DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ US Commercial fishing groups sue tire manufacturers over fish-killing chemical
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Clark Mindock | Companies Need To Integrate Climate Reporting Across Functions To Comply With California S New Law | Henry Engler | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Nathan Frandino/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 8 (Reuters) - U.S. commercial fishing groups on Wednesday sued 13 tire manufacturers in California, saying a chemical used in their tires is poisoning West Coast watersheds and killing rare trout and salmon. The fishing groups said the chemical, which becomes toxic when it degrades, is released from tires as vehicles drive around and park. The tire manufacturers did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. In July, California's Department of Toxic Substances Control adopted a rule requiring tire manufacturers to evaluate safer alternatives to 6PPD, noting the threat to coho salmon. Together, the 13 tire manufacturers sued on Wednesday account for 80% of the domestic U.S. tire market, according to the lawsuit.

Persons: Nathan Frandino, Elizabeth Forsyth, Forsyth, Clark Mindock, Alexia Garamfalvi, Sandra Maler Organizations: REUTERS, Wednesday, Institute for Fisheries Resources, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, Bridgestone Corp, Goodyear Tire &, Michelin, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, California's Department, Toxic Substances, Thomson Locations: Lagunitas, Marin County , California, U.S, California, San Francisco federal, West

(AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday proposed banning the cancer-causing chemical trichloroethylene, which can be found in consumer products including automobile brake cleaners, furniture care and arts and crafts spray coating. “Today, EPA is taking a major step to protect people from exposure to this cancer-causing chemical.”Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey, who has led the effort to ban TCE, welcomed the move. Political Cartoons View All 1215 Images“With this rule, we can see a future where we will no longer be manufacturing, processing and distributing a chemical known to be deadly,” Markey said. The chemical presents an “unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment” in 52 of 54 uses in industrial and consumer products, the EPA has found. The 2016 law required the EPA to evaluate chemicals and put in place protections against unreasonable risks.

Persons: TCE, Michal Freedhoff, Massachusetts Sen, Edward Markey, ” Markey, “, Anne Anderson, Jimmy, Anne, ” Anderson, Frank, Matthew Daly Organizations: Environmental Protection Agency, of Chemical Safety, “, EPA, Woburn, Andersons, Chemical, Press Locations: WOBURN, Mass, U.S, United States, Massachusetts, Woburn ., America, Woburn, Washington

☆ Israel's Ports Feel Strain as Shipping Traffic Slows After Attacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

Israel's southern coastal city of Ashkelon, which has a small port well in range of Hamas rockets, is not allowing ships to enter, shipping sources said. While the main Israeli ports of Ashdod further up the coast and Haifa in the north, remain open, shipping and maritime security companies are reviewing their operations for Israel, industry sources said. "Israeli ports are deemed to be at heightened risk," said Noah Trowbridge, with British maritime risk advisory and security company Dryad Global. "Since Gaza has a coastline, direct threats to shipping inside Israeli waters cannot be ruled out," BRS said. This compared with a premium of 0.0125% earlier this year, insurance sources said.

Persons: Jonathan Saul, Ari Rabinovitch JERUSALEM, Noah Trowbridge, Hapag Lloyd, Shipbroker BRS, BRS, Moller Maersk, Eli Glickman, INTERTANKO, ” INTERTANKO, Ari Rabinovitch, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Hamas, Dryad, Reuters, Ships, Zim, Ministry of Defense, Facebook Locations: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Haifa, Israel, London, East Gulf, Gulf of Oman

☆ As China churns out warships, the US Navy is looking for drones and AI to help it pick up the pace at its struggling shipyards
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Meanwhile, China's navy is growing thanks to shipyards that churn out naval and commercial ships. The US Navy is now looking for new tools to improve maintenance and reduce delays at its shipyards. AdvertisementAdvertisementWith maintenance backlogs hampering fleet readiness, the US Navy is hoping that autonomous systems and artificial intelligence can fix its overburdened shipyards. The solicitation cited penetrant testing, ultrasonic testing, and magnetic testing as possible solutions. AdvertisementAdvertisementAt the same time, "the Federal Government sees the development of these capabilities as benefiting industrial maintenance activities in partnership with the Navy at commercial shipyards.

Persons: —, PO1 Emmitt, MCS3 Brandon Roberson, Michael Peck Organizations: US Navy, Service, Technologies, DON, Department of, Navy, sustainment, Corpus Christi, Navy Shipyards, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, PO1 Emmitt Hawks, Federal Government, Labor, Office, Defense, Foreign Policy, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Corpus, Pearl, Norfolk, Boise, China, Forbes

☆ Fact Check-Sahara dust magnetism is not evidence of chemtrails
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The social media post for the clip, as well as another video posted to Twitter here, also claims that the dust’s magnetism is evidence of “chemtrails". However, experts say magnetism is typical of Saharan dust. Saharan dust’s characteristic red colour reflects the presence of small amounts of haematite, a weakly-magnetic mineral, she said. However, air pollution-derived metals are usually present in much lower quantities than the naturally-sourced metal-bearing dust particles, she said. Saharan dust contains naturally magnetic particles, including haematite, which gives the dust its characteristic red colour.

Persons: ”, Barbara Maher, Richard Harrison, Maher Organizations: Facebook, Twitter, Centre, Environmental Magnetism, Lancaster University, University of Cambridge’s Department of Earth Sciences, Aeolian Research Locations: United Kingdom, Europe

☆ ‘Forever Chemicals’ Are Everywhere. What Are They Doing to Us?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Kim Tingley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

What’s in your tap water?” (If the drinking water is contaminated, formula mixed with it will be, too.) “But they feel heard.”Among the groups most likely to be exposed to PFAS in their drinking water are those in low-income communities or who live near military or industrial sites. determined that two kinds of PFAS — PFOS and PFOA — are “likely to be carcinogenic to humans” and proposed a goal of removing them almost entirely from public drinking water. The problem of PFAS pollution goes beyond drinking water: The Faroe Islands demonstrate as much. One afternoon this spring, Grandjean, Weihe and I sat around the kitchen table in Weihe’s clinic.

Persons: ” Elizabeth Friedman, don’t, ”, Friedman, he’d, Irving Selikoff, Selikoff, Grandjean, Selikoff’s, ” Grandjean, “ Organizations: Children’s Mercy, Children’s Mercy Kansas City, DuPont, Chermours, Toxic, European Chemicals Agency, European Union, Sinai Locations: Children’s Mercy Kansas, Missouri, U.S, United States, Paterson , N.J

☆ Two research teams detail advancements in transplanting pig kidneys to humans, marking key steps on path to clinical trials
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —New advancements in transplanting pig kidneys to humans, detailed by two separate research teams on Wednesday, mark key steps forward in the evolving field of xenotransplantation, the use of non-human tissues or organs to treat medical conditions in humans. Both research teams used genetically modified pig kidneys that were transplanted into recipients experiencing brain death in what is considered pre-clinical human research. Other studies have demonstrated that this can occur when pig kidneys are transplanted in non-human primates. The team has been monitoring pig kidney transplants in a brain-dead decedent – a man named Maurice Miller, known as Mo, who died of a brain tumor – for nearly two months. “Over the last 20 years, we’ve gained a lot of information about how pig kidneys work to replace the functions in primates.

Persons: ”, Jayme Locke, Locke, ” Locke, NYU Langone, Maurice Miller, Mo, Robert Montgomery, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, “ We’re, Adam Griesemer, we’ve, ’ –, we’re Organizations: CNN, University of Alabama, Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine, New York University, Health, Comprehensive Transplant Institute, ”, UAB, NYU, NYU Langone Transplant Institute, CNN Health, Liver Transplant, FDA, US Department of Health, Human, Transplantation Network

☆ GOP congressman who voted twice against veterans health bill is now urging his constituents to enroll in its benefits
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rep. David Schweikert voted twice last year against a bill to provide health benefits to veterans. But now, he's urging his constituents to sign up to receive benefits from the program. Now, the Arizona Republican is urging his constituents to sign up for the benefits created by that same legislation. In both instances, Schweikert was among the Republicans who voted against the bill. It's the latest example of Republican lawmakers touting programs created by legislation that they voted against.

Persons: David Schweikert, he's, Schweikert, Joe Biden —, —, Biden, Sen, Tommy Tuberville, Tuberville Organizations: Service, Arizona Republican, Arizona, Twitter, Facebook, —, Department of Veterans Affairs, Infrastructure Law Locations: Wall, Silicon, Arizona, Schweikert's Scottsdale, Alabama

☆ Mystery cylinder on Western Australia beach could be space junk, authorities say
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —A mystery object that washed ashore on Australia’s western coast sparking a flurry of local excitement and speculation over its origin is most likely space junk, police said Tuesday. The Western Australia Police Force said in a statement on Tuesday that the item is believed to be “space debris”, echoing similar comments from the country’s space agency which was working on the same hypothesis. But space junk looks the most likely explanation. “The object could be from a foreign space launch vehicle and we are liaising with global counterparts who may be able to provide more information,” the Australian Space Agency tweeted on Monday. “Just as general rule, you don’t touch space junk unless you need to,” she said.

Persons: Alice Gorman, ” Gorman, Gorman, ” Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Western Australia Police Force, Police, Department of Fire, Emergency Service, Chemistry, of Western, Australian Space Agency, Flinders University, CNN Locations: Hong Kong, Perth, of Western Australia, Adelaide, India

☆ Analysis-In China's lithium hub, mining boom comes at a cost
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Siyi Liu | Dominique Patton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

FILE PHOTO: A vehicle is seen near a lithium smelter in Yichun, Jiangxi province, China March 30, 2023. It has supported mine development by taking stakes in mining companies to help battery materials makers that do not have mines overseas like those owned by China’s top lithium producers Ganfeng Lithium and Tianqi Lithium. Separating lithium from lepidolite can cost as much as 100,000 yuan per metric ton, compared to 40,000-50,000 yuan for brine and 50,000-60,000 yuan for spodumene, analysts said. ‘NATURAL RESOURCES CHAOS’Further dimming the outlook for lepidolite, environmental damage is a growing concern. UBS analysts see China’s supply of lithium from lepidolite tripling to 280,000 metric tons, or 13% of global supply, between 2022 and 2025, well short of Yichun’s target.

Persons: ”, Yang Yaohua, Yang, Wu Wei, Eric Norris, ” Norris, Yongxing, Yichun, Ma Jun, ” Ma, Vicky Zhao, Li Qi Organizations: REUTERS, Staff, Australia, Guosen, Macquarie, Gotion High Tech, CRU, Xiamen University, Energy, lepidolite, Reuters, Materials Technology, Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs, UBS, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence Locations: YICHUN, China, Yichun, Jiangxi province, lepidolite, Beijing, Sichuan, Qinghai, Tibet, Shanghai, Jin, U.S, Jiangxi

It has supported mine development by taking stakes in mining companies to help battery materials makers that do not have mines overseas like those owned by China's top lithium producers Ganfeng Lithium (002460.SZ), (002460.SZ) and Tianqi Lithium (002466.SZ). Separating lithium from lepidolite can cost as much as 100,000 yuan per metric ton, compared to 40,000-50,000 yuan for brine and 50,000-60,000 yuan for spodumene, analysts said. 'NATURAL RESOURCES CHAOS'Further dimming the outlook for lepidolite, environmental damage is a growing concern. As it gets stricter now, lithium resources in Yichun will lose their competitiveness with the higher costs for environmental protection," Ma said. UBS analysts see China's supply of lithium from lepidolite tripling to 280,000 metric tons, or 13% of global supply, between 2022 and 2025, well short of Yichun's target.

Persons: YICHUN, Yang Yaohua, Yang, Wu Wei, Eric Norris, Norris, Yongxing, Yichun, Ma Jun, Ma, Vicky Zhao, Li Qi, Siyi Liu, Dominique Patton, Ernest Scheyder, Tony Munroe, Sonali Paul Organizations: Australia, Guosen, Macquarie, Gotion High Tech, CRU, Xiamen University, Energy, Corp, Reuters, Materials Technology, Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs, UBS, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, Beijing Newsroom, Thomson Locations: China, Yichun, lepidolite, Beijing, Sichuan, Qinghai, Tibet, Shanghai, Jin, U.S, Jiangxi, Houston

☆ Debt Ceiling Deal: What's in – and What's Been Left Out?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Work requirementsRepublicans had proposed boosting work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents in certain government assistance programs. Democrats had roundly criticized the proposed changes, saying they would lead to fewer people able to afford food or health care without actually increasing job participation. However, the agreement would expand some work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps. The budget agreement keeps Biden's student loan relief in place, though the Supreme Court will have the ultimate say on the matter. The Supreme Court is dominated 6-3 by conservatives, and those justices' questions in oral arguments showed skepticism about the legality of Biden's student loans plan.

☆ Contaminated water in North Carolina has been linked to a higher risk of Parkinson's in a new study of over 300,000 veterans
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A new study found a connection between contaminated water at a military base and Parkinson's disease. The risk of Parkinson's was 70% higher for over 300,000 veterans from Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. Those stationed at Camp Lejeune were there for at least three months between 1975 and 1985. Even veterans who were not diagnosed with Parkinson's disease still had "significantly higher" risk for early signs and symptoms of the illness, the researchers reported in the study. Both Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense have previously acknowledged the exposure of trichloroethylene at Camp Lejeune.

☆ Biden to sign executive order on 'environmental justice'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden plans to sign an executive order on Friday directing federal agencies to put more focus on environmental polices that do harm to communities, according to the White House. The order will establish a new Office of Environmental Justice within the White House aimed at coordinating efforts across the government. It would also require federal agencies to notify communities if toxic substances are released from a federal facility. Biden will announce the initiative during an event at the White House Rose Garden on Friday. His vice president, Kamala Harris, plans to visit Miami on Friday, a White House official said, to announce a $562 million investment in helping communities become more resilient to climate change.

☆ Biden to order all federal agencies to prioritize environmental justice
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

(Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)President Joe Biden on Friday will sign an executive order directing federal agencies to invest in disadvantaged communities disproportionately affected by pollution and climate change, the White House said. The order will create a new Office of Environmental Justice in the White House to coordinate all environmental justice efforts across the federal government and require agencies to notify nearby communities if toxic substances are released from a federal facility. The president, who is preparing to announce his reelection bid next week, will make the announcement during a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden. Biden is expected to argue that his administration's historic environmental justice and climate agenda contrasts with "the dangerous vision Speaker McCarthy and his extreme caucus have for our planet, our economy, and public health," the official said. Early in his presidency, Biden pledged that addressing environmental justice would be a core component of his climate agenda and signed an executive order that launched the Justice40 Initiative, which requires agencies to deliver at least 40% of benefits from investments to overburdened communities.

☆ Opinion | Why Are So Many Girls Suffering From Anorexia?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Pamela Paul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

She was too smart for her school. These are among the 75 explanations given by doctors, therapists and others to Hadley Freeman for her severe anorexia nervosa. Freeman, the author of a riveting new memoir, “Good Girls: A Study and Story of Anorexia,” became sick during the 1990s, but over the last few years, the incidence of anorexia, which predominantly affects preteen and teenage girls, seems to have gone up. We’ve known about anorexia for a long time. Is it related to the general increase in rates of depression and anxiety among girls?

☆ Racial Disparities are worsening disaster recovery for people of color. With climate change, things could get worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Lauren Lee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Rolling Fork, Mississippi suffered massive damage from a powerful tornado on March 24. Racial disparities existed in Rolling Fork for decades. She started I-DIEM after spending over 14 years in disaster management. Shirley Stamps stands in the rubble of her home in the aftermath of the Rolling Fork tornado. And increasingly, non-profits are doing things differently to address racial disparities in disaster management.

☆ Fact Check-Alkaline hydrolysis, or liquid cremation, does not mean human remains are ‘fed to the living'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Alkaline hydrolysis is a form of flameless cremation where a human body can be liquified and turned into wastewater after death. An alkaline hydrolysis machine is used to perform a “bio-cremation,” (also known as aquamation or water cremation) (here). The video shows Fisher explaining how the alkaline hydrolysis machine called the Resomator works. The NFDA’s model guidelines for states to base laws governing alkaline hydrolysis can be seen (here). Experts say liquid from alkaline hydrolysis is sterilized with no trace of human DNA and is then treated at water treatment facilities before entering common households.

☆ EPA cracks down on 'forever chemicals' in tap water: What PFAS are, where they are, and why they're harmful
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The US Environmental Protection Agency just released a proposal for enforceable standards for six PFAS compounds in drinking water. The new EPA proposal would set the threshold for those two substances at 4 nanograms per liter of drinking water. It also proposes a "hazard index" to set a limit on the combined quantity of four other PFAS in drinking water: PFNA, GenX, PFBS, and PFHxS. Communities across the US have especially high PFAS contamination in their drinking water, often due to a nearby industrial or military facility. "You can't just regulate in drinking water, without addressing the other side," Sunderland said, adding that you have to "turn off the source."

☆ How cough syrup gets poisoned
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

These medicines combine active ingredients such as paracetamol (known as acetaminophen in the United States) to reduce fever with a syrup made from glycerin or propylene glycol that is safe, sweet and easy to swallow. In Gambia, imported cough syrup for children was found by global health officials to be contaminated with two highly toxic substances: ethylene glycol (EG) and diethylene glycol (DEG). Manufacturers making propylene glycol for pharmaceutical use must purify it to remove any toxins, Kumar Koduri said. Mix-ups can happen due to human error, said Kumar Koduri. EG and DEG can cost less than half the price of propylene glycol, according to two websites selling the chemicals.

☆ The Camp Lejeune Lawsuit Racket
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Any American watching TV in recent months has seen the avalanche of trial-lawyer ads offering to represent Marines exposed to chemicals at North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune. In August President Joe Biden signed the PACT Act, which provides compensation to veterans and family members exposed to toxic substances. This includes lawsuits brought by those exposed to chemicals in the water from 1953 to 1987 at Camp Lejeune. Yet even as the bill removed the government’s ability to defend against suits, it eliminated caps on trial-lawyer fees. The tort bar is now preparing to cash in, leaving Marines with little and taxpayers with a ridiculous bill.

☆ The Wild World Inside Your Gut
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Alice Callahan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +20 min

The Wild World Inside Your GutWe tackled everything from heartburn, stress, spicy foods and colon cleanses to antibiotics and more. So grab a kombucha, get comfortable and read on for everything you’ve wanted to know about the wild world inside your gut. 3 What are some simple things I can do to improve my gut health? That “really is going to have the strongest impact on our health, including gut health,” she said. (Though for general gut health, Dr. Rao said, most people living in the United States could benefit from eating fewer refined carbohydrates and more fiber.)

☆ Brazil just sank its biggest warship into the Atlantic Ocean after failing to sell it for scrap metal. The ship was big enough to carry 39 aircraft — take a look.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Marielle Descalsota | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

ANNA ZIEMINSKI/AFP via Getty ImagesIn March 2021, the Brazilian Navy sold the aircraft carrier as scrap to a shipyard in Turkey. But the ship was rejected by Turkish authorities as it had asbestos, a toxic material often found in 20th century ships. After circling along Brazil's coast for five months after it was rejected by Turkey, the warship was moved into international waters, Time reported. It was a controversial move: Several environmental rights organizations opposed the sinking of the ship because of the asbestos it contained. "The sinking of the aircraft carrier Sao Paulo throws tons of asbestos, mercury, lead and other highly toxic substances into the seabed," Greenpeace said in a statement, per Reuters.

☆ Fact Check-Inhaling hydrogen peroxide and iodine unsafe, and not a proven treatment for respiratory symptoms
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Topical antiseptics such as hydrogen peroxide, iodine, or a combination of the two are not safe to inhale and not proven to treat respiratory infections, contrary to social media claims that breathing in these liquids is a good idea. Still, social media users are sharing a video that claims using a nebulizer to make a vapor from a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and iodine can treat respiratory infections like sore throat. Both hydrogen peroxide and iodine solutions are used on the skin, usually to prevent infection of minor cuts and scrapes (here). Evidence from studies of accidental inhalation shows that hydrogen peroxide can damage tissue and iodine can be toxic. There is no evidence that combining hydrogen peroxide and iodine in a nebulizer will treat respiratory symptoms, and the practice is potentially damaging and toxic, experts told Reuters.

☆ 'There may be no light for a very long time': Ukrainians face a massive test of survival this winter
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Daily life has become a test of survival for many, with basic necessities such as water, food and medical provisions becoming scarce. Kherson residents collect water at a water point in the city that has had no electricity or water since the Russian retreat on November 16, 2022 in Kherson, Ukraine. Firefighters work to put out a fire at energy infrastructure facilities, damaged by Russian missile strike, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv region, Ukraine November 15, 2022. EvacuationsUkrainian officials in parts of the country most badly affected by power shortages are warning residents of a harsh winter ahead. Residents talk with train station staff while waiting to be evacuated from Kherson on Nov. 21, 2022 in Kherson, Ukraine.

Search resuls for: "Toxic Substances"

25 mentions found