Tag - pollution

 
 

POLLUTION

A member of the team of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)  checks fish samples at Hisanohama Port in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, on Oct. 19.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 11, 2023
Pacific island nations express concern over Fukushima water release
Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown noted "the significance of potential threats of contamination to the health and security of the blue Pacific."
A mother assists her child to breathe with the help of a nebuliser at the emergency ward of the government-run Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya children hospital in New Delhi on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Nov 10, 2023
'Like breathing poison': Delhi children hardest hit by smog
"Imagine telling a parent not to let their child go out and play in this toxic environment."
Pedestrians and shoppers walk past a branch of fashion retailer H&M in central Stockholm on July 17.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 9, 2023
Sustainable cloth-maker Renewcell struggling amid slow adoption
Stock in Renewcell lost over 80% of its value in the last month and the firm has reported an operating loss of $17 million in nine months.
People wearing sun protection gear amid a heat wave walk on a street in Beijing in July.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 3, 2023
Climate's 'Catch-22': Cutting pollution heats up the planet
The removal of air pollution may have had a greater effect on temperatures in some Chinese cities than the warming from greenhouse gases.
Minamata Disease sufferers Suemi Sato (left) and her husband Hideki deliver a speech at a meeting of the parties of the Minamata Convention on Mercury in Geneva on Monday.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 1, 2023
Japan couple calls for broader action at Minamata treaty meeting
Hideki and Suemi Sato said they hoped people in the world will learn more about the dangers of mercury, in a speech they delivered jointly in Geneva.
A member of a team of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency observes fish during a morning auction at Hisanohama Port in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, on Oct. 19.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 28, 2023
Fukushima water released without technical concerns, IAEA says
The U.N. nuclear watchdog wrapped up its safety review Friday, two months after the discharge began.
Gustavo Caruso (left), head of an International Atomic Energy Agency task force, speaks at a meeting with Japanese government officials at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Tuesday, as the IAEA starts its safety review on the discharge of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant into the sea.
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2023
IAEA conducts first safety review of Fukushima water since release
The IAEA task force involves experts from 11 countries, including China and Russia, which have severely criticized the discharge.
PFAS substances can be found in firefighter foam, outdoor gear, artificial turf, medical equipment and countless other products.
WORLD
Oct 21, 2023
‘Forever chemical’ bans face hard truth: Many can’t be replaced
As lawmakers around the world weigh bans of "forever chemicals,” many manufacturers are pushing back, saying there often is no substitute.
While there should be a balance between entrepreneurial innovation and environmental responsibility, pollution should be the primary concern, not economic growth.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 19, 2023
Embracing the green growth mindset
Some high-carbon economic activities need to shrink while low-carbon, high-efficiency sectors need to grow.
An inspector from the International Atomic Energy Agency observes crates of fish to be taken as samples from Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, on Thursday.
JAPAN
Oct 19, 2023
IAEA inspectors test Fukushima fish
China and Russia have banned Japanese seafood imports since the discharge began but Japan says it is safe, a view backed by the IAEA.
Water treated through the Advanced Liquid Processing System and diluted with seawater flows from the upstream water tank to the downstream water tank at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant during its second release in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture.
JAPAN
Oct 11, 2023
Chinese scientists join Fukushima water review
Experts from China will join those from Canada, South Korea and the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency in collecting samples and marine creatures.
Environment Minister Shintaro Ito speaks to reporters at the ministry on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 11, 2023
Tokyo and Kumamoto appeal ruling in favor of Minamata victims
The ruling found that plaintiffs not eligible for relief payments under a 2009 special law were affected by the mercury poisoning disease.
The Environment Ministry previously planned to carry out the probe on the so-called forever chemicals, which have been detected in well water in many parts of Japan, in fiscal 2024.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 10, 2023
Probe into PFAS contamination to take place earlier than planned
The Environment Ministry previously planned to carry out the investigation on the so-called forever chemicals in fiscal 2024.
The Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture on Thursday
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2023
IAEA says tritium below limit in second batch of Fukushima water
IAEA experts stationed at the plant took samples from the second batch of treated water on Tuesday before it was discharged.
Fort Myers Beach during a high tide in Florida
ENVIRONMENT
Oct 2, 2023
A hidden climate danger threatens coastal communities
Rising sea levels could push contaminated groundwater to the surface, releasing toxic chemicals from contaminated areas nearby.
Lawyers representing plaintiffs of a lawsuit demanding damages after being rejected from a special Minamata disease relief program as sufferers of the disease hold up signs in front of the Osaka District Court on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 27, 2023
Court recognizes 128 plaintiffs as Minamata disease sufferers
Presiding Judge Yuki Tatsuno ordered that ¥2.75 million in damages be paid to each of the 128 people who sued the central government.
Treated radioactive water flows into an undersea tunnel at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on Aug. 24 after diluted with seawater.
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2023
Over 60% of Taiwanese worried about Fukushima water release: poll
Several Taiwanese groups have voiced opposition to the discharge, but there have not been large-scale protests or calls to avoid eating Japanese seafood.
Seafood from Fukushima Prefecture at Hamanoeki Fish Market and Food Court in the city of Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, on Aug. 31
JAPAN
Sep 25, 2023
No tritium found in fish one month after Fukushima water release
Tritium was not detected in the latest sample of two olive flounders caught Sept. 24, the Fisheries Agency said.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare addresses the 78th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 23, 2023
Solomon Islands leader 'appalled' by Japan on Fukushima water
Addressing the U.N. General Assembly, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare warned of effects on his South Pacific archipelago.
Ali Zaidi, the White House climate adviser, at a climate rally outside the White House, in Washington on April 23, 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 22, 2023
U.S. government shutdown poses ‘seismic’ threat to climate
A shutdown would mean many federal regulators would have to stop writing marquee Biden administration environmental regulations.

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces