In The News / Mar 22

• Next step for chemical security,

  Industry officials are urging Congress to extend the current federal program for strengthening security at thousands of chemical facilities across the nation. But the Obama Administration wants lawmakers to greatly expand the government’s authority over how chemical facilities operate. Chemical & Engineering News

• An impasse grows in Thailand.

  A drama at the Map Ta Phut industrial complex in eastern Thailand involves, on one side, residents concerned about the environmental health impact of the chemical industry. On the other side are major chemical companies professing to meet or exceed any standards the state imposes. In the middle is a wobbly Thai government. Chemical & Engineering News

• Desert storm blankets most of North China.

  The sky across North China turned dark yellow over the weekend as the biggest sandstorm this year offered a grim reminder of the impact of the country's worsening desertification. More than 270 million people in 16 provinces are affected, said meteorological experts. China Daily

• Hong Kong air pollution wheezes to record levels.

  Hong Kong's environmental protection department said local air pollution indices soared to levels of around 500, smashing the previous record of 202 recorded in July 2008. A reading above 51 is considered high. Reuters

• The poison pipeline in Gujarat's Golden Corridor.

  It is known as Gujarat Golden Corridor. For over a decade the area has experienced phenomenal industrial growth – and along with it, unforeseen environmental problems. New Delhi NDTV, India

• Mining companies pollute 250 rivers with cyanide.

  In mining communities around Obuasi and Tarkwa, 250 rivers had been polluted by cyanide and heavy metals, according to research commissioned by Wacam, a human rights and mining advocacy nongovernmental organisation. Ghana News Agency, Ghana

• Carbon dioxide 'domes' over cities could increase deaths, study shows.

  Carbon dioxide “domes” that form over cities contribute to more deaths in those areas, a new study shows. Although the total public health impacts of such concentrations of CO2 are uncertain, they are of concern the study concluded. Epoch Times

• Did climate change drive human evolution?

  There's a plan afoot among evolutionary scientists to launch a big new project — to look back in time and find out how climate change over millions of years affected human evolution. Morning Edition, NPR

• Areva plans new reactors that make nuclear waste disappear.

  A new type of nuclear reactor that could permanently “destroy” atomic waste is being developed by French scientists, according to the chief executive of Areva, the world’s largest nuclear energy company. London Times, United Kingdom

• Vermont Yankee tritium leak found.

  The main source of radioactive tritium leaking at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant appears to have been stopped, and levels measured in a nearby monitoring well have been dropping for weeks. But plant, state and federal officials say the story is far from over. Associated Press

• Cargo ships skirting Channel Islands creating problems.

  Officials are scrambling to come up with a new plan to deal with an increased number of ships skirting the Channel Islands to avoid complying with strict new state air quality standards that mandate ships within 24 miles of the coast burn cleaner fuel. Ventura County Star, California

• Air pollution sending children to hospital.

  Air pollution accounts for at least 4 per cent of hospitalisations of babies and children, a new Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report estimates. Sydney ABC News, Australia

• Families want a shot of truth.

  A dozen families descended on a Xinhua News Agency bureau over the weekend, angered by an official's response to the vaccine scandal that has reportedly killed several children and sickened dozens of others. China Daily

• India lags behind in sanitation facilities.

  Despite progress in the last two decades, 2.4 billion people around the world still lack access to basic sanitary facilities -- including an estimated 638 million in India alone, according to a United Nations report released March 15. Los Angeles Times, California

• India's urban poor suffer water crisis as cities grow.

  As industrialization takes effect and growing numbers of rural populations move to towns and cities like New Delhi, experts say the inability to provide clean and safe drinking water - especially to the urban poor - has reached crisis point. Reuters