POLLUTION BLOG

On 25 January 2026, Bangladesh took a significant leap in tackling one of its most serious public health threats- lead pollution, which has quietly affected millions of children and families across the country. At a rigorous Validation Workshop held at...

With 29 projects across 16 low- and middle-income countries, 2025 marked a year of remarkable growth, collaboration, and global recognition for Pure Earth. Across four continents, our teams paired scientific rigor with practical implementation, helping governments, communities, and institutions move...

   Pure Earth Ghana awareness at Greater Accra Hospital Maternal Unit Lead exposure remains a pervasive and underappreciated threat to child health globally. Although the phase-out of leaded petrol reduced ambient exposure, many children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)...

Pure Earth researchers tested 56 kohl, kajal, and surma eyeliners available for purchase in the United States and found that more than half contained dangerous levels of lead, including some with extremely high concentrations. These findings are detailed in a...

Metal cookware is a key source of lead exposure in Ghana. A new video news piece by Nadima Umar Uthman on GHOne TV, Tracing the Toxic Pot, looks at how government regulatory authorities, such as the FDA and Ghana Health...

Lead recycled in unsafe factories is entering global supply chains and poisoning children worldwide. The Poisonous Lead Trade, a new investigative series from The Examination and The New York Times, documents how recycled lead from substandard used lead-acid battery (ULAB)...

During International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week (ILPPW) 2025, Pure Earth teams and partners across Africa, Asia, and Latin America mobilized governments, health institutions, youth groups, and the private sector around a clear message: there is no safe level of lead...

Fariha glows with joy as she receives the Lead Champion Award from Pure Earth Bangladesh. The recognition marks more than just personal courage—it represents a real turning point in Bangladesh's fight against one of its most pressing environmental crises. Her...

  The delegation at GreenAd formal recycling center.  Agbogbloshie, one of West Africa’s largest electronic waste sites, processes an estimated 150,000 tons of discarded electronics each year, much of it through open burning and informal recycling. Studies have shown that...

In January, Pure Earth Philippines Country Director Larah Ortega-Ibañez participated in a webinar hosted by the Partnership for a Lead-Free Future, providing practical guidance on how to conduct an environmental lead exposure risk assessment.  The session explored strategies for risk...

In a significant milestone towards addressing lead contamination in Bangladesh, Pure Earth Bangladesh, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), and the Department of Environment (DoE) have signed a tri-party Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) titled "Collaboration to Enhance...

Pure Earth is pleased to announce the launch of a new program, “Mitigating Lead Exposure in Low- and Middle-Income Countries,” being implemented in Colombia, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Peru, and the Philippines. Support for this program comes from a generous...

A California regulation went into effect this month that marks a significant milestone in preventing infant exposure to heavy metals. The new regulation requires manufacturers to disclose heavy metal levels in baby food. This regulation is part of the California...

La contaminación por mercurio, principalmente generada por actividades mineras ilícitas, representa una de las mayores amenazas para el medio ambiente y la salud pública en Colombia, siendo el principal emisor per cápita de mercurio en el mundo, con una liberación...

Mercury pollution, primarily generated by illicit mining activities, represents one of the greatest threats to the environment and public health in Colombia. The country is the world’s largest per capita emitter of mercury, with significant releases stemming from small-scale gold...

Watch the video: Transforming Battery Recycling: Protecting Future Generations. Childhood lead poisoning is a global crisis, affecting 1 in 3 children worldwide and leading to learning disabilities, intellectual impairments, and reduced quality of life. The widespread presence of lead in...

Accra, Ghana — On August 27th, 2024, a significant stride towards environmental sustainability and public health was made as Blacksmith Initiative dba Pure Earth launched the Mercury Impact Assessment Study Project in Accra. The project, funded by the Foreign Commonwealth...

As an advocate deeply entrenched in the fight against lead poisoning, I had the distinct honor of attending the recent international convening titled “Lead Poisoning in India: Status, Challenges, and Way Forward,” organized by the Pahle India Foundation, knowledge partner...

Read: Govt Announcement India’s recycling industry is poised for a seismic shift. The 54th GST Council meeting on September 9, 2024, introduced landmark announcements aimed at formalizing the scrap metal sector/battery recycling, including Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM) and 2% Tax...

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...

Pure Earth's Evolution Over 25 Years: A Q&A with Executive Director Drew McCartor  To commemorate our efforts to solve pollution over 25 years, we sat down with Executive Director Drew McCartor to hear about Pure Earth’s journey from a small...

Pure Earth was invited to present on our work addressing lead exposure at the 77th World Health Assembly in Geneva this week. The World Health Assembly (WHA) brings together delegates from all 194 member states of the World Health Organization...

Over the past year, Pure Earth has intensified its efforts to build awareness with governments, in particular the U.S. Government, about the scale and impact of global lead poisoning. These efforts, building on Pure Earth’s lead poisoning research, expertise and...

In a policy briefing at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, USAID Administrator Samantha Power, took a leadership position in a panel discussion exploring the question – What can be done to unlock the biggest opportunities to drive...

During this year's ILPPW campaign, Pure Earth Bangladesh focused on enhancing the visibility of Pure Earth Bangladesh’s grassroots initiatives and underscoring evidence-based solutions through an online campaign and a photography exhibition.  On October 25, 2023, in collaboration with the Department...

Pure Earth teams around the world joined WHO and dozens of other organizations in marking the 11th year of International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week (ILPPW) galvanizing efforts around this year’s theme, “End Childhood Lead Poisoning”. The WHO expanded the list...

New studies reveal devastating new data on lead pollution in Bangladesh, the fourth most lead pollution-impacted country in the world. Learn more in this post by Mitali Das, Communications Lead, and Bushra Humaira Sadaf, Senior Communications Manager, Pure Earth Bangladesh. ...

Written By: Sandeep Dahiya, Director Advocacy and Communications, Pure Earth India This July, Pure Earth, the Institute of Environment and Eco-Development (IEED), Vital Strategies and  Mahavir Cancer Institute and Research Center convened a half-day, high-level conference “Understanding Lead Poisoning Prevalence...

In a historic move to protect the health of Ghana’s children, Pure Earth, Blacksmith Initiative, alongside UNICEF and the Ghana Health Service, has signed a Declaration of National Action against Lead Poisoning. This crucial step was announced on 24th August...

Learn more about how we are building support for action on lead poisoning in Bangladesh in this report from Bushra Humaira Sadaf, Senior Communications Manager, Pure Earth Bangladesh. [caption id="attachment_23810" align="alignnone" width="599"] Organizers and presenters with special guests, chair, and...

Pure Earth Bangladesh plans to protect their country's future by accelerating nationwide awareness through the inclusion of lead pollution into the national curriculum. Learn more in this post from Bushra Humaira Sadaf, Senior Communications Manager, Pure Earth Bangladesh. Protecting Our...

On June 15, the Center for Global Development (CGD) and Pure Earth jointly hosted a half-day event, "Get The Lead Out: A Day Connecting Local and Global Action for a World Free of Lead Poisoning," focused on the global lead...

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...

This report is from Sandeep Dahiya, Pure Earth India's Director of Advocacy and Communications. A high-level roundtable, "A World Free of Lead Poisoning," convened on Tuesday, 25th April 2023, in New Delhi, India, by the Center for Global Development, in...

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...

In this spotlight, Lizeth Olaya Zambrano, Pure Earth’s new Country Director for Colombia, shares an update on the work of our team in Colombia. Their recent accomplishments include winning one of the top prizes in a global competition to conserve...

In this spotlight, Pure Earth’s Country Director for Bangladesh, Dr. Mahfuzar Rahman, and Pure Earth Bangladesh Communications Lead, Mitali Das, share updates about the team's efforts to mitigate lead pollution in Bangladesh. Follow and stay updated on Pure Earth Bangladesh...

To learn more about the issue, access resources and watch a recording of our EARTH DAY Dialogue "Heavy Metals In Our Food: Understanding Risks and Moving Towards Solutions," with experts from Pure Earth, Consumer Reports, the NYC Department of Health...

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...

Join us on a walk through a community in Vellore with Sandeep Dahiya, Pure Earth India's Director of Strategic Communications.  The people of Rangapuram, Vellore, India, are busy, have less educational opportunities, and are not very  aware of lead exposure...

Below is our letter to the editor published in Vermont's Brattleboro Reformer on Dec. 13, and in the Bennington Banner on Dec. 14, 2022. Dear Editor: We would like to publicly thank Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy for his long-standing and...

Globally, one in three children –up to 800 million–have blood lead levels that are higher than deemed safe by the World Health Organization. Despite clear evidence of harm, many countries do not have sufficient capacity to monitor or regulate lead...

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...

Pure Earth's Founder and President Richard Fuller has been included in the #FuturePerfect50 list from Vox, recognizing "The scientists, thinkers, scholars, writers, and activists building a more perfect future."  Reporter and Vox editor Bryan Walsh has followed Pure Earth's work...

The Pure Earth Club is a school club comprised of students who are being taught and nurtured to love their environment and to protect it through the reduction of pollution, not only by words but by action. They are supervised...

Five years ago, the landmark report from the Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health brought the issue of pollution to the world’s attention. For the first time, the report quantified the true toll of pollution on the human population. Approximately...

Pure Earth reached several milestones in 2021, including critical recognition as the most effective organization working today to solve the global childhood lead poisoning crisis! We are especially proud of this as it reflects the hard work put in by the...

Earlier this month, Pure Earth was with the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP) in Minamata, Japan, to witness the landmark signing of the first international treaty to curb mercury pollution, and to help countries abide by the agreement. To...

What is Pollution? Once you know the facts, talking about pollution is crucial, as I've mentioned in my last two blog postings. So this month, we are launching The Blacksmith Institute Pollution Talks - finally giving a name to the...

  Update:  Aug, 2015.   "The Brown Agenda" is now a best-selling book.  Pure Earth founder Richard Fuller has chronicled his experiences doing cleanup in some of the world's worst polluted places to highlight the issue at the ground level, and...

It has been 40 years since the very first Earth Day. No doubt, things have changed for the better, at least here in the U.S. Our environment is much cleaner, and life-threatening pollution of the kind brought to light by...