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UNEP's newsletter from March 2020 on scientific articles, research and knowledge on selected topics.TopicTitleChemicals and Waste / PollutionAdvancing environmental exposure assessment science to benefit society / A. Caplin et al. 2019. Nature.Assessment of air pollution caused by illegal e-waste burning to evaluate the human health risk / C. Gangwar et al. Environment International 125, Pages 191-199, 2019. ScienceDirect.A Comparison of hourly to annual air pollutant emissions: Implications for estimating acute exposure and public health risk / M. Stewart et al

AbstractThe world faces an increasing need to phase out harmful chemicals and design sustainable alternatives across various consumer products and industrial applications. Alternatives assessment is an emerging field focusing on identifying viable solutions to substitute harmful chemicals. However, current methods fail to consider trade-offs from human and ecosystem exposures, and from impacts associated with chemical supply chains and product life cycles. To close this gap, we propose a life cycle based alternatives assessment (LCAA) framework for consistently integrating quantitative exposure

Lead is a toxic metal whose widespread use has caused extensive environmental contamination and health problems in many parts of the world. Human exposure to lead in 2017 was estimated to account for 1.06 million deaths and the loss of 24.4 million disability-adjusted-life-years (DALYs) from long-term health effects, with the highest burden falling on low- and middle-income countries.This document provides a brief overview of analytical methods available for measuring lead in paint. It is primarily aimed at informing public health

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) substantially cost society as a result of increases in disease and disability but—unlike other toxicant classes such as carcinogens—have yet to be codified into regulations as a hazard category.This Series paper examines economic, regulatory, and policy approaches to limit human EDC exposures and describes potential improvements. In the EU, general principles for EDCs call for minimisation of human exposure, identification as substances of very high concern, and ban on use in pesticides. In the USA, screening and

Plastics are used across the economy and in diverse downstream sectors such as packaging, construction, transportation, healthcare, textiles, and electronics. Durable products, ranging from construction materials to medical devices make up nearly half of the global plastics market, while packaging products are the largest uses of single-use plastics. Some plastics contain chemicals that are considered to be harmful for health and the environment. Phthalates, poly-fluorinated chemicals, bisphenol A (BPA), brominated flame retardants and antimony trioxide are considered most harmful for

The Toxic Truth: Children’s Exposure to Lead Pollution Undermines a Generation of Future PotentialAround 1 in 3 children – up to 800 million globally – has blood lead levels at or above 5 micrograms per decilitre (µg/dL), a level that the World Health Organization and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have stated it requires global and regional interventions.This joint report by UNICEF and Pure Earth notes that lead is a potent neurotoxin that causes irreparable harm

From 20 to 26 October 2019 the seventh International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of action (ILPPW) took place in countries around the world. This report describes some of the activities held during the week. As with earlier years, the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint (the Lead Paint Alliance) provided a campaign resource package and a range of multilingual campaign materials. All the materials were made available from the World Health Organization (WHO) website.

In response to questions received by the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint on roadmaps for developing regulations on lead content in paint, the Alliance offers the following process considerations. Questions are illustrative, indicating the kinds of information a government might consider as it undertakes each component of a drafting process.

Las pinturas se han convertido en parte esencial del estilo de vida de la sociedad moderna, el color de ellas es apetecido por sus funciones estéticas, decorativas, de protección para productos y hasta en usos como códigos de seguridad, sin embargo, su producción y uso plantea aun muchos retos en los cuales se viene trabajando tanto a nivel mundial como local.Los países más industrializados prohibieron desde hace más de 40 años el uso de pinturas con plomo. Colombia aún carece

This document has been developed for officials in government who have a role in regulating lead paint, to provide them with concise technical information on the rationale and steps required to phase out lead paint. “Lead paint” or “lead-based paint” is paint to which one or more lead compounds have been intentionally added by the manufacturer to obtain specific characteristics. This document explains the health and economic importance of preventing lead exposure by establishing legally binding controls to stop the