Crude oil spills are a major threat to marine biota and the environment. When light crude oil spills on water, it forms a thin layer that is difficult to clean by any methods of oil spill response. Under these circumstances, a special type of amphiphile termed as “chemical herder” is sprayed onto the water surrounding the spilled oil. The amphiphile forms a monomolecular layer on the water surface, reducing the air–sea surface tension and causing the oil slick to retract into a thick mass that can be burnt in situ.

The upstream and downstream regions of Pathalam bund in Periyar should be de-silted and bio-remediation measures undertaken for saving the river system, suggested experts.

The Centre has released an additional assistance of Rs 37.5 crore for the Buddha Nullah cleaning project.

Long-term measures needed as livelihood of farmers being seriously affected, says Sushma

Pilloried by Parliamentarians in both Houses over the state of the Ganga and the Yamuna, Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan promised that the government would ensure no domestic effluents pour into the two rivers. “We are making efforts to make that happen. We should have a commission to ensure that there is no atrocity against rivers,” she said after members, first in the Lok Sabha and then in the Rajya Sabha, expressed anguish over thousands of crores of rupees that have spent in trying to clean up the two major arteries in north India but to no avail.

The Bombay High Court at Goa on Thursday directed Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) to file a compliance report of its (the court

Assessment and remediation of hazardous waste contaminated areas in and around M/s Union Carbide India Ltd, Bhopal (NEERI & NGRI) and tender document for detoxification, decommissioning and dismantling of UCIL Plant (IICT).

VELLORE: Mass cultivation of bamboo and `malai vembu' (a variety of neem grown in the hills) could be taken up in Vellore district for bio-remediation of polluted soil, prevention of pollution from tannery and sewage effluents and to prevent global warming, according to G. Kumaravelu, full time member of the State Planning Commission and a retired Indian Forest Service officer.

Sudha Nambudiri

KOCHI: With most people becoming conscious and aware of the quality of food, water and medicine, biosensors have started to play an important role in our lives.

They are fast becoming an important tool in research and commercial applications as they can identify specific targets in the human body and environment.

Starting with a worst-case scenario of lead contamination of soil, a scientist at Mie University in Japan has demonstrated the use of poultry waste amendment in combination with plant growth to immobilize soil Pb and restore degraded vegetation in shooting range sites.

One of the world's seven most notorious weeds, parthenium has dominated five million hectares in India. Biocontrol agents could help, says Rohini Rangarajan

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