About PollutionIssues

This author has not yet filled in any details.
So far PollutionIssues has created 102 blog entries.

Interview: How We’re Making Our School Greener

By |2021-05-24T11:18:34+00:00March 10, 2010|Energy Saving & Recycling|

As greater importance is placed on the environment, more and more schools are educating children in a practical way by getting them actively involved in green initiatives. One such school is Brunswick Primary in Sheffield which was recently announced winner of the 2009 Sheffield Telegraph Environment Awards. We caught up [...]

Planting a Woodland Area in School: A Case Study

By |2021-05-24T11:18:34+00:00March 4, 2010|Case Studies|

Trees and the copses and woodland they make up are an essential part of our heritage and yet one which, if we’re not careful, would be all too easy to lose. Loss of Native Woodlands According to national woodlands charity, the Woodland Trust, since the 1930’s, nearly half of our [...]

Climate Change and Pollution: How the Maldives Are Sinking

By |2021-05-24T11:18:35+00:00March 4, 2010|Chemicals|

Picture this: pristine white beaches stretching as far as the eye can see, palm trees swaying gently in the breeze, the scent of coconut in the air and transparent water sparkling under an azure sky. Sounds like a dream, doesn’t it. Well the tropical paradise does exist but all is [...]

How Two Gardeners Went Totally Organic: a Case Study

By |2021-05-24T11:18:35+00:00March 3, 2010|Case Studies|

Mr and Mrs Owen from Hereford are a lively couple of retirement age who have undertaken the enormous project of transforming four large fields of agricultural land into a beautiful hilltop garden. Over the past few years they have created a small lake, three ornamental fishponds, an extensive fruit orchard, [...]

Eco-friendly Schools: A Case Study

By |2021-05-24T11:18:35+00:00March 3, 2010|Case Studies|

With more emphasis in recent years on pollution, recycling, energy use and other important environmental issues, children today are learning how to look after our planet from an early age. In fact, the government see this as such an important part of children’s education that they have set up a [...]

The Poles in Peril: The Vanishing Arctic

By |2021-05-24T11:18:35+00:00March 2, 2010|CO2 Emissions|

Climate change is an expression with which most of us are now familiar. Stories of changing weather patterns, rising sea levels and vanishing habitats have been around for a number of years and foremost among them headlines about our vanishing Arctic. The arguments have raged back and forth as to [...]

Questionnaire: How Toxic is Your Hair?

By |2021-05-24T11:18:35+00:00March 1, 2010|Cosmetics|

There have been a number of reports in newspapers and magazines addressing the potentially hazardous substances commonly found in the ingredients of many hair care products. It's certainly important to weigh up the evidence available and come to your own conclusions, but to help you do so, we have put [...]

Safety Concerns about Pylons and Phone Masts

By |2021-05-24T11:18:35+00:00November 21, 2008|Chemicals|

For a long time now there has been concern raised over the safety of electricity pylons and mobile phone masts but until now there hasn’t been enough substantiated evidence to force a change. However new evidence could ensure that a new government review will be carried out. What’s The Difference [...]

Monitoring Radiation Levels

By |2021-05-24T11:18:35+00:00November 20, 2008|Chemicals|

When we think of monitoring radiation levels, Apocalypse images of nuclear fallout immediately spring to mind. However radiation occurs naturally in the environment and we are all exposed to low levels each day. So who does the monitoring and why is it necessary? What Is Radiation? Radiation is the terminology [...]

How Paint Pollution Effects the Environment

By |2021-05-24T11:18:36+00:00November 19, 2008|Chemicals|

We all like the idea of a quick home make-over - and what better pick-me-up for tired-looking walls than a fresh lick of paint? But the USA’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies paint as one of its top five most hazardous substances. Why? Read on to find out. What’s In [...]

Lead Piping and the Environment

By |2021-05-24T11:18:36+00:00November 19, 2008|Chemicals|

Until around about 1970, houses were traditionally serviced with lead pipes and water tanks. However, with the realisation that they could contaminate the drinking water supply they were phased out. So what harm does lead do? Lead In The Environment Lead is a component of the Earth’s crust and as [...]

What are Gender Bending Chemicals?

By |2021-05-24T11:18:36+00:00November 18, 2008|Chemicals|

We’ve all heard the striking phrase, ‘gender-bending chemicals’ but what exactly are they and should we be worried? Why ‘Gender Bending’? Gender bending chemicals are a vast and diverse group of chemicals which have been found to mimic, block, or alter the effects of growth and developmental hormones causing reproductive [...]

Food Miles: The Environmental Impact of Food

By |2021-05-24T11:18:36+00:00November 17, 2008|Food & Water|

Remember the days when the first strawberries of the year were the ones shown on television at Wimbledon? How times have changed, for now all kinds of exotic fruits and foodstuffs are available the year round at our local supermarket – flown perhaps thousands of miles around the world so [...]

What is Noise Pollution?

By |2021-05-24T11:18:37+00:00November 10, 2008|Noise & Light|

Noisy neighbours can be irritating and we’ve probably all shouted at someone to turn the music down but do these things constitute noise pollution? Noise Is Personal Our experience of sound is different for all of us, what constitutes noise pollution will be, by its nature, subjective. However in general, [...]

Aircraft Noise and Your Health

By |2021-05-24T11:18:37+00:00November 7, 2008|Noise & Light|

We all understand that if you live near a flight path, then the resulting aircraft noise would be very disturbing for most people. However, can it directly affect your health? The HYENA Project Scientists recently conducted a study to show that noise from aircraft can actually raise your blood pressure, [...]

Making your Home more Environmentally Friendly

By |2021-05-24T11:18:37+00:00November 6, 2008|Energy Saving & Recycling|

Making your home more environmentally friendly may conjure up ideas of installing solar panels, compost toilets, and wind turbines. But there are many simple and practical steps you can take which don’t involve making any drastic changes to your lifestyle – or wearing a hair shirt! Read on, to find [...]

Recycling PVC Packaging

By |2021-05-24T11:18:37+00:00November 6, 2008|Energy Saving & Recycling|

PVC has received its fair share of controversy. The chemicals added to it to make it supple have drawn a huge amount of attention from environmentalists as being carcinogens and endocrine disrupters and the sheer volume of plastics filling our landfill sites has long been a cause for concern. The [...]

Recycling Plastic Wrappings

By |2021-05-24T11:18:37+00:00November 6, 2008|Energy Saving & Recycling|

One of the most ubiquitous of packaging forms in the UK today has to be plastic wrappings. Love it or hate it, plastic is cheap, convenient, lightweight, durable and flexible. In fact it’s grown in popularity so much that today we’re using 20 times more than we did in the [...]

Recycling Glass Explained

By |2021-05-24T11:18:37+00:00November 5, 2008|Energy Saving & Recycling|

Glass is one of the most versatile and economical of packaging materials when it comes to its recycling credentials. So why does so much still go to landfill? Glass History Glass has been used for thousands of years, with the Egyptians mastering the technology of making glass objects at least [...]

Energy Saving Light Bulbs

By |2021-05-24T11:18:38+00:00November 4, 2008|Energy Saving & Recycling|

With electricity prices going up and the credit crunch beginning to bite; we could all do with saving a bit of money somehow. And one extremely simple way to do just that is to replace existing light bulbs with energy saving ones. What Are Energy Saving Light Bulbs? Energy saving [...]

All About Oil-Fired Heating

By |2021-05-24T11:18:38+00:00November 3, 2008|Energy Saving & Recycling|

In some parts of the country, usually where properties are a little more isolated, houses are not connected to mains gas. In these cases, the best option for heating the home is often oil-fired central heating. Oil and Greenhouse Gases Contrary to popular believe, oil heating does not have to [...]

The Importance of Insulating Your Loft

By |2021-05-24T11:18:38+00:00October 31, 2008|Energy Saving & Recycling|

With the cost of heating bills going up and up, if you haven’t already insulated your loft, now is the time to do so. Read on to find out more. Hot Air Rises Much of the heat from your home will escape via the roof without adequate insulation in your [...]

What is in Your Air Fresheners?

By |2021-05-24T11:18:38+00:00October 28, 2008|Cosmetics|

Air fresheners are on the increase. It seems that plain old fresh air is not sweet enough for us and we desire the synthetic creation of ‘clean’ pine forests, sharp-smelling citrus oils and rolling fields or Provencal lavender. But what are all these scenic smells doing for our health? What [...]

Synthetic Fragrances and the Environment

By |2021-05-24T11:18:38+00:00October 28, 2008|Cosmetics|

The timeless allure of perfume is one which makes many multi-millions of pounds for the cosmetics industry each year, and yet environmental scientists are increasingly concerned about their affects on our health as well as their persistence in the environment. Smell Pollution Some even suggest that synthetic fragrance has more [...]

Mosquito Repellents and Organochlorides

By |2021-05-24T11:18:38+00:00October 27, 2008|Cosmetics|

Insect repellents have been around for thousands of years with evidence of their use by man dating back since before Egyptian times. And their employment doesn’t stop with mankind, for even animals such as the capuchin monkey have been observed rubbing a particular type of millipede into their hair which [...]

What Toxins are in My Shampoo?

By |2021-05-24T11:18:39+00:00October 24, 2008|Cosmetics|

Your bathroom should be a haven of relaxation and a chance to pamper yourself. But despite glossy ads and super-slick models looking radiant, the very products we choose to lather ourselves with could be coating us in toxic chemicals. Read our low-down on shampoo health hazards. Shampoo Diethanolamine (DEA) is [...]

The Effect of Traffic Emissions

By |2021-05-24T11:18:39+00:00October 22, 2008|CO2 Emissions|

Unlike industrial chimney stacks pumping out thick furls of black smoke, unless an engine is burning oil, we don’t often see what comes out from vehicle exhausts. However, just because it’s not very visible, doesn’t mean to say there are no consequences - because the effect of traffic emissions can [...]

Complaining About Smell Pollution

By |2021-05-24T11:18:39+00:00October 22, 2008|Air Quality|

If you have a nasty niff in the neighbourhood or perhaps a nuisance neighbour causing a stench, then there are procedures in place by which you can complain. The Personal Approach If the bad smell is being caused by a neighbour, then in the first instance, a polite, personal approach [...]

The Effect of Traffic Fumes on your Health

By |2021-05-24T11:18:40+00:00October 20, 2008|Air Quality|

This month a Royal Society report stated that thousands of people are dying each year because of air pollution, much of this a direct result of traffic fumes. And this figure is set to increase with a prediction of 2,391 direct deaths and more than 25,000 premature deaths by the [...]

Houseplants as Air Cleansers

By |2021-05-24T11:18:40+00:00October 16, 2008|Air Quality|

A third of all office spaces in Europe have inadequate indoor air, so much that in many cases it’s more polluted than that of the street outside and the same is happening within our homes. As we live in temperature-controlled, hermetically sealed atmospheres with all kinds of 20th century gadgets, [...]

Composting your Natural Waste

By |2021-05-24T11:18:40+00:00October 15, 2008|Waste|

Compost heaps conjures up images of green-fingered gardeners and steaming stables. However, that doesn’t tell the whole story because composting your natural waste is an easy, clean, and efficient way to reduce your rubbish and improve your garden at the same time. What Is A Compost Heap? At its simplest [...]

Lost Balloons and the Impact on the Environment

By |2021-05-24T11:18:42+00:00October 6, 2008|Waste|

Balloons are wonderful things – they express fun, laughter, celebration – and when one or many are released into the air, to watch them slowly rise into the sky is a joyous thing. But recently, there has been a move to try to persuade people not to let go of [...]

Harmful Chemicals in Babies Dummies

By |2021-05-24T11:18:42+00:00October 6, 2008|Household Products|

There are two main chemicals which worry parents when speaking of babies’ dummies, or items which have been designed for very young children to put in their mouths. Phthalates Bisphenol A Both chemicals have been around for the last 5 decades but in recent years have hit the headlines due [...]

Whiter than White: the Truth about Bleach

By |2021-05-24T11:18:42+00:00October 1, 2008|Household Products|

Years of prime-time laundry ads have lead us to believe we should get very excited about finding a wonder-working whitener for our wash – and then tell all our friends so they can share in our discovery. Well, perhaps not. Because there’s no real good reason to use bleach in [...]

Additives Soaps and Surfactants

By |2021-05-24T11:18:42+00:00September 30, 2008|Household Products|

We all use soaps and detergents every day and are conditioned by the advertising world of smiling mums and youthful models, to keep our clothes clean with them, watch dirt disappear with them and wallow luxuriously in the bubbles they produce. But bubbles can’t be trouble – right? Wrong! Well, [...]

Electrical Goods and Pollution in the Home

By |2021-05-24T11:18:42+00:00September 30, 2008|Household Products|

We all use a fair amount of electrical goods each day – indeed, it is hard to see how we could ever do without them. But although they make our lives more comfortable, entertaining and fast, they also cause huge amounts of damage to the environment. Polluting Our Homes With [...]

Green Alternatives to Carpets

By |2021-05-24T11:18:43+00:00September 29, 2008|Household Products|

Despite the rise in popularity of laying wooden floors in modern homes, the majority of floor covering still tends to be carpet. However, there are many reasons why carpets are not a good choice in terms of their environmental impact, both in the way they are produced and also with [...]

Green Cleaning Products

By |2021-05-24T11:18:43+00:00September 29, 2008|Household Products|

We all use cleaning products on a daily basis and probably harbour a whole battalion of various sprays, polishes, unctions, gumptions and miracle powders. But have we ever considered the damage they might do, either to us, wildlife or the environment? What Are Green Cleaning Products? Green cleaning products are [...]

Chemicals and Pollutants in Cleaning Agents

By |2021-05-24T11:18:43+00:00September 24, 2008|Household Products|

We all buy cleaning products to make our home cleaner, fresher, brighter – but at what price? Many common cleaning products contain chemicals and pollutants to make your blood go cold – literally. Check out the list below to find out which chemical culprits could be lurking under your kitchen [...]

Go to Top