POLLUTION BLOG

Pure Earth Ghana , in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), has completed a study assessing the presence of mercury and other heavy metals in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) communities in Ghana. The assessment, funded by the Foreign,...

Pure Earth’s Innovation Lab team recently published a comprehensive literature review on the sources of lead poisoning in the journal of Science of the Total Environment, with support from co-authors Bjorn Larsen, Howard Hu and Bruce Lanphear. Available here. This...

In 2024, Pure Earth advanced efforts to elevate awareness of lead poisoning and drive government response through our Global Lead Program. The program measures progress across five key outcomes and related indicators. This blog post is the second in a...

La Minería Artesanal y de Pequeña Escala (MAPE) de oro sigue siendo una fuente vital de ingresos para más de 300,000 personas en Colombia, particularmente en zonas rurales. Sin embargo, esta actividad también representa uno de los mayores desafíos ambientales...

We are pleased to share our new report, Global Lead Program: 2024 Results and Achievements, which details the activities and accomplishments of Pure Earth's global, collective effort to reduce lead poisoning. The report also includes an annex listing key milestones achieved...

At Pure Earth, we are dedicated to solving the global childhood lead poisoning crisis and ensuring healthier environments for all. Lead exposure is a silent threat that harms millions, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where unregulated industries, contaminated consumer...

An article in Vox titled How to buy a year of happiness, explained in one chart reports that Pure Earth is one of Vox’s “best buys” for charitable giving to improve wellbeing, based on the Happier Lives Institute report. Read more...

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 April 2024, a global Pure Earth study, "Rapid Market Screening to assess lead concentrations in consumer products across 25 low- and middle-income countries" published in Scientific Reports revealed elevated levels of lead in 12% of cosmetic samples. Two traditional...

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...

In this spotlight, Agustín Gama, Pure Earth’s new Country Director for Mexico, shares an update on the work of our team in Mexico.  Visit the Pure Earth Mexico page to learn more. For Spanish-language access, visit the project website barroaprobado.org...

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...

In 2021, Pure Earth launched an ambitious project to analyze the lead (Pb) content in thousands of consumer products in markets across 25 low- and middle-income countries. This project, the Rapid Market Screening (RMS),  is the first analysis of its...

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...

Sandeep Dahiya, Pure Earth India’s Director of Strategic Communications, reports on this important meeting on childhood lead poisoning. Pure Earth India, in collaboration with TERI - The Energy and Resources Institute, organized a seminar on “Understanding Lead Poisoning Prevalence in...

Recent high profile news reports, such NBC's "Paradise Lost: The weight of gold," are bringing fresh attention to the problem of mercury pollution and deforestation. Our latest story from the field shows the progress we are making in researching and...

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...

Out of 121 applicants from 22 countries, a team from Pure Earth Colombia has emerged as one of the top 13 finalists selected for a $1 million challenge prize to protect the Amazon from impacts of artisanal and small-scale gold...

From the WHO Fact Sheet on Mercury and Health Key facts Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is found in air, water and soil. Exposure to mercury – even small amounts – may cause serious health problems, and is...

Facts About Lead Poisoning and Pollution: There is no known safe level of lead exposure. The CDC lowered the level of concern from 10 to 5 µg/dL (micrograms /deciliter) as the point at which to trigger public health actions. In the...

Think you know pollution? Here are some facts about toxic pollution that might surprise you. Pollution is one of the biggest global threats. Toxic pollution from contaminated sites affects over 200 million people worldwide, with tens of thousands poisoned each year....

Updated 2019 Child gold miners in Indonesia It has been over 50 years since the first sign of mass mercury poisoning emerged in Minamata, Japan. Cats in the village started staggering and tilting, doing a strange "dancing cat fever." Then...

Blacksmith Institute has published the first issue of The Journal of Health and Pollution, a semiannual, on-line, open-access publication of peer-reviewed research and news. “JH&P” can be found at www.journalhealthpollution.org. Included in the inaugural edition are invited commentaries: Environmental Pollution...