Air quality news covering smog, particulates, industrial emissions, health impacts, and clean air policy.
A new study reveals that plastic waste shipped to lower- and middle-income countries is often openly burned, causing sharp increases in toxic air pollution linked to health problems. Between 40% and 65% of municipal solid waste is burned in these regions, affecting 2 billion people without waste collection.
Residents and activists in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood asked Illinois Governor JB Pritzker's administration to delay renewing Sims Metal's operating permit, citing a rise in toxic metal emissions. Analysis showed increased arsenic, cadmium, and chromium in 2025 despite new pollution controls. Sims Metal disputed the claims, citing federal findings of no health effects.