While pregnant women may worry about the effects of air pollution on their health and that of their developing child, exposure to carbon monoxide and fine particles in the air during pregnancy does not appear to increase the risk of preterm delivery or preeclampsia — a serious condition that arises only during pregnancy — according to results of a study headed by a University at Buffalo epidemiologist.

The research was conducted in the region around Seattle, Wash., using data from 3,675 women who were enrolled in the Omega Study, an investigation of the effects of diet and environment on women’s health and nutrition before and during pregnancy. Continue Reading →

In a new study the researchers found that plastic breaks down at cooler temperatures than expected, and within a year of the trash hitting the water. The Japan-based team collected samples in waters from the U.S., Europe, India and Japan. All the water samples were found to contain derivatives of polystyrene, a common plastic used in disposable cutlery, Styrofoam, and DVD cases.

The scientists later simulated the decomposition of polystyrene in the sea and found that it degraded at temperatures of 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius). The pollutants are likely to be more concentrated in areas heavily littered with plastic debris, such as ocean vortices, which occur where currents meet. Continue Reading →

When water travels through soil and bedrock to the water table, it carries minerals, nutrients or chemicals from the surface with it. Environmental research is increasingly concerned with preferential flow, or the movement of water through pores and cracks at a faster rate and bypassing most of the surrounding material, either soil or fractured rock.

Researchers conducted a population-based prevalence survey in Araihazar, Bangladesh, to describe the distribution of arsenic exposure in a rural Bangladeshi population and to assess the population’s awareness to this problem as well as to possible remediation options. Water samples from 5,967 contiguous tube wells in a defined geographic area were tested using laboratory-based methods.

Additionally, for each well, the owner/caretaker (or a close relative) was interviewed regarding his or her awareness of the health consequences of as exposure. Arsenic exposure data and demographic characteristics for the 65,876 users of these wells were also collected from the 5,967 respondents. Continue Reading →