pollution

Up to 1.4 billion people may be living in areas with soil contaminated by heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, nickel and lead, according to research published in Science. The paper, which used data from more than 1,000 studies, estimates that 14-17% of farmland worldwide could be contaminated by at least one toxic metal. Cadmium is the most widespread, especially in South and East Asia, parts of the Middle East and Africa.

In recent decades, the rate of pollen allergies has increased worldwide. One of the reasons being considered is the increase in atmospheric nitrogen pollutants. Now, a study published in the journal The Lancet Planetary Health estimates that grasslands fertilised with nitrogen release six times more pollen and that this pollen is five times more allergenic than that from unfertilised fields.

Research published in Science Advances concludes that the level of microplastics in the environment could be three times higher in 2060 than in 2019, even if one of the two more ambitious policy scenarios proposed by the OECD to reduce plastics is implemented.

Only 9.5% of plastics produced globally in 2022 were generated from recycled materials. The findings, published in Communications Earth & Environment, are part of a comprehensive analysis of the global plastics sector, which also reveals a large increase in the amount of plastic being disposed of by incineration and substantial regional differences in its consumption.

Exposure to mild ozone air pollution during the first two years of life is linked to the development of asthma and wheezing in children between the ages of four and six, both individually and in combination with nitrogen dioxide and fine particles. This relationship was not found in children under eight or nine years old, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. The epidemiological study is based on data from more than 1,000 children in the U.S.

A study reveals that most of the carbon dioxide (CO₂) absorbed by ecosystems has been stored in dead plant material, soils and sediments, and not in living biomass. These data, which suggest that terrestrial carbon reserves are more resistant and stable than previously believed, are crucial for designing future climate change mitigation strategies and optimising carbon sequestration efforts. The findings are published in the journal Science.

Grass-fed beef is not less carbon intensive than industrial beef, even after correcting for soil sequestration enhancement by rangeland grazing, according to a study published today in the journal PNAS that analysed emissions and livestock data from the United States.

The maximum number of artificial satellites that can safely orbit the Earth could be reduced due to the increase in greenhouse gas emissions of human origin, according to a modelling study. The increase in these gases may result in a reduction in the density of the planet's orbital space. Between 2000 and 2100, the carrying capacity of satellites between 200 and 1,000 kilometres altitude could be reduced by between 50 and 66%, estimates the study published in Nature Sustainability.

A paper published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine has analyzed new cases of lung cancer worldwide during the year 2022. While the incidence in women continues to approach that of men, the decrease in tobacco consumption in many countries causes the proportion of cases in non-smokers to increase. This increase is associated with air pollution, especially in countries such as China. 

The Saharan dust intrusion that reached Spain and other European countries in March 2022 posed no risk to human health in terms of exposure to radioactivity, according to an analysis of samples collected by citizens in Spain, Germany, Austria, Belgium, France, Belgium, France, and Luxembourg. The dust came from southern Algeria, says the analysis published in Science Advances, and contained plutonium isotopes characteristic of nuclear tests conducted by the U.S. and the Soviet Union - not from French tests in the Reggane area in the 1960s.