Thursday, April 9, 2009
Water quality in South Asia Scientists solve puzzle of arsenic-poisoning
A team of scientists led by Stanford University soil scientist Scott Fendorf says bacteria cause the absorption of high levels of natural arsenic into groundwater in South Asia from the natural arsenic flowing down from the Himalayan mountains. The results are published in the latest issue of the journal Nature. The World Health Organization has blamed the arsenic for high rates of cancer in India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
In a news report on March 24 by Stanford News Service, Fendorf has solved the puzzle of how and why the natural arsenic was somehow working its way into the groundwater more than 100 feet below the surface, instead of remaining chemically trapped in the river sediments.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
In a news report on March 24 by Stanford News Service, Fendorf has solved the puzzle of how and why the natural arsenic was somehow working its way into the groundwater more than 100 feet below the surface, instead of remaining chemically trapped in the river sediments.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: anaerobic environment, Bangladesh, groundwater, high rates of cancer, himalayan mountains, india, Myanmar, natural arsenic, river sediments, south asia scientists, water quality, WHO
Sunday, May 11, 2008
United Nations food agency suspends aid flights: 1.5 million victims
The U.N. food agency suspended aid flights to cyclone struck Myanmar on May 9 after the military government seized two deliveries at Yangon airport, apparently determined to distribute supplies on its own.
The shipments of 38 tons of high-energy biscuits, enough to feed 95,000 people, were intended to be loaded on trucks and sent to the inundated Irrawaddy delta where most of the estimated 1.5 million victims need help.
"We're going to have to shut down our very small airlift operation until we get guarantees from the authorities that we'll be able to have the food when it arrives," U.N. World Food Program regional director Tony Banbury told CNN.
"I am furious. It is unacceptable."Governments around the world have been pressing Myanmar's ruling generals to open the country's borders to desperately-needed assistance and on May 9, Germany said it agreed with a proposal by France to use the U.N. Security Council.
To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
The shipments of 38 tons of high-energy biscuits, enough to feed 95,000 people, were intended to be loaded on trucks and sent to the inundated Irrawaddy delta where most of the estimated 1.5 million victims need help.
"We're going to have to shut down our very small airlift operation until we get guarantees from the authorities that we'll be able to have the food when it arrives," U.N. World Food Program regional director Tony Banbury told CNN.
"I am furious. It is unacceptable."Governments around the world have been pressing Myanmar's ruling generals to open the country's borders to desperately-needed assistance and on May 9, Germany said it agreed with a proposal by France to use the U.N. Security Council.
To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: cyclone nargis, France, Germany, help, Irrawaddy delta, Myanmar, people missing, suspended aid flights, Tony Banbury, U.N. food agency, U.N. World Food Program, victims, Yangon airport
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