Europe: 30% Emissions Reduction Target Could Save Public Health Billions
Health Care Without Harm Europe – Member State governments could radically improve public health and save on health care budgets if European Union climate policy were substantially strengthened. These ground-breaking findings are published by health and environment non–governmental organisations (NGOs) today. The report, Acting now for better health: A 30% target for EU climate policy, commissioned by the Health and Environment Alliance and Health Care Without Harm Europe provides the first–ever estimates of the health savings for different Member States should the European Union move from the current 20% target to a 30% target on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  more

Philippines: Watsons, OMRON, HCWH-SEA Leading Mercury Phase-out
Health Care Without Harm – "I want mercury-free health care Philippines by 2010." This was the call raised by envi-health group Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia, mercury alternatives distributor OMRON Healthcare and health and beauty retail chain Watsons Personal Care Stores (Phils.), Inc. as they launched partnership to rid Philippine health care of mercury–containing devices.  more

International: The UNDP GEF Global Health Care Waste Project issued a Guidance Document on the Cleanup, Temporary or Intermediate Storage, and Transport of Mercury Waste from Healthcare
Health Care Without Harm – The United Nations Development Programme GEF project involves demonstrating best practices for the management of mercury waste and promoting mercury-free devices. As health facilities phase out mercury devices, proper methods of storage and transport are needed. This document is intended for project countries where national norms and guidelines for cleanup, storage, and transport of mercury waste do not exist at this time. These suggested guidelines should become part of a broader plan for sequestration and phase-out of mercury.  more

India: Pollution Control Board Lodges FIR Against Biomedical Waste Dealer
The Statesman – The state pollution control board has lodged an FIR against a person who operated an illegal biomedical waste dump yard in Chowbaga, South 24 Parganas and used to sell the waste from several big and reputed private hospitals and nursing homes of the city as plastic scrap to another trader. more

India: Medical Waste Illegally Dumped in Kolkata
Waste Management World – The state pollution control board in Kolkata, India has lodged a First Information Report (FIR) against a person who operated an illegal biomedical waste dump in Chowbaga, South 24 Parganas and used to sell the waste from large private hospitals and nursing homes in the city as plastic scrap to another trader. more

Arab Emirates : Mounting Medical Waste Poses Health Risk in Capital
Khaleej Times – Healthcare facilities in the Abu Dhabi emirate produce around 12 tonnes of medical waste per day, majority of which are from the government-run hospitals and clinics. more

Philippines: Mercury, The Silent Killer
Health Care Without Harm SE–Asia – Mercury, although generally thought of as the gold standard for measuring devices, is actually harmful to people’s health and the environment. For more than five years now, the environmental-health group Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia has been pushing for the phase-out of mercury-containing devices in health care.  more

US: EPA Takes Aim at Toxics in Dyes, Flame Retardants, Detergents
Environment News Service – The potential human health risks of chemicals widely used in dyes, flame retardants, and industrial laundry detergents have prompted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to study and potentially ban their manufacture and use. more

US: Researchers Found that Exposure to Lead and Cadium Delays Puberty in Girls
TechCombo – Researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions have found that exposure to lead in childhood may delay the onset of puberty in young girls, with higher doses increasing the chance for later maturation. The researchers speculate that lead, alone or in concert with cadmium, might suppress the ovary’s production of hormones that prepare a young girl’s body to ovulate, or release an egg, for the first time. more

Central Asia: Plague in Asia Linked to Climate Change
Emerging Health Threats Forum – Modellers correlate climate fluctuations with cases of the disease in Central Asia. Climatic variations had a "significant" influence on the prevalence of plague in Kazakhstan and other regions of Central Asia in the early 20th century, and probably over the past 1500 years, according to the results of a modelling study published online in BMC Biology. more

Kenya: Kenya Promises to Address E–waste Challenges
KBC News – The Kenyan government will address challenges and opportunities brought about by rising electronic waste (e-waste), Environment and Mineral Resources Minister said. He also urged delegates government officials, representatives from National Environment Management Authority, computer software giants Microsoft, UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and industry to assit the government in charting the way forward in terms of re-use, recycling and refurbishment of electronic goods. This he said must be inline with Basel Convention Declaration and other International declarations. more

China: E–waste Recycling in China Not Green
Earth Techling – In a study recently published in the journal Atmospheric Environment, scientists from China and the United States identified numerous toxic elements in the emissions from a e-waste recycling workshop they studied in southern China, which uses low-tech methods to separate reusable electronic components from the circuit boards. According to their research, these type of methods are the norm for recycling facilities all over China. more

Notice: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for research and educational purposes. Online articles and links might expire days after their release date.