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It’s not just Paris. There’s a “global resurgence” of bedbugs.

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Sunday, October 15, 2023

An abandoned mattress on a sidewalk in Marseille, France, on October 9. | Gerard Bottino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images It’s a bedbug’s world now. We’re just sleeping in it. On a brisk morning last month, the deputy mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Grégoire, stood in front of a French TV camera with a serious look on his face and said: “No one is safe.” He wasn’t talking about the threat of climate change or some frightening new virus. He was talking about bedbugs. For the blissfully unaware, bedbugs are small wingless insects that bite humans and feast on our blood, often at night. They find us by sensing the carbon dioxide in our breath and our body heat. While bedbugs can carry a large number of pathogens, they don’t seem to transmit diseases to humans, though they do produce itchy welts. In recent weeks, viral videos showing insects that look like bedbugs on the Paris metro and trains, and sightings of bedbugs in movie theaters and at the airport, have fueled fears of a widespread outbreak across the city. People have been panicking. “These little insects are spreading despair in our country,” a French politician told Parliament earlier this month, urging the prime minister to act. (She brought a vial of bed bugs with her into the chamber, presumably in an effort to strengthen her point.) Remon Haazen/Getty Images Pieces of tape on seats in a movie theater in Paris on October 9 indicate that a sniffer dog has detected bedbugs there. Elevating these concerns is the looming Summer Olympics, which will take place in Paris just 10 months from now. Millions of people will descend on Paris for the Games. And you know what likes millions of people? Bedbugs. The extent of the current “outbreak” isn’t clear, and most of the sightings have not been confirmed. Videos, news reports, and memes have almost certainly made the problem seem far bigger than it really is (go figure!). But this isn’t exactly good news. Paris certainly does have bed bugs. So does Chicago, New York, and every other major city in the world. These bloodsuckers are, unfortunately, everywhere. It gets worse: Over the last two decades, there’s been a “global resurgence” in bedbugs, according to a recent scientific review, following lows in the mid-20th century. “The resurgence has been widespread, affecting virtually every sector of society,” the authors wrote. Scientists say this surge is unlikely to wane anytime soon. So for now, it’s a bedbug’s world. Welcome. The rise and fall and rise of bedbugs No matter how potent the threat of bedbugs may feel today, I promise that it used to be worse. These insects have been gorging on our legs and arms and crotches for thousands of years, dating back to ancient Egypt — long before the invention of chemical pesticides. In the 1800s, some London hotels were so infested that lodgers “were advised to become half-drunk to obtain some sleep,” according to the recent scientific review. Entire buildings would be burned down in order to stamp out an infestation. It was the golden age of bedbugs (at least from the perspective of a bedbug). The tables turned in the 1940s, when the chemical DDT was popularized as an insecticide. During World War II, militaries sprayed DDT to control mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria, as well as body lice. It was also shown to be highly effective at killing bedbugs. Along with other newly developed pesticides, DDT helped wipe out bedbug populations. By the 1960s, bedbug infestations were rare, at least among wealthy nations, according to the review. For the next few decades, citizens in the US and Europe enjoyed evenings largely free of bedbug bites, even after DDT was banned in the US in 1972 (for its harmful impacts on humans and wildlife). But the reprieve obviously didn’t last. Getty Images A bedbug. Around the turn of the century, the parasites began reentering people’s homes and beds in droves, according to reports from the UK, US, Australia, Japan, and a handful of other countries. In Australia, for example, infestations of bed bugs rose by an estimated 4,500 percent between 1999 and 2006. There isn’t clear data on the number of infestations in the US, though in 2010 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency issued a joint statement, warning of an “alarming resurgence” of these pests. That brings us to today. Bedbugs are back. Why? Why bed bugs are surging now There are some obvious reasons. More people live in cities now, and bedbugs love densely packed warm bodies. We’re also traveling more than ever before, giving bedbugs an opportunity to spread (see: horror stories of bedbugs in Airbnbs). But the main reason why it’s boom time for bedbugs, according to the review, is that they’ve evolved resistance to many pesticides, our main line of defense. Indeed, these critters are now resistant to “most of the major classes of insecticides,” the review states, including pyrethroids, which is still one of the most commonly used insecticides. They’ve also developed resistance to DDT, which attacks insects in a similar way to pyrethroids. “Insecticides, especially the use of pyrethroids, are useless,” said Chow-Yang Lee, a professor of urban entomology at the University of California Riverside and a co-author of the recent review. “That will never get rid of bedbugs.” There’s also some evidence that powders like diatomaceous earth — which is designed to kill the bugs by drying them out — no longer work either. At least some of the insects have evolved resistance to desiccation, Lee said. That doesn’t mean bedbugs are impossible to destroy. High temperatures, around 113 degrees Fahrenheit and above, kill the insects, and research suggests that they aren’t likely to evolve heat tolerance. So do extremely cold temperatures. Fumigation using highly toxic chemicals and insecticide combinations can work too, Lee said, especially when they’re used repeatedly. Nathan Laine/Bloomberg via Getty Images An exterminator treats a sofa with steam in Paris on October 5. But these effective options come with a very important caveat: They’re expensive. Low-income communities often can’t afford these eradication methods, Lee said, which can cost several hundred to thousands of dollars for a single apartment. Large complexes might hire an exterminator, but he or she may only spend a few minutes in each unit spraying chemicals that don’t work, he said. These communities may also be home to elderly folks who can’t easily vacate their apartments for treatment; the exterminator has to work around them, so they’ll undoubtedly miss some spots. These less-affluent communities are considered reservoirs that can spread bedbugs throughout a city, Lee said. “The biggest challenge when it comes to treating bedbugs is cost,” Lee said. How to avoid bedbugs While it’s hard to eradicate bedbugs, it’s relatively easy to avoid them. Here’s a tip: When you enter a hotel or Airbnb, immediately check the mattress for reddish-brown blood stains, Lee said. After bed bugs feast, he said, they defecate, and their poop includes some staining hemoglobin (sorry). You can also look for the bugs themselves, which are visible to the naked eye; they’re roughly the size of an apple seed. Let’s say you do end up staying somewhere with bedbugs. When you get back home, Lee said, don’t bring your luggage inside. Take out your clothes and put them in the dryer for at least 30 minutes (or wash them and then dry them). Then, use a garment steamer to heat-treat your luggage outside. That should kill any eggs. Nathan Laine/Bloomberg via Getty Images An exterminator displays a photo of a bedbug infestation in Paris on October 5. Now let’s say you’ve found them in your home. Immediately call for professional help, Lee said. “Do not attempt to treat it yourself,” he said. If the infestation is small, an exterminator may treat your bed or furniture with a hand-held steamer, though if they’re everywhere, the exterminator may want to fumigate or place your furniture into a heat chamber — that’s when the costs will go up. Finally, a word from Lee for all of you thrifters: Be very wary about taking anything off the street, especially in cities like New York and Chicago. If you plan to take in any furniture — especially sofas, chairs, beds, and mattresses — you should have it heated first. Books, too, should be treated. “Do not bring them directly into the house,” Lee said. If it’s the middle of summer or winter, you can leave the books outside for a day or two — the heat or cold will force the bedbugs out or kill them. Or you can simply put them in a sealed plastic bag and place them in your freezer for a few days. These solutions will help you avoid bites or a home invasion. Yet until cheaper effective options are available — or the cost of heat treatment is subsidized for low-income communities — it’s unlikely the bedbug problem in the US and elsewhere will be eliminated. According to the EPA, “financial assistance [for bedbug treatment] is not generally available.” In the meantime, we’ll have to learn to live with the threat of bedbugs. “We have not seen the light at the end of the tunnel,” Lee said. “Until we come out with some method that is affordable to everyone, we will remain in the tunnel.”

It’s a bedbug’s world now. We’re just sleeping in it.

On a brisk morning last month, the deputy mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Grégoire, stood in front of a French TV camera with a serious look on his face and said: “No one is safe.”

He wasn’t talking about the threat of climate change or some frightening new virus. He was talking about bedbugs.

For the blissfully unaware, bedbugs are small wingless insects that bite humans and feast on our blood, often at night. They find us by sensing the carbon dioxide in our breath and our body heat. While bedbugs can carry a large number of pathogens, they don’t seem to transmit diseases to humans, though they do produce itchy welts.

In recent weeks, viral videos showing insects that look like bedbugs on the Paris metro and trains, and sightings of bedbugs in movie theaters and at the airport, have fueled fears of a widespread outbreak across the city. People have been panicking. “These little insects are spreading despair in our country,” a French politician told Parliament earlier this month, urging the prime minister to act. (She brought a vial of bed bugs with her into the chamber, presumably in an effort to strengthen her point.)

Red velvet theater seats in row, some with a small square of yellow tape. — Pieces of tape on seats in a movie theater in Paris on October 9 indicate that a sniffer dog has detected bedbugs there.

Elevating these concerns is the looming Summer Olympics, which will take place in Paris just 10 months from now. Millions of people will descend on Paris for the Games. And you know what likes millions of people? Bedbugs.

The extent of the current “outbreak” isn’t clear, and most of the sightings have not been confirmed. Videos, news reports, and memes have almost certainly made the problem seem far bigger than it really is (go figure!).

But this isn’t exactly good news. Paris certainly does have bed bugs. So does Chicago, New York, and every other major city in the world. These bloodsuckers are, unfortunately, everywhere.

It gets worse: Over the last two decades, there’s been a “global resurgence” in bedbugs, according to a recent scientific review, following lows in the mid-20th century. “The resurgence has been widespread, affecting virtually every sector of society,” the authors wrote.

Scientists say this surge is unlikely to wane anytime soon. So for now, it’s a bedbug’s world. Welcome.

The rise and fall and rise of bedbugs

No matter how potent the threat of bedbugs may feel today, I promise that it used to be worse. These insects have been gorging on our legs and arms and crotches for thousands of years, dating back to ancient Egypt — long before the invention of chemical pesticides.

In the 1800s, some London hotels were so infested that lodgers “were advised to become half-drunk to obtain some sleep,” according to the recent scientific review. Entire buildings would be burned down in order to stamp out an infestation. It was the golden age of bedbugs (at least from the perspective of a bedbug).

The tables turned in the 1940s, when the chemical DDT was popularized as an insecticide. During World War II, militaries sprayed DDT to control mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria, as well as body lice. It was also shown to be highly effective at killing bedbugs. Along with other newly developed pesticides, DDT helped wipe out bedbug populations. By the 1960s, bedbug infestations were rare, at least among wealthy nations, according to the review.

For the next few decades, citizens in the US and Europe enjoyed evenings largely free of bedbug bites, even after DDT was banned in the US in 1972 (for its harmful impacts on humans and wildlife). But the reprieve obviously didn’t last.

Around the turn of the century, the parasites began reentering people’s homes and beds in droves, according to reports from the UK, US, Australia, Japan, and a handful of other countries. In Australia, for example, infestations of bed bugs rose by an estimated 4,500 percent between 1999 and 2006. There isn’t clear data on the number of infestations in the US, though in 2010 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency issued a joint statement, warning of an “alarming resurgence” of these pests.

That brings us to today. Bedbugs are back. Why?

Why bed bugs are surging now

There are some obvious reasons. More people live in cities now, and bedbugs love densely packed warm bodies. We’re also traveling more than ever before, giving bedbugs an opportunity to spread (see: horror stories of bedbugs in Airbnbs).

But the main reason why it’s boom time for bedbugs, according to the review, is that they’ve evolved resistance to many pesticides, our main line of defense. Indeed, these critters are now resistant to “most of the major classes of insecticides,” the review states, including pyrethroids, which is still one of the most commonly used insecticides. They’ve also developed resistance to DDT, which attacks insects in a similar way to pyrethroids.

“Insecticides, especially the use of pyrethroids, are useless,” said Chow-Yang Lee, a professor of urban entomology at the University of California Riverside and a co-author of the recent review. “That will never get rid of bedbugs.”

There’s also some evidence that powders like diatomaceous earth — which is designed to kill the bugs by drying them out — no longer work either. At least some of the insects have evolved resistance to desiccation, Lee said.

That doesn’t mean bedbugs are impossible to destroy. High temperatures, around 113 degrees Fahrenheit and above, kill the insects, and research suggests that they aren’t likely to evolve heat tolerance. So do extremely cold temperatures. Fumigation using highly toxic chemicals and insecticide combinations can work too, Lee said, especially when they’re used repeatedly.

An exterminator treats a sofa with steam in Paris on October 5.

But these effective options come with a very important caveat: They’re expensive.

Low-income communities often can’t afford these eradication methods, Lee said, which can cost several hundred to thousands of dollars for a single apartment. Large complexes might hire an exterminator, but he or she may only spend a few minutes in each unit spraying chemicals that don’t work, he said.

These communities may also be home to elderly folks who can’t easily vacate their apartments for treatment; the exterminator has to work around them, so they’ll undoubtedly miss some spots. These less-affluent communities are considered reservoirs that can spread bedbugs throughout a city, Lee said.

“The biggest challenge when it comes to treating bedbugs is cost,” Lee said.

How to avoid bedbugs

While it’s hard to eradicate bedbugs, it’s relatively easy to avoid them.

Here’s a tip: When you enter a hotel or Airbnb, immediately check the mattress for reddish-brown blood stains, Lee said. After bed bugs feast, he said, they defecate, and their poop includes some staining hemoglobin (sorry). You can also look for the bugs themselves, which are visible to the naked eye; they’re roughly the size of an apple seed.

Let’s say you do end up staying somewhere with bedbugs. When you get back home, Lee said, don’t bring your luggage inside. Take out your clothes and put them in the dryer for at least 30 minutes (or wash them and then dry them). Then, use a garment steamer to heat-treat your luggage outside. That should kill any eggs.

An exterminator displays a photo of a bedbug infestation in Paris on October 5.

Now let’s say you’ve found them in your home. Immediately call for professional help, Lee said. “Do not attempt to treat it yourself,” he said. If the infestation is small, an exterminator may treat your bed or furniture with a hand-held steamer, though if they’re everywhere, the exterminator may want to fumigate or place your furniture into a heat chamber — that’s when the costs will go up.

Finally, a word from Lee for all of you thrifters: Be very wary about taking anything off the street, especially in cities like New York and Chicago. If you plan to take in any furniture — especially sofas, chairs, beds, and mattresses — you should have it heated first.

Books, too, should be treated. “Do not bring them directly into the house,” Lee said. If it’s the middle of summer or winter, you can leave the books outside for a day or two — the heat or cold will force the bedbugs out or kill them. Or you can simply put them in a sealed plastic bag and place them in your freezer for a few days.

These solutions will help you avoid bites or a home invasion. Yet until cheaper effective options are available — or the cost of heat treatment is subsidized for low-income communities — it’s unlikely the bedbug problem in the US and elsewhere will be eliminated. According to the EPA, “financial assistance [for bedbug treatment] is not generally available.”

In the meantime, we’ll have to learn to live with the threat of bedbugs.

“We have not seen the light at the end of the tunnel,” Lee said. “Until we come out with some method that is affordable to everyone, we will remain in the tunnel.”

Read the full story here.

Photos courtesy of

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The habitable zone of a planet might be key to whether life can survive there. But so are exoplanet atmospheres, scientists say. The post Exoplanet atmospheres are a key to habitability first appeared on EarthSky.

Artist’s concept of exoplanet GJ 9827 d. It might be a steam world, with lots of water vapor in its atmosphere. Astronomers say exoplanet atmospheres are a key to whether or not life could survive on a planet. Image via NASA/ ESA/ Leah Hustak (STScI)/ Ralf Crawford (STScI)/ University of Montreal. Scientists focus on the habitable zone (where liquid water might exist) when they are gauging whether an exoplanet could be habitable. But exoplanet atmospheres are also key to whether a planet can maintain stable, life-supporting conditions. For life to persist on a planet, the environment must be stable. A planet’s surface, oceans and atmosphere can work together to regulate the system. By Morgan Underwood, Rice University EarthSky isn’t powered by billionaires. We’re powered by you.Support EarthSky’s 2025 Donation Campaign and help keep science accessible. Exoplanet atmospheres are a key to habitability When astronomers search for planets that could host liquid water on their surface, they start by looking at a star’s habitable zone. Water is a key ingredient for life, and on a planet too close to its star, water on its surface may boil. Too far, and it could freeze. This zone marks the region in-between. But being in this sweet spot doesn’t automatically mean a planet is hospitable to life. Other factors, like whether a planet is geologically active or has processes that regulate gases in its atmosphere, play a role. The habitable zone provides a useful guide to search for signs of life on exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system orbiting other stars. But what’s in these planets’ atmospheres holds the next clue about whether liquid water – and possibly life – exists beyond Earth. The greenhouse effect On Earth, the greenhouse effect, caused by gases like carbon dioxide and water vapor, keeps the planet warm enough for liquid water and life as we know it. Without an atmosphere, Earth’s surface temperature would average around 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 C), far below the freezing point of water. The boundaries of the habitable zone are defined by how much of a greenhouse effect is necessary to maintain the surface temperatures that allow for liquid water to persist. It’s a balance between sunlight and atmospheric warming. Many planetary scientists, including me, are seeking to understand if the processes responsible for regulating Earth’s climate are operating on other habitable-zone worlds. We use what we know about Earth’s geology and climate to predict how these processes might appear elsewhere. That is where my geoscience expertise comes in. Picturing the habitable zone of a solar system analog, with Venus- and Mars-like planets outside of the “just right” temperature zone. Image via NASA. Why the habitable zone? The habitable zone is a simple and powerful idea, and for good reason. It provides a starting point, directing astronomers to where they might expect to find planets with liquid water. But without needing to know every detail about the planet’s atmosphere or history. Its definition is partially informed by what scientists know about Earth’s rocky neighbors. Mars, which lies just outside the outer edge of the habitable zone, shows clear evidence of ancient rivers and lakes where liquid water once flowed. Similarly, Venus is currently too close to the sun to be within the habitable zone. Yet, some geochemical evidence and modeling studies suggest Venus may have had water in its past. Though how much and for how long remains uncertain. 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Morgan Underwood, Ph.D. Candidate in Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Rice University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Bottom line: The habitable zone of a planet might be key to whether life can survive there. But so are exoplanet atmospheres, scientists say.The post Exoplanet atmospheres are a key to habitability first appeared on EarthSky.

Chemicals

Climate

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Some California landfills are on fire and leaking methane. Newly proposed rules could make them safer

California is considering adopting new rules to better identify and more quickly to respond to dangerous methane leaks and underground fires at landfills statewide.

A vast canyon of buried garbage has been smoldering inside a landfill in the Santa Clarita Valley, inducing geysers of liquid waste onto the surface and noxious fumes into the air.In the Inland Empire, several fires have broken out on the surface of another landfill. In the San Fernando Valley, an elementary school has occasionally canceled recess due to toxic gases emanating from rain-soaked, rotting garbage from a nearby landfill. And, in the San Francisco Bay Area, burrowing rodents may be digging into entombed trash at a landfill-turned-park, unloosing explosive levels of methane.These are just a few of the treacherous episodes that have recently transpired at landfills in California, subjecting the state’s waste management industry to growing scrutiny by residents and regulators.Landfill emissions — produced by decaying food, paper and other organic waste — are a major source of planet-warming greenhouse gases and harmful air pollution statewide. But mismanagement, aging equipment and inadequate oversight have worsened this pollution in recent years, according to environmental regulators and policy experts.This week, the California Air Resources Board will vote on adopting a new slate of requirements to better identify and more quickly respond to methane leaks and disastrous underground fires at large landfills statewide.The proposal calls for using satellites, drones and other new technologies to more comprehensively investigate methane leaks. It also would require landfill operators to take corrective action within a few days of finding methane leaks or detecting elevated temperatures within their pollution control systems.In recent years, state regulators have pinpointed at least two landfills in Southern California experiencing “rare” underground landfill fires — largely uncontrollable disasters that have burned troves of buried garbage and released toxic fumes into the air. More recently, a new state satellite program has detected 17 methane plumes from nine landfills between July and October, potentially leaking the flammable gas into unwanted areas and contributing to climate change.Proponents of the proposed rule say the added oversight could help reduce California’s second-largest source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that warms the atmosphere much more than carbon dioxide. It could also bring relief to hundreds of thousands of people who live nearby landfills and may be exposed to toxic pollutants like hydrogen sulfide or benzene.“Curbing methane emissions is a relatively quick and cost-effective way to reduce the greenhouse pollution that’s wreaking havoc with our climate,” said Bill Magavern, policy director at the Coalition for Clean Air. “But [we’ve] also been involved in updating and strengthening the rule because we’re seeing the community impacts of leaking landfills, particularly at places like Chiquita Canyon, where we have a landfill fire that is making people in the community sick.”Nearly 200 landfills statewide would be subject to the proposed requirements — 48 are privately owned and 140 are government-owned.Many landfill operators oppose the rule, saying the new requirements would saddle the industry with an untenable workload and millions of dollars each year in added costs. These costs could be passed on to residents, whose garbage fees have already risen significantly in recent years.Sacramento County officials, who operate the Kiefer Landfill, said the proposed protocols were not feasible. “As a public landfill, Kiefer cannot quickly adapt to regulatory shifts of this magnitude, and these increased costs would ultimately burden the community it serves,” Sacramento County officials wrote in a Nov. 10 letter to the state Air Resources Board.The vast majority of landfills are already required to monitor for leaks and operate a gas collection system — a network of wells that extend deep into the layers of buried waste to capture and destroy methane.A hot messChiquita Canyon Landfill in Castaic has become the poster child for the issues plaguing California’s waste management system.A blistering-hot chemical reaction began inside the landfill’s main canyon in May 2022, roasting garbage in a roughly 30-acre area.Starting in April 2023, residents of Castaic and nearby Val Verde began to take notice. They called in thousands of odor complaints to the South Coast Air Quality Management District, with many citing headaches, nausea, nosebleeds and difficulty breathing.Later that year, state regulators learned that the landfill’s temperatures had risen above 200 degrees, melting plastic pipes used to collect landfill gases. An air district inspector also witnessed geysers of liquid waste bursting onto the surface and white smoke venting from large cracks spreading across the reaction area.Air sampling found elevated levels of lung-aggravating sulfur pollutants and cancer-causing benzene. Air samples in 2023 detected benzene concentrations more than eight times higher than the state’s short-term health limit at Hasley Canyon Park, which abuts Live Oak Elementary School, alarming local parents.“I personally have transferred my children to different schools further away,” said Jennifer Elkins, a Val Verde resident whose children attended Live Oak. “I spend three hours a day driving my kids to and from school. The commute has been a sacrifice, but it’s also been well worth it, because I know my children are breathing cleaner air, and I have seen their health improve.”The landfill, owned by Texas-based Waste Connections, installed new heat-resistant equipment to extract liquid waste in an attempt to reduce broiling temperatures. It also installed a large covering over the affected area to suppress odors. It permanently closed and ceased accepting waste this year.Still, the reaction area has tripled in size and could consume the entire 160-acre canyon for many more years. During other underground landfill fires, elevated temperatures have persisted for more than a decade.The issue is, once these broiling temperatures start consuming landfill waste, there’s little that landfill operators can do to snuff them out.The fumes from Chiquita Canyon have pushed some longtime residents to consider moving. After more than 25 years in Val Verde, Abigail DeSesa is contemplating starting anew somewhere else.“This is our life’s investment — our forever home that we were building for retirement and on the verge of paying off,” DeSesa said. “And we may have to start over.”“I don’t know that I can outlast it,” DeSesa added.Chiquita Canyon is not alone.Earlier this year, the South Coast air district learned about another fiery chemical reaction brewing inside El Sobrante Landfill in Corona. In August, Waste Management, the landfill’s owner and operator, acknowledged there was a two-acre “area of concern” where landfill staff had observed temperatures climbing above 200 degrees. Riverside County inspectors also found several fires had ignited on the landfill’s surface in recent years, according to public records.Environmental advocates fear that many more landfills may be on the precipice of these largely unmanageable disasters.According to an analysis by California Communities Against Toxics, there are 18 landfills in California that have had prolonged heat signatures detected by NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System, an online tool using satellite instruments to detect fires and thermal anomalies.At least 11 of these landfills requested and received permission from either federal or local environmental regulators to continue operating with higher temperatures than currently allowed, according to public records obtained by the environmental organization.These regulatory exemptions are part of the problem, said Jane Williams, the group’s executive director.“We have 11 landfills across California that have been granted waivers by the government to basically ‘hot rod’ the landfill,” Williams said. “We would really like EPA and state agencies to stop granting landfill waivers. It’s a permission slip to speed in a school zone.”Under newly proposed revisions to state rules, operators must be more transparent in disclosing the temperatures in their gas collection systems. If operators detect elevated temperatures, they must take action to minimize the amount of oxygen in the landfill.While these rule changes might be coming too late to fix the issues near Chiquita Canyon, locals hope it will help others who live in the orbit of the nearly 200 other large landfills in California that could be subject to these rules.“While there’s still a fight here to try to address the concerns at Chiquita Canyon Landfill, we know that there’s an opportunity to really prevent this kind of disaster from happening anywhere else in our state,” said Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo.Dangerous leaksMeanwhile, many other landfills are releasing unsafe amounts of methane, an odorless gas produced by bacteria that break down organic waste.These emissions present two critical issues.First, methane is a powerful greenhouse gas — capable of warming the atmosphere 80 times more than the same amount of carbon dioxide over 20 years. Following California’s large dairy and livestock operations, landfills emit the second-most methane statewide.Second, methane is the primary constituent in natural gas. It can ignite or explode at certain concentrations, presenting a serious safety risk in the event of uncontrolled releases. Several times over the last few years, regulators have detected potentially explosive concentrations in the air and shallow soil near several landfills.Under current landfill regulations, operators are required to monitor for excessive methane leaks four times a year. Many operators hire contractors to walk across accessible portions of the landfill with a handheld leak-monitoring device, an approach that some environmental advocates say is unreliable.In addition, some areas of the landfill are not screened for methane leaks if operators consider them to be unsafe to walk across, due to, for example, steep hills or ongoing construction activities.“Landfills have to monitor surface emissions, but they do that in a very inefficient way, using outdated technology,” Magavern said.Starting this past summer, California has partnered with the nonprofit organization Carbon Mapper to use satellites to detect methane leaks, and already has found 17 coming from landfills. In one case, researchers saw a large methane plume appear to emanate from Newby Island Landfill in San José and drift into a nearby residential neighborhood.Although the state has notified these landfill operators, it currently cannot require them to repair leaks detected via satellite. That would change under the proposed amendments to the state’s landfill regulations. Operators would also have to use state-approved technology to routinely scan portions of their landfills they deem inaccessible.The proposed amendments seek to prevent the most common causes of methane emissions. A series of surveys of landfill operators found 43% of leaks in recent years were caused by one or more of a facility’s gas collection wells being offline at the time.The new rules would require that such wells can only be offline for up to five days at a time for repairs. Operators would also be required to install gas collection systems within six months of when garbage is first placed in a new part of a landfill — rather than the 18-month time frame currently allowed.In addition, landfills would be forced to take actions to fix a leak within three days of detection, rather than 10 days. In theory, that should help reduce the risk of leaks from things like cracks in landfill covers (typically a layer of soil or plastic covering) and damaged components of gas collection systems — two other major sources of leaks that landfill operators have reported.The amended landfill rules could collectively cost private companies and local governments $12 million annually.Some say that’s well worth the cost.A contingent of residents who live near Chiquita Canyon Landfill are flying to Sacramento to attend the state Air Resources Board meeting. They are expected to testify on how the fire and landfill emissions have unraveled the fabric of the semi-rural community.Elkins, the Val Verde resident, appreciated the area’s natural beauty — picturesque hillsides, wildlife and opportunities for stargazing without bright city lights. However, now her family hardly spends any time outdoors due to the noxious odors.Some of her neighbors have moved away, but Elkins and many other longtime locals cannot, no matter how they fear for their health and safety. “The homes are not selling,” she said. “Other homes sit vacant, and community members are paying two mortgages just to get away. And for many of us, it would be financial suicide to move away and start over somewhere new.”

Chemicals

Climate

CO2

New Texas petrochemical facilities are mostly in low income areas, communities of color, study finds

Researchers evaluated the neighborhoods around 89 proposed or expanding petrochemical facilities across the state using a screening tool from the EPA.

Environment Researchers evaluated the neighborhoods around 89 proposed or expanding petrochemical facilities across the state using a screening tool from the EPA. David J. Phillip/APThis aerial photo shows the TPC petrochemical plant near downtown Houston, background, on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)A recent report from Texas Southern University found that new and expanding petrochemical facilities in Texas are overwhelmingly located in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. Researchers evaluated the neighborhoods around 89 proposed or expanding petrochemical facilities across the state using a screening tool from the Environmental Protection Agency. They looked at air pollution and proximity to other "hazardous facilities" in the areas. Data related to the race, education, income level and languages within the areas was also collected. Sign up for the Hello, Houston! daily newsletter to get local reports like this delivered directly to your inbox. "The communities that are on the fenceline are getting pollution and they also are getting poverty," said Robert Bullard, one of the study's authors. "And also, if you look at the infrastructures within those neighborhoods that have these facilities, they are of poor quality." The report found that 9 in 10 of the facilities are located in counties with "higher demographic vulnerability" – meaning they had more people of color, more low-income residents, or both, compared to the state and national averages. Over half of the new facilities were slated to be built in communities that have a higher proportion of people of color than the national average. Meanwhile, 30% of the facilities were slated to be built in areas with a poverty rate higher than the national average. "Segregation and racial redlining actually segregated pollution, and it segregated people," Bullard said. The analysis also found that the proposed facilities were being built in areas that are already struggling with air pollution. About 1 in 5 of the proposed facilities are located within the top 10% of areas nationwide with the highest amount of particulate matter pollution, and 46% of the new facilities are slated to be built within the top 10% of communities across the country with the highest amount of air toxins. The facilities were concentrated in 9% of Texas counties, with nearly half of them located in Harris County or Jefferson County.

Chemicals

Education

Pollution

Georgia moves to regulate ‘forever chemicals’ PFAS in drinking water

Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division has proposed new drinking water rules that would strictly limit two PFAS “forever chemicals,” PFOA and PFOS, by 2027, mirroring narrowed federal standards while leaving communities and utilities to grapple with the high cost of filtration.

Chemicals

Water

Lead water pipes are a primary contributor to lead exposure in children, study says

A recent study published in Environmental Science and Technology found a strong association between the presence of lead service lines (LSLs) and children’s elevated blood lead levels in Cincinnati, OH and Grand Rapids, MI. In short:While many factors can contribute to lead exposure, the prevalence of lead pipes was a stronger predictor of elevated lead levels than standard risk predictors used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD).For both cities, the prevalence of lead pipes was linked to the percentage of housing built before the 1950s, highlighting that lead pipes are more commonly found in older homes.Key quote:“These findings suggest that replacing LSLs is an effective public health strategy to eliminate this important source of [lead] exposure.”Why this matters:Lead is an incredibly toxic chemical that’s been linked to cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment, damage to the reproductive and nervous systems, and more. While significant progress has been made in reducing the average blood lead levels in the U.S. over time, hotspots of elevated exposure still remain. Communities that suffer from higher lead levels are often faced with multiple potential sources of exposure, which is commonly paired with significant economic and social inequality in comparison to areas with lower exposures. Because the results of this study point to lead service lines as key contributors to lead exposures, the authors emphasize that federal programs that fund the replacement of these pipes are an effective and meaningful strategy for protecting public health.Related EHN coverage:Federal housing programs linked to lower levels of lead exposureUS lead pipe replacements stoke concerns about plastic and environmental injusticeMore resources:LISTEN: Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcastSabah Usmani on making cities healthy and justNsilo Berry on making buildings healthierDiana Hernández on housing and healthTornero-Velez, Rogelio et al. for Environmental Science and Technology vol. 59, 43. Oct. 21, 2025

Chemicals

Health

Science

Suggested Viewing

We Trees

Ever wonder what trees think of us now that we have created a climate disaster? This 2-minute film answers that question. As Bill McKibben recently tweeted about the film, “Who speaks for trees? In this short and elegant video, the trees themselves.” It has been screened at Green Fest (Serbia), The Colorado Environmental Film Festival, The Wildlife Conservation Film Festival and Winner of Merit at the Nature Without Borders Film Festival.

Forests

Chemicals

Climate

928 The Threat Continues...

Since the 1950s deadly nuclear fallout has threatened millions of Americans from nuclear fallout carried east in the atmosphere across the United States, from the Nevada Test Site. “928 The Threat Continues...” tells the story of massive contamination from concentrated nuclear fallout that rained down during heavy storms, on communities and major cities for 40 years. Hundreds of thousands of cancer cases and deaths were the result. The Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Energy knew the truth, but covered it up. Multiple generations may still face the long-term affects. Through current interviews with scientific experts and surviving victims across the country, plus footage from historic interviews with victims, whistle-blower scientists and journalists, we tell the devastating story of those affected by the deadly radioactive fallout. In Act 3, obscure government videos from US government websites reveal that the threat of cancer death to Americans from Nevada Test Site contamination continues even today! NTS has been renamed, the Nevada National Security Site or NNSS. Presidential administrations from Harry Truman to the present day have kept the highly contaminated former Nevada Test Site operating. Donald Trump while in office ordered the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy to start testing newly designed battlefield nuclear weapons at the NNSS despite the existence of The Non-Proliferation Treaty – 1970. Not withstanding the treaty, the extremely reckless aboveground testing area at the NNSS called Big Explosives Experimental Facility or B.E.E.F. tests non-nuclear bombs that send tons of highly contaminated nuclear dirt 10,000 feet into the atmosphere where the winds carry it east. It needs to be stopped now! The film asks viewers to inform their congressman and vote.

Chemicals

Crisis

Government

The Story of Plastic

A searing expose uncovering the ugly truth behind the global plastic pollution crisis. Striking footage shot over three continents illustrates the ongoing catastrophe: fields full of garbage, veritable mountains of trash; rivers and seas clogged with waste; and skies choked with poisons from plastic production and recycling processes with no end in sight. Original animations, interviews with experts and activists, and never-before-filmed scenes reveal the disastrous consequences of the plastic flood around the world – and the global movement rising up in response.

Chemicals

Pollution

Crisis

Bag It

Bag It examines our society’s use and abuse of plastic. The theme of the film focuses on plastic as it relates to our society’s throw away mentality, our culture of convenience, and our over consumption of throwaway products and packaging—things that we use one time and then, without another thought, we throw them away. Bag It offers a candid view of the disturbing realities of our culture. And, it suggests concrete solutions to our plastic addiction. The film will raise public awareness on the many issues related to plastic and inspire change, both on the individual level and on the public policy level.

Chemicals

Waste

Culture

Sprayed

An exploration of what happens when whole communities get exposed to toxins: Naled sprayed on Miami residents to fight Zika virus, Agent Orange sprayed on the Vietcong, and release of GMO mosquitoes in Brazil with pyriproxyfen added to drinking water to fight dengue. What are the results for nature and humanity? We meet Agent Orange survivors at Vietnamese detoxification and rehabilitation centers, parents of babies born with microcephaly from Zika virus, and Florida residents dealing with efforts to kill mosquitoes carrying Zika virus. Perspectives of doctors, scientists, and politicians are balanced with voices of ordinary citizens and victims to explore concerns about the potential impact on current and future generations.

Chemicals

Health

Science

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