Pollution

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Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms . Pollution can take the form of chemical substances, or energy, such as noise, heat, or light energy. Pollutants, the elements of pollution, can be foreign substances or energies, or naturally occurring; when naturally occurring, they are considered contaminants when they exceed natural levels. Pollution is often classed as point source or nonpoint source pollution. The Blacksmith Institute issues annually a list of the world's worst polluted places. In the 2007 issues the ten top nominees are located in Azerbaijan, China, India, Peru, Russia, Ukraine and Zambia.

For more information about Pollution, read the full article at Wikipedia.
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News tagged with contaminants

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Ford to clean up arsenic contamination after 4-year fight

Space & Earth / Environment

created Oct 20, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Ford Motor Co. will haul out piles of arsenic-laced soil found in Ringwood State Park in New Jersey, ending a nearly-four-year battle over the source of the waste.


Developing enzymes to clean up pollution by explosives

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Oct 09, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Scientists at the University of York have uncovered the structure of an unusual enzyme which can be used to reverse the contamination of land by explosives.


Water quality in orbit

Water quality in orbit: Scientists test H2O disinfection on International Space Station

Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry

created Sep 14, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

Space is not a fun place to get a stomach bug. To ensure drinking water is adequately disinfected, University of Utah chemists developed a two-minute water quality monitoring method that just started six months ...


Genetically modified crops are being grown in Britain for the first time in 12 months

GM crop trials start again in Britain in 'secret': report

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jul 27, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Genetically modified crops are being grown in Britain for the first time in 12 months after controversial trials were resumed without alerting the public, a newspaper reported Monday.


Recycling

Can Recycling Be Bad for the Environment?

Space & Earth / Environment

created Jul 14, 2009 | popularity 3.2 / 5 (31) | comments 27

(PhysOrg.com) -- By now, nearly everyone knows that it is important to recycle. It helps the environment. Even my six-year-old knows that. But what if it doesn't? While it seems pretty straightforward, in ...


Newborn weights affected by environmental contaminants

Medicine & Health / Health

created Jun 15, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Recent epidemiological studies have revealed an increase in the frequency of genital malformations in male newborns (e.g., un-descended testes) and a decrease in male fertility.


Miami VA: Steps taken to prevent contamination

Medicine & Health / Other

created May 12, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(AP) -- The top Veterans Affairs official in Miami said Tuesday she has taken steps locally to prevent the kind of problems that exposed patients to contaminated medical equipment at VA hospitals in three states.


Study finds potential disease threats to Washington sea otters

Biology / Ecology

created May 06, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Many of Washington State's sea otters are exposed to the same pathogens responsible for causing disease in marine mammal populations in other parts of the country, according to a study published by researchers from NOAA's ...


Probing Question: Is indoor air pollution really a problem?

Medicine & Health / Health

created Apr 30, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

A popular television commercial from the 1970s shows a Native American man in buckskin and feathers paddling his canoe through ink-black waters, past refineries billowing smoke. He comes aground on a litter-strewn shoreline ...


Salmonella found in central Calif. pistachio plant (AP)

Salmonella found in central Calif. pistachio plant

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Apr 07, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(AP) -- Federal officials confirmed Monday they found traces of salmonella in a central California pistachio processing plant that sparked a nationwide recall of the nut.


Simple device can ensure food gets to the store bacteria free

Simple device can ensure food gets to the store bacteria free

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Mar 02, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (10) | comments 5

A Purdue University researcher has found a way to eliminate bacteria in packaged foods such as spinach and tomatoes, a process that could eliminate worries concerning some food-borne illnesses.


Tiny 'lab-on-a-chip' detects pollutants, disease and biological weapons

Chemistry /

created Feb 17, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

For centuries, animals have been our first line of defense against toxins. A canary in a coalmine served as a living monitor for poisonous gases. Scientists used fish to test for contaminants in our water. Even with modern ...


Shower Length Chart

British showers most wasteful and inconsiderate in Western Europe

Other Sciences / Other

created Jul 14, 2008 | popularity 3.4 / 5 (9) | comments 1

Water-wasting and uncaring about gels, shampoos and soap going down the plughole: that's how the British emerge from a survey on showering habits of western Europeans.