Environmental Chemistry 2024

  Kayleigh Reilly News Article: Climate change: Coral samples show Great Barrier Reef ‘in danger’ Scientific Article: Highest ocean heat in four centuries places Great Barrier Reef in danger | Nature Background                 Coral reefs cover only 1% of the world’s oceans but are home to more than 25% of the world’s marine life. 1 Along with housing a significant number of marine life they provide many other benefits including protecting shorelines, assisting in building beaches, supporting jobs and businesses through tourism and recreation, and providing food for coastal and inland communities. 1 Unfortunately due to warmer water temperatures among other factors coral has been experiencing a phenomena known as bleaching. 2 Bleaching is caused when coral becomes stressed, usually a result caused by changes in living conditions such as temperature, light, and nutrients. 2 Coral exists in a symbiotic rela...

  Jack Green News Article: https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/05/health/pfas-nearly-half-us-tap-water-wellness/index.html   Scientific Article: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412023003069?via%3Dihub Background Information Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often referred to as “forever chemicals,” are a group of human-made compounds widely used in various industries due to their resistance to water, heat, and oil. However, their persistence in the environment and potential health risks have made PFAS a significant public health concern. Known to contaminate drinking water, PFAS compounds are increasingly detected in various water sources across the United States. Understanding PFAS exposure’s health implications is crucial as new studies shed light on the potential risks of these substances on individuals and communities, especially given their prevalence in many consumer products and industrial processes. According to Smalling et al., some of the ad...

 Randi Libin-Straub News Article:  Scientists find about a quarter million invisible microplastic particles in a liter of bottled water Peer-Reviewed Article:  Rapid single-particle chemical imaging of nanoplastics by SRS microscopy Microplastics are of growing concern among medical professionals and scientists. The exact effects of exposure to these particles are still unknown. Designing a study to investigate their impacts on human health or the environment is practically impossible -- at this point, no water appears to be free from them so there is no control group. The ubiquitous nature of these particles was reinforced by Potma et. al¹ and reported on by Seth Borenstein.² The aim of the study by Potma et. al was twofold. They aimed to further investigate the characteristics of both microplastics and nanoplastics. While the methods for quantification and characterization of microplastics (ranging in size from 1 μm to 5 mm) are well-established, those for nanoplastic...

Anika   Link to the news article:  https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/19/health/lead-contaminated-water-chicago-children/index.html   Link to the peer-reviewed article:  https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2815850#google_vignette   Lead is a hazardous metal that has been widely used, resulting in significant environmental pollution and health issues across various regions globally.  1,2  Lead exposure continues to be a significant public health concern due to its serious adverse effects. Lead is a cumulative toxicant, and its exposure can impact various body systems which include neurological, cardiovascular, chronic kidney diseases, gastrointestinal, and hematological.  3,4  Lead stored in the bones can be released into the bloodstream during pregnancy, posing a risk to the developing fetus.    Human exposure to lead is evaluated by measuring its concentration in the blood. There is no known threshold of lead expos...

Mia Kauffman! News Article : Communities of color disproportionately exposed to PFAS in drinking water, study says https://www.axios.com/2023/05/15/communities-color-disproportionately-exposed-pfas-pollution-drinking-water Peer-reviewed Article : Sociodemographic Factors Are Associated with the Abundance of PFAS Sources and Detection in U.S. Community Water Systems https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.2c07255 Abbreviations PFAS - per- & poly-fluoroalkyl substances PFOA - perfluorooctanoic acid PFOS - perfluorooctanesulfonic acid PFNA - perfluorononanoic acid PFHxS - perfluorohexanesulfonic acid PFBS - perfluorobutanesulfonic acid CWS - community water samples (PWS that supply water to the same population year-round) PWS - public water systems MFTAs - military fire training areas WWTP - waste water treatment plants Per- & poly-fluoroalkyl substances or PFAS are harmful and long-lasting chemicals utilized in several industrial processes and consumer pr...

  Sofia Mota Cichy News Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/27/climate/small-streams-pollution-supreme-court.html   Journal Article: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adg9430   In the United States, the Clean Water Act grants federal agencies the authority to regulate the “waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters.” While there is general agreement that the WOTUS includes large navigable waters, conflicting interpretations for whether wetlands and smaller tributaries are included in the definition have been left to regional regulators in the absence of a Supreme Court majority opinion. Definitions like “inseparably bound up with navigable waters” and “waters hold a significant nexus with navigable waters” were often used. However, in the 2023 case Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency , a majority of the Supreme Court defined WOTUS as “only those relatively permanent, sta...