Report lists America’s most polluted beaches

by Katie Hammel on

On Tuesday, the Natural Resources Defense Council released its annual Testing the Waters report, which lists the most polluted beaches at the country’s oceans, lakes and bays.

The worst offenders have been on the list for several years, with contamination levels exceeding national standards anywhere from 60% to 90% of the time. The top beaches for contamination include Shired Island, Florida; Kings at Stacy Brook, Massachusetts; and Joerse Park in Indiana.

The report lists the number of days that beaches were closed or that contamination warnings were issued. This year’s number, 20,000, is one of the highest in the 19-year history of the report. The full report also shows how often each beach checks its contamination level. While the majority perform checks every day, others lack the funds and only check the water a few times a week, so contamination levels may actually be higher than reported at some beaches.

The biggest culprit of beach pollution: stormwater run-off and poorly designed sewage systems. For those of you as grossed out as I am right now, don’t worry. The report also lists the beaches that are the cleanest.

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Is airplane air toxic?

by Jamie Rhein on

There’s a recent CNN article about a flight attendant who became ill after working a flight back in 2007. Her illness is alarming.

First, she felt as though she were coming down with a cold; then her nasal discharge was a neon green — the color of antifreeze! Since then, she claims to have suffered chronic migraine headaches, tingling in her feet, loss of balance and vision problems.

These health problems did not happen without warning. Right before her ailments started, the attendant noticed a “misty haze type of smoke” in the cabin of the American Airlines MD-82 plane. The haze occurred right after the plane landed and was heading to the gate.

The flight attendant’s visit to a neurologist confirmed she had been exposed to toxins. Because her condition is so bad, and she blames the airplane’s design for the toxins, she’s suing Boeing, the maker of the vessel. According to the lawsuit, the “bleed air” had been contaminated.


Bleed air is recirculated cabin air that’s mixed with the air pulled into the engines during a flight. The air that goes through the engine is cooled and compressed before being used in the cabin. The danger of bleed air being contaminated is small, however: according to the CNN article that presents a detailed account of the attendant’s story, one study has found that airplanes can have a fume leak 0.05% of the time. What causes a fume leak is unclear, but one idea is a leaky seal.

Currently, there aren’t conclusions about what caused this particular attendant’s sickness. She had flown for 17 years without any problems. Her case is not the only one where an attendant has become sick allegedly because of airplane air. Some pilots have also reported becoming ill, as have passengers.

The article also points out that because people’s immune systems differ, not everyone will be affected by toxins in the same way; many people may not be affected at all. It is also good to know that there are more studies being conducted to find out more about toxins in airplanes and what should and can be done to minimize the threat. The idea of being afflicted with neon green nasal discharge is not appealing.