People who have never had a cigarette are being diagnosed with lung cancer and their proportion is increasing with air pollution an “important factor”, the World Health Organization’s cancer agency said, the Guardian reported. Such cases are now estimated to be the fifth-highest cause of cancer deaths worldwide, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
Lung cancer in never-smokers is also occurring almost exclusively as adenocarcinoma. About 200,000 cases of adenocarcinoma were associated with exposure to air pollution in 2022, according to the IARC study published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal, the report stated. The most adenocarcinoma attributable to air pollution was found in east Asia, particularly China, the study found.
Scientists, lawyers raise objections over dilution of pollution norms for 39 industries
Ecologists, scientists and lawyers have raised objections against a recent government notification exempting 39 industries (including fly ash/block manufacturing) from environmental clearances underlining ‘ease of doing business’, Down to Earth reported. The outlet said scientists and lawyers have sent a letter objecting to the notification of November 12, 2024, exempting the requirements of compliance to air and water pollution prevention and control.
“The lifting of consent requirements for industries with environmental clearances is a direct contradiction to the foundational objectives of the Air Act and Water Act,” the letter said.
The report added that the state pollution control boards (SPCBs) play a crucial role in holding industries accountable for polluting the environment. Diluting the requirements of renewal of Consents to Operate and Consent to Establish removes the mandate to routinely assess industrial compliance. The members pointed out that it is misleading and hazardous to classify industries such as fly ash bricks/block manufacturing as ‘white industries’, allowing them exemptions from environmental accountability. Fly ash, a byproduct of coal combustion, contains toxic heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, and mercury.
Green court pulls up authorities for failing to cleat Yamuna flood plains
The Centre’s Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and other authorities have failed to take necessary actions to remove encroachment along the Delhi stretch of the Yamuna, despite orders served to them over the years, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) stated on February 6, 2025, DTE reported.
On October 17, 2019, NGT ruled that the floodplains of a river should remain free of encroachments as that could pollute and harm the river’s ecology and ordered River Yamuna to be kept free from encroachment. The court also instructed DDA, Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), and the forest department to take legal action.
Green court seeks fresh report on heavy metal pollutants in Delhi air
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on February 6, 2025 sought a fresh reply from the Central Pollution Control Board on tackling pollution in Delhi’s air stating that its previous report does not clearly reflect upon the monitoring of the heavy metals mentioned in the news article in The Times of India on September 29, 2024. These are chromium, copper, zinc and molybdenum. The report also doesn’t provide reasons for not monitoring, DTE reported.
The same was the case with the reply filed by the Punjab Pollution Control Board, the tribunal noted. The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change sought four weeks to consider the issue and file a response. The case will next be heard on May 15, 2025.
The original application was filed based on a news report referencing a study by the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, which found dangerous levels of heavy metals like lead, cadmium and nickel in the air. The study also revealed that in East Delhi district, the primary heavy metals present in PM2.5 were chromium, copper, zinc, molybdenum and lead.
US schemes for electric trucks reduce premature air-pollution linked deaths among the poor
Policies to electrify trucks in the US have reduced air pollution-related premature mortality in “disadvantaged communities”, according to a new study which investigates the combined effects of Inflation Reduction Act investments in heavy-duty vehicle decarbonisation, reported Nature. However, while mortality rates have fallen in disadvantaged communities in the wake of federal investments, the findings suggest that a “disproportionate share of benefits” have accrued to “non-disadvantaged communities”. The researchers note that 40% of benefits of IRA investments are intended to flow towards disadvantaged communities.
About The Author
You may also like
States struggle to fill jobs before NGT deadline, less than 10% of 2,228 posts filled
40 years after deadly Bhopal gas leak disaster, factory site cleaning begins, toxic waste to be incinerated
Not just surviving: Finding breathing room for India’s cities to thrive
Polluting industries won’t need dual approvals before setting up operations
COP29: India asks ‘air shed’ neighbours to fight air pollution jointly
