Category: Public health
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‘Forever Chemicals’ Found In Hawaii Environment. Now What?
Photo: PFAS have been detected in Hawaii’s soil, groundwater and drinking water. The state has no comprehensive plan to deal with it. (Yoohyun Jung/Civil Beat/2021) For years, Ron Fitzgerald and Sam A‘i have tended to their farm in Waiawa. What began as a dream of raising their family on the land led to teaching students…
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Microplastics pollution is filtering up into the fish we eat
Photo: Fish and plastic (Getty Images/Sergi Escribano) Oysters, tuna and other wild-caught fish we eat often contain plastic As an agrarian civilization, almost all of what humans eat is farmed — with the notable exception of seafood. Aside from some farmed fish, most seafood we consume is still caught in the wild. Yet while it might…
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EPA Mandates States Report on Cyberattacks, Threats to Water Systems
The Biden administration on Friday [3/3/2023] said it would require states to report on cybersecurity threats in their audits of public water systems, a day after it released a broader plan to protect critical infrastructure against cyberattacks. The Environmental Protection Agency said public water systems are increasingly at risk from cyberattacks that amount to a…
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Toilet Paper May Be a Source of Cancer-Causing PFAS in Wastewater, Study Says
Photo: Researchers are expressing concerns that toilet paper may be adding harmful chemicals to wastewater systems. Toilet paper may play a role in the contamination of groundwater with potentially harmful substances called PFAS. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are found in a wide variety of consumer products, including cosmetics, cleansers, and firefighting foams. While research…
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Red Hill Water Information
U.S. Navy — Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility Fuel spills at this location have endangered the chief source of freshwater on the island of O’ahu. Early response by the Navy appeared to be aimed at the public-relations aspects rather than substantive ones — to the point that we questioned whether the Navy was adhering…
