A University of South Florida researcher has developed a process using modified zeolites to reduce the concentration of arsenic in water to a level lower than the level specified by USEPA.

Researchers in the Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a portable, ultra-sensitive, air-particulate monitor that instantly and continuously identifies virtually all known constituent elements in the periodic table and their relative concentrations.

Cargill Dow Polymers announced the production of a family of durable plastics derived entirely from annually renewable agricultural crops that can compete with hydrocarbon-based fibres and packing materials in cost and performance.

Japan is drafting a new Food Waste Recycling Law aimed at discouraging the throwing away of leftover food that eventually ends up at the waste incinerators.

The Department of Environmental Protection in Pennsylvania has required automobile refinishers to use new painting equipment to combat air pollution.

With effect from 1 Jan 2000, all household electrical and electronic appliances sold in the Netherlands are subject to producer responsibility-based recycling requirements.

The Health and Safety Commission and the Environment Agency in UK have jointly produced a new guideline for safe handling, storage, transport and disposal of clinical wastes.

A 24 Jan 2000 meeting in Montreal, Canada, will deal with the reduction of potential risks from the transboundary movement of living modified organisms (LMOs).

The modified zeolites have an increased affinity for arsenic. They act like arsenic absorbents when immersed in contaminated water and remove the arsenic by chemically bonding with it.

US Researchers in the Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a portable, ultra-sensitive, particulate monitor that instantly and continuously identifies virtually all known constituent elements in the periodic table and their relative concentrations. The device, which can be used indoors or outdoors, operates on the principle that all elements in the periodic table have well-characterised atomic-energy levels.

Cargill Dow Polymers (CDP) has announced its plans to build a world-scale facility to manufacture plastic products from corn. CDP plans to manufacture a family of durable plastics derived entirely from annually renewable agricultural crops that can compete with hydrocarbon-based fibres and packing materials in terms of cost and performance. The plant-based plastics would serve as replacements for petroleum-based plastics.

This new technology allows the company to "harvest" the carbon that living plants remove from the air through photosynthesis. The carbon is used to produce a new polymer called "NatureWorks", which will be made into various plastic products such as utensils. There is a wide multitude of applications for this technology.

In Japan, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is drafting a new Food Waste Recycling Law and hopes to implement it by 2002. The law aims to address the problem of food waste by discouraging the throwing away of leftover food that eventually ends up at the waste incinerator.

The planned law requires large generators of food waste to recycle a certain percentage of food waste into animal feed and fertilisers. Companies which fail to meet their recycling targets would be penalised while others which consistently fulfil their targets would be given tax incentives.

The Department of Environmental Protection in Pennsylvania has adopted new clean-air regulations requiring new painting equipment for automobile refinishers. The auto-refinishing industry in Pennsylvania will have to comply with the following requirements by 27 Nov 2000:

• Switching from air-atomised spray-paint guns to high-volume low-pressure guns or other equipment that applies the paint more efficiently;
• Cleaning the spray guns in an enclosed system; and
• Using paints that comply with federal standards for auto-refinishing materials.

With effect from 1 Jan 2000, all household electrical and electronic appliances sold in the Netherlands are subject to producer responsibility-based recycling requirements.

This new requirement amounts to a significant extension of an existing system that took effect in Jan 1999, under which larger household appliances were required to be recycled with the cost borne by manufacturers and importers. All smaller household electrical and electronic appliances, except lighting, are now subject to the same requirement.

New guideline to comply with environmental as well as health and safety legislation relating to the handling, storage, transport and disposal of clinical waste has been jointly produced by the Health and Safety Commission's Health Services Advisory Committee and the Environment Agency in the United Kingdom.

Talks on a legally-binding biosafety agreement will resume in Montreal, Canada on 24 Jan 2000 after negotiations in Colombia were suspended in Feb 1999. The impending talk will deal with the reduction of potential risks from the transboundary movement of living modified organisms (LMOs).

LMOs include food crops that have been genetically modified for greater productivity or nutritional value, or for resistance to pests or diseases. Common examples include tomatoes, grains, cassava, corn, and soybeans. Seeds for growing crops are particularly important to negotiators because they are used intentionally to propagate or reproduce LMOs in the environment.

The biosafety talks reflect growing public concern about the potential risks of biotechnology. Many countries with modern biotechnology industries do have domestic legislation but there are no binding international agreements covering LMOs that cross national borders because of trade or accidental releases.