Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
In a new study, scientists have developed a simple and cost-effective method for destroying a class of synthetic chemicals found in many consumer items and lasting in our water, soil and air for thousands of years when left alone.
PFAS, commonly known as “forever chemicals,” get their name because of their extraordinary resistance to most degradation mechanisms, possibly due to containing carbon and fluorine bonds, two of organic chemistry's strongest bonds.
Considered highly dangerous to humans, PFAS are found in most day-to-day products such as frying pans, cleaning products and even makeup. And humans’ increased dependence on PFAS has led to nearly every drop of water being contaminated by it, making even rainwater risky for consumption.
For years, scientists have been trying to find better ways to eliminate them, that don’t involve exposure to high levels of energy, including temperatures above 1,000 degrees Celsius.
But, new research by the U.S.-based Northwestern University and the University of California LA published Thursday has found that PFAS can be eliminated by mixing them with two relatively safe and inexpensive chemicals.
Humans are easily exposed to “forever chemicals,” through food, drinking water and house dust, with research showing that they can cause liver, kidney and immunological issues, as well as certain cancers.
For such reasons, the paper’s researchers say that finding easier solutions to removing PFAS from water has become “particularly urgent.”
Published in the Journal Science, the study found that when PFAS were mixed with a solution of dimethyl sulfoxide and sodium hydroxide and heated to a maximum of 120 degrees Celsius, it leads to a chemical reaction that “gradually nibbled away at the molecule” until the PFAS chemicals were gone, UCLA-based co-corresponding author, Kendall Houk said in a release.
There is no limit to the amount of water that can be treated at once with the straightforward technology because it uses relatively low temperatures without causing dangerous byproducts, according to Houk.
In the future, the technology might make it simpler for water treatment facilities to remove PFAS from drinking water, the study’s researchers said.
PFAS can currently be found around the planet, with researchers out of Europe concluding they could even find the chemicals in the rain drops of the most remote areas of the world.
In June, the U.S.-based Environmental Protection Agency revised the acceptable PFAS concentration levels in drinking water for agencies and businesses, in a health advisory to “reduce exposure” for civilians.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
Winnipeg police say they have arrested two people in their 20s after a large amount of explosives were found in a home outside of Winnipeg, Man.
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Spain scrapped an annual bullfighting award on Friday, prompting a rebuke from conservatives over a backlash against a centuries-old tradition they see as an art form but which has run into growing concern for animal welfare.
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.