Today the European Commission proposed revising the air and water quality directives in line with World Health Organisation recommendations. These would include more than halving the annual limit value for fine particulate matter (PM2.5).
A study published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment (from Nature Research) estimates that a reduction of 686 million tonnes of carbon emissions could be achieved each year if the world followed a cycling pattern similar to that of the Netherlands (2.6 kilometres per day). This is about 20 % of the carbon emissions produced by the global passenger car fleet in 2015.
A study published in Cell Reports shows that air pollution and stress during pregnancy disrupt the brain wiring of developing male and not female mice, causing autism-like social behavior in them.
An international team led by researchers at the University of Copenhagen has detected a new class of extremely reactive chemical compounds in tha atmpsphere, the 'trioxides'. The challenge now is to understand the role of trioxides in climate and air quality. The result is presented in Science.
A review of studies in rodents and humans examines the relationship between exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and liver damage.