in water under visible light – offering a promising new approach to breaking down environmental pollutants without harsh chemicals or high energy use. The study demonstrates how the material can break down model pollutants in lab conditions – a crucial first step in developing real-world water purification or green chemical processing technologies. 

• Long-term exposure to outdoor air pollution linked to increased risk of dementia

  Aug 6, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: University of Cambridge, 7/27/25

  An analysis of studies incorporating data from almost 30 million people has highlighted the role that air pollution – including that coming from car exhaust emissions – plays in increased risk of dementia...In a paper published in The Lancet Planetary Health, a team led by researchers at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing scientific literature to examine this link further. This approach allowed them to bring together studies that on their own may not provide sufficient evidence, and which sometimes disagree with each other, to provide more robust overarching conclusions. In total, the researchers included 51 studies, including data from more than 29 million participants who had been exposed to air pollutants for at least one year, mostly from high-income countries. Of these, 34 papers were included in the meta-analysis: 15 originated in North America, 10 in Europe, seven in Asia, and two in Australia. The researchers found a positive and statistically-significant association between 3 types of air pollutant and dementia.

• Indoor air contains thousands of microplastics small enough to penetrate deep into our lungs, study finds

  Aug 4, 2025 9:00 am

  CNN, 7/30/25

  Thousands of microplastics so small they can penetrate deep into the lungs are in the air you breathe in your home and car, a new study has found.
  
  The particles are likely the result of the degradation of plastic-filled objects such as carpet, curtains, furniture and textiles and the plastic parts of car interiors, according to the study published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One.

• Tons of invisible plastic pieces lurk in ocean water

  Jul 30, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: New York Times, 7/9/25 (gift article)

  A study published Wednesday in the journal Nature estimates the volume of nanoplastics, which are even smaller than microplastics and invisible to the naked eye, to be at least 27 million metric tons in North Atlantic seas — more than the weight of all wild land mammals.

• Microplastic contamination detected in milk and cheese raises food safety concerns

  Jul 25, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: AZO Cleantech, 7/18/25

  A recent study, published in npj Science of Food, investigated microplastic contamination in milk, fresh cheese, and ripened cheese, providing one of the most detailed assessments yet of plastics in dairy products. The research team used advanced spectroscopic techniques to analyze the size, shape, colour, and concentration of microplastics in these widely consumed foods. 

• Microplastics can cause malignant changes in lung cells

  Jul 24, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Medical University of Vienna, 7/15/25

  Although the respiratory system is one of the main entry points for microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) from the air into the body, little is known about the effects of these tiny particles on the lungs. Researchers at MedUni Vienna have now demonstrated for the first time that MNPs can trigger malignant changes in lung cells that are associated with the development of cancer. The findings were published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials and once again underline the urgent need for action to reduce plastic waste.

• Wildfires threaten water quality for years after they burn

  Jul 11, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: University of Colorado at Boulder, 6/23/25

  Years after wildfires burn forests and watersheds, the contaminants left behind continue to poison rivers and streams across the Western U.S. — much longer than scientists estimated. 

  A new study published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment, analyzed water quality in more than 500 watersheds across the Western U.S., and is the first large-scale assessment of post-wildfire water quality. The results showed contaminants like organic carbon, phosphorus, nitrogen, and sediment can degrade water quality for up to eight years after a fire. Water managers can use this data to help them plan for the future and respond appropriately when wildfires strike.