Chemical

Nanomaterials commonly used in sunscreens and boat-bottom paints are making sea urchin embryos more vulnerable to toxins, according to a study from the University of California, Davis. The authors said this could pose a risk to coastal, marine and freshwater environments.

The dispersant used to remediate the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is more toxic to cold-water corals than the spilled oil, according to a study conducted at Temple University. The study comes on the eve of the spill’s fifth anniversary, April 20.

Glove boxes go by many different names and are used for many purposes. However, their essential attribute is the ability to maintain a completely separate environment from ambient. Glove boxes are completely closed compartments ranging in size from a few cubic feet to several hundred cubic feet and differ from other safety enclosures in two significant respects: users can introduce articles into glove boxes and manipulate them inside through ports fitted with gloves, and glove boxes typically use a specialized atmosphere.

University of Adelaide research has uncovered how the metal cadmium, which is accumulating in the food chain, causes toxicity in living cells.

Problem: An emergency spill response plan is part of every laboratory safety protocol. However, despite all the best precautions, accidents can happen! Laboratories often house chemicals such as acids, bases, solvents and flammables—all of which can be toxic to human health and the environment if used incorrectly or spilled.

Late summer is the peak time for harmful algae that can turn lakes into toxic scum, canceling fishing trips and fouling water supplies. While the Pacific Northwest doesn’t get anything near the activity that turned parts of Lake Erie into bright green slime, our coasts are vulnerable in late summer to this largely unpredictable – and in our case unseen – menace.

Disposing of unwanted or outdated lab chemicals has always been somewhat of a troublesome, expensive, and sometimes outright dangerous process. Ironically, the introduction in the UK of legislation designed to make this practice simpler has not, in our experience, always had the desired effect.













