Category: Public health
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Scientists on Causes of High Radium Levels in Key Midwestern Aquifer
Oxygen levels, dissolved minerals among factors responsible for high concentrations of radium in untreated water from aquifer that underlies six states U.S. Geological Survey scientists have shed new light on processes that happen deep underground. These processes — which cause radium to leach from aquifer rocks into groundwater — are responsible for high concentrations of…
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The Toxic ‘Blank Spots’ of Niagara Falls
CityLab visual storyteller Ariel Aberg-Riger dives into the promises of Niagara Falls, New York’s Chemical Age, and the destruction it has left behind. The region’s “chemical genies” of the early 20th century were heralded as reaching into the future to create a more abundant life for all. Instead, they deprived future generations of their health…
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Citizen Groups Will Sue DuPont and Chemours for Contaminating Drinking Water in North Carolina
After years of litigation over PFOA, an industrial toxin used to make Teflon and other non-stick and stain-resistant products, in 2009 DuPont introduced GenX. Now the slippery substitute has followed the path of the molecule it replaced, contaminating water near plants in West Virginia and North Carolina, and attracting its own intense legal interest. The…
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10 facts about water policy and infrastructure in the USA
From the water safety crisis in Flint, Michigan to the near-disaster with the Oroville Dam in California, a string of water-related events have made headlines, and called into question the U.S. focus on keeping critical water systems safe and functioning. In advance of the U.S.-focused Water Week and the U.N. World Water Day, Brookings experts…
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A look at farm runoff and the worsening algae plague
Algae floats on the surface of Lake Erie’s Maumee Bay in Oregon, Ohio, on Friday, Sept. 15, 2017. Chemicals and manure intended to nourish crops are washing into lakes, streams and oceans, providing an endless buffet for algae. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) Harmful algae blooms have become a top water polluter, fueled by fertilizers washing into…
