POLLUTION BLOG

On a recent trip to the Peruvian Amazon, Rodrigo Velarde, Pure Earth Peru’s Country Director, Jen Maraccino, Pure Earth's Senior Director of Development, and Allison Charalambous, Brilliant Earth's Vice President of Responsible Sourcing and Sustainability, visited Artisanal Miners Association Tauro.

Pure Earth’s mission to prevent lead and mercury poisoning globally means engaging with governments, sharing evidence on the scale and impact of these toxins and proposing solutions. For the past several years, we’ve worked to educate the U.S. Congress and.

Over the years, Pure Earth has cultivated and worked with a dedicated and highly skilled global network of professionals that we continue to call on for regional and specialized expertise. Recently, a group of our colleagues launched a new organization.

"One in 36 Million" is the story of one boy, who is just one out of 36 million children living with lead poisoning in Bangladesh. The lesson of the film is that we have solutions. Help us tell this young.

Update: "One in 36 Million," produced by Pure Earth Bangladesh, has emerged as the winner of the Grand Prix prize at the World Health Organization's (WHO) Health For All film festival. The film, directed by Bangladeshi filmmaker Arifur Rahman and.

2022 was a year of growth. Pure Earth programs doubled in size, enabling us to expand our focus on lead and mercury in the most impacted countries. As a result of this expansion, long-time Pure Earth officer Drew McCartor, who.

Out of 121 applicants from 22 countries, a team from Pure Earth Colombia emerged as one of four winners of The Artisanal Mining Grand Challenge to develop new innovations to conserve the Amazon rainforest. Pure Earth's innovative technique uses copper.

For over four years, Pure Earth has been working with a mining association in an alliance that was formed thanks to the working relationship between the association's president Vilma C. and Pure Earth local coordinator France Cabanillas.  Today, the mining.

On October 20, just days before we launched our global outreach for International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week (ILPPW), we received word that Pure Earth President Richard Fuller was being recognized as one of Vox's Future Perfect 50, honoring individuals building a more perfect future. In.

Lead poisoning in Mexico is an urgent health problem that can cause brain damage,  IQ loss, and other developmental delays especially in children who eat food prepared and served in lead-glazed pottery. Despite the fact that almost half of all.

[caption id="attachment_19706" align="alignnone" width="600"] Workshop participants used a network mapping exercise in order to identify the most influential actors in their community. Post-it notes with stars signify highly influential groups and people, such as government officials or tea estate owners,.

In a new report, think tank Rethink Priorities acknowledges Pure Earth as the "largest organization working on lead exposure," and recommends Pure Earth as a leading organization with effective solutions. The Global Lead Exposure Report from researchers David Bernard and.

        Pure Earth toxic site investigators at a gold mining site in Colombia. When Pure Earth investigators visited a gold ore processing plant in the Colombian town of Remedios, they found dangerous levels of mercury in the.

The March 2021 issue of The Lancet Planetary Health journal includes an important paper that supports Pure Earth’s previous publications asserting the extent of the childhood lead poisoning crisis in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The paper, Blood lead levels.

Why are women's circles important? Because as women, we spend our time caring for others. We take care of men, the elderly, children, but sometimes we forget to also take care of ourselves. Women's circles are important because historically, those.

A newly released government investigative report on baby foods has revealed dangerous levels of toxic heavy metals, including lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium. It was issued on February 4, 2021, by the U.S. Congress (Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy,.

A socially-distanced workshop in lead-free techniques with artisanal potters in Mexico. At Pure Earth, we've defined 2020-2030 as the decade of delivering pollution solutions. Guided by CEO Richard Fuller and our new President and COO Mark Schnellbaecher, we've put together.

A new study from  Dr. Philip Landrigan and our friends at Boston College links widespread pollution of our oceans to a multitude of diseases, increasing susceptibility to COVID-19 and future pandemics, contamination of seafood we all consume, and more. In.

Along with local partners, Pure Earth started the reforestation of more than 3.5 hectares of rainforest in the Peruvian Amazon in 2017 and 2018. Another 2.5 hectares was restored in 2020. This report is from Pure Earth's Charles Espinosa. Miners.

  [caption id="attachment_16490" align="alignnone" width="768"] Gordon Binkhorst, Pure Earth's Senior Technical Advisor, uses a hand held XRF (X-ray fluorescence) analyzer to test the level of toxic pollutants in the ground in this neighborhood in Kabwe, Zambia. Almost every single child.

Futura Deity earrings from the 2020 Pure Earth Pure Gold responsibly-sourced jewelry collection and auction to fight pollution "As sustainable fashion becomes a necessity, designers and organizations dedicated to conservation are joining forces. In the past, Pure Earth has made.

Mexico: A family of artisan potters, who are part of our Barro Aprobado lead-free program The COVID-19 pandemic has hit many of the poor communities we work with especially hard.  In Mexico, for example, the potters we trained to use.

  This year, mothers in Kathgora, Bangladesh, have a big reason to celebrate--they know that their children are healthier today than they were a year ago. That's because their children’s blood lead levels (BLL) have been almost cut in half.

We know how critical PPE (personal protective equipment) is from our toxic pollution cleanup work around the world. Pure Earth team members often wear a combination of N95 masks, hazmat suits, gloves, and other protection out in the field when.

In response to the covid-19 pandemic, Pure Earth's "Quarantine" Q&A webinar series has been offering insights and analysis from our extensive network of colleagues and friends in public health around the world. It is one way we are sharing our.

The global coronavirus pandemic has made one thing clear -- we are a global family. No matter where you live, we all call this planet home. We will get through this together. Until we can gather again in person, please.

Greetings from New York, where we are entering our second week of social distancing, and now a statewide lockdown. We closely followed news of covid-19 as it spread through Asia, Europe, and now the U.S., and we are experiencing the.

Pure Earth kicked off its important global community outreach project on February 19th in Colombia, covered by the country’s premier news station, generating excitement at all levels, from the Ministry of Health to local NGOs working with indigenous people. "The.

Pure Earth President Richard Fuller (left) with Dr. Jack Caravanos, Pure Earth's head of research and co-author of the new global health textbook. Do not be saddened by stories of polluted places or diseased communities. Rather, let it motivate you.

Over the past 20 years, Pure Earth has addressed toxic pollution in over 120 project locations through assessment, remediation, risk mitigation and more.  See our approach for details.  These projects have impacted approximately 5 million people - 20% of those.

Pure Earth's Daniel Estrada testing the yard of a home in Mexico for the presence of toxic lead. What is the true scope of lead poisoning in Mexico? For the first time, we have a clearer picture, thanks to a.

This year, we asked some of our most ardent supporters---including Bobbie Lloyd, chief baking officer of the world famous Magnolia Bakery, and designer Ammar Belal---to tell us why they give to Pure Earth. Watch their video testimonies below. Thank you.

Pure Earth's Global Mercury Program works around the world to eliminate mercury use and clean up contaminated sites to reduce mercury poisoning and protect the health of communities, especially children. Since artisanal and small-scale (ASGM) gold mining is responsible for.

In May 2018, Pure Earth held a lead-free workshop for nine potters in Maragogipinho, Brazil. This was an important first step in helping a community, where some residents had blood lead levels as much as 15 times above the EPA’s level.

For years, parents in Malambo, Colombia, didn't know that their children were sleeping on poison. Surrounded by five lead smelters, Malambo was heavily contaminated with lead. Over the years, lead had polluted the ground, settled on almost every surface in.

Pollution and climate change are twin threats, or as the UN puts it, two sides of the same coin. If we solve pollution, we will not only impact climate change, but also save lives now. For too long, pollution and.

The Pure Earth team in Bangladesh. When we returned to the small village of Kathgora, Bangladesh, just months after our remediation work, we found to our delight that the impact was already measurable in the healthier children we saw. Before.

This summer, Pure Earth's head of research, Dr. Jack Caravanos, visited Ukraine with his students from NYU's College of Public Health. In addition to Chernobyl, probably the best-known polluted site in the country, the group also visited Radikal, an abandoned.

Updated: Feb. 2020: The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has selected Pure Earth’s proposal to solve Madagascar’s pollution crisis as a Top 100 in its 100&Change competition. Project co-leads on the proposal are Indiana University and the University.

Volunteers in Quezon City (Photos courtesy of Daj Dajotoy, HSBC) This post is by Pure Earth intern Matthew Chakwin, who is studying Global Health at Georgetown University. August 2019--This June, over 130 volunteers from HSBC's water programme in the Philippines.

Pure Earth pollution experts from around the world recently gathered in New York to share updates on the progress being made solving pollution problems in their home communities and in countries spread out over five continents. The event, held at.

In Tajikistan, in an area near the Afghan border lined with checkpoints and guards with guns, a Pure Earth team conducting pesticide cleanups was showered with hospitality. They were welcomed in home after home and were even invited to a.

Lead Poisoning Study: 300 mothers and their newborns In 2015, Pure Earth worked with the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) in Mexico on the first-ever effort to detect and measure exposure to lead poisoning at a state level in.

During Earth Week, Pure Earth mobilized hundreds of people around the world for a series of pollution cleanup events and a special news-making photo exhibition and presentation. These events were all part of Pure Earth Day, our inaugural global effort to bring.

Pure Earth/CINCIA rainforest reforestation team in Peru. In South America, alluvial gold mining is degrading the Amazon basin at an unprecedented rate, leaving barren craters in previously lush rainforest. Pure Earth is working on a rainforest reforestation project to restore.

This post is from Pure Earth development associate Erin Andrews. This is an important year for Pure Earth. It marks 20 years of leading the charge in fighting pollution - 20 years of saving lives, particularly the lives of children in.

In 2017, more than 30 models got on a bus and headed to the People’s Climate March in Washington, D.C. It was one of their first forays as the Model Mafia, a powerful collective of activist models brought together by Cameron Russell and Áine.

At the 63rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women, which took place on March 12, 2019 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, Pure Earth joined with participants from around the world to discuss a variety.

It was a day to remember. The celebration in the public town square of Karmalichak, a community in Patna, in the state of Bihar, India, was not only fun, but potentially life-changing. Organized by our local partner, the Institute of.

This photo (above) is heart breaking for me. The young girl in pink is chronically exposed to extremely high levels of lead because families in her village have been recycling and smelting lead and other metals for decades. Not only.

What a terrific team! Seven of the eight founding members of WiME (Women in Mining and Energy) in Indonesia. (left to right : Omar, Dian, Budi, Nukila, Khoirun, Dedy and Maya)   Jan. 2019--This month, a new initiative, Women in Mining.

If you think you and your family are not impacted by pollution far from your home, think again. Pollution Knows No Borders, Pure Earth’s latest report, documents how the pollution crisis in low- and middle-income countries affects everyone’s health – including.

As the first Christian country worldwide, Armenia is known for it’s beautiful, historic churches. Not only are they tourist attractions, they also serve as community centers for baptisms, weddings, barbecues, class trips and more. When Pure Earth, working together with.

Like many countries of the former Soviet Union, Ukraine has been dealing with many unresolved pollution challenges, from the major issue of obsolete pesticides being improperly stored throughout the country, to the lingering public health and pollution issues connected to.

Alejandro celebrated his 13th birthday recently with a new mattress, but what he received was a potential lifetime of safe and sound sleep. He is one of about 50 children living near a lead smelter in Malambo, Colombia, who we found.

  Our last blog post about Chernobyl generated a lot of interest among our friends, but seemed to raise more questions than it answered.  Many people asked for more basic information about radiation and more comparisons between Chernobyl and Japan,.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!  I am taking this shameless opportunity to remind everyone out there that there's still time to take Blacksmith Institute's $5 a Day December Holiday Challenge!  So if you are still wondering what to get that somebody who has.

I was going to write about Copenhagen and "climategate" today ... but then I came across a curious piece of news about potty training pigs! It seems a farmer in Taiwan has trained his pigs to use a litter box,.

Jack Caravanos has cut his way through jungles in Panama, climbed mountains in Peru, dodged cobras in India, and waded through murky rivers in the Dominican Republic, all to get a sample of contaminated soil, air or water.  He has fallen and.