An accident at the ICMESA chemicals plant near the town of Seveso on 10 July 1976 released a toxic cloud consisting mainly of dioxins and poisoning a densely populated area of six square kilometres. This environmental catastrophe finally triggered serious efforts to make the production and application of chemicals safe. The highly toxic 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8 TCDD) released a... read more
Perfluorinated compounds: Avoid inputs - protect the environment
The reports about perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in the environment keep coming and coming. Recent occurrences of these compounds in wastewater treatment plants, bodies of water, in drinking water, in indoor air, and in human blood in particular have kept public debate lively. Although toxicologically critical concentrations have only occurred in a few incidents, ”perfluorinated compounds in the... read more
New guideline on environmentally friendly procurement of notebooks
Public tenders and procurement of ‘green’ notebooks has just become simpler for both the private and public sectors. The high tech association BITKOM, the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), and the Federal Ministry of Interior Procurement Office (BeschA) have issued a new guideline with recommendations on how to procure environmentally friendly notebooks (German title: Empfehlungen für die umweltfr... read more
Blue Angel for improved safety in the children’s room
There is now a Blue Angel to award wooden toys that are both harmless to health and ecological. Finally, there is a reliable and trustworthy label for safe wooden toys after all the negative headlines about dangerous toys. The oldest and best-known eco-label is a guarantee of acceptability. read more
Levels of particulate matter too high in Germany’s urban areas
The levels of harmful particulate matter pollution in Germany’s inner cities continues to remain too high. The ceiling (daily mean) of 50 microgrammes per cubic metre of air (µg/m3) has already been exceeded more often than the allowable 35 days a year in six cities, including Stuttgart and Munich. Another ten cities in North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg, Thuringia, Hesse, and Saxony are ju... read more
Youth art about global warming
The Federal Environment Agency (UBA) seeks to connect art with global warming in a contest in which young peopled aged 11-20 in Dessau-Roßlau are invited to artistically depict climate change. read more
Three countries act in concert for more protection of natural resources
The ministries and federal offices for environment in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are strengthening their ties as they aim to step up exchange of knowledge on strategies in sustainable resource management, with a special focus on waste management. The first joint ”Re-source 2009” symposium on resources and recycling strategies is scheduled to take place on 23-24 June 2009. It will expose the... read more
National climate policy: UBA calls for bolder action
Germany must identify and implement potential heretofore untapped to reduce emissions if it is avoid the far-reaching consequences of global warming. ”We must become bolder in our efforts to protect ourselves and our environment in the long term from the impact of climate change”, said Dr. Thomas Holzmann, Vice President of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA). This is the message of a new UBA ba... read more
