The California Regional Quality Control Board ordered the city of Huntington Beach to find and clear any residue of sewage from its cracked and broken 80-year old sewer lines.

According to Gerard J. Thibeault, Director of the Santa Ana region of the state water board, the leaked sewage was being discharged in areas where the sewage-contaminated ground water could migrate to and impact the quality of near-shore ocean waters.

The US utility company Dominion Virginia Power has agreed in a deal with the U.S. Justice Dept, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and New York State, to install permanent emissions control equipment on their units in Virginia. The government had contended that sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emitted by power plants in the Ohio River Valley and Southeast had affected air quality nearby and contributed to acid rain in the Northeast.

Specifically Dominion Virginia Power will reduce NO_X emissions from about 105,000 tons per year to about 30,000 tons per year. These reductions will be phased in beginning in 2004 and meeting the 30,000-ton cap in 2013. To meet these goals, the utility will install at least eight new selective catalytic reduction control systems.

Scientists at the University of Illinois, USA and the Illinois State Geological Survey have found a way to make activated carbon adsorbents using old tyres and pistachio shells, that are effective in removing mercury (Hg) emissions.

In a research programme, adsorbents made from waste tyres and pistachio shells, and coals were evaluated on their effectiveness in removing Hg emissions. Researchers found that the carbon adsorbents made from old tyres and pistachio shells had an adsorption capacity for mercuric chloride five times greater than the coal-derived carbon adsorbents.

Under the direction of its Transportation and Highways Committee, London's borough of Westminster plans to test a new kind of paving stone that could break down pollutants from vehicle exhaust.

The experimental paving stones, developed by Japan's Mitsubishi Materials, are made of the same concrete as conventional blocks but they also contain titanium dioxide. These stones create active oxygen that oxidizes nitrogen oxides from automobile exhaust, converting them into non-polluting solids in the presence of the sun's ultraviolet rays.

Researchers at the University of Aberdeen, UK developed biological sensors for assessing the toxicity of contaminated soil and water and thus provide a means of determining the appropriate soil cleanup strategy in the United Kingdom.

The biosensors are bacteria that have been altered to produce light when they are healthy. This light diminishes when the biosensors are exposed to pollution. The biosensors can detect three categories of pollutants including volatile organic compounds such as solvents and hydrocarbon materials; non-volatile organic compounds such as pesticides and inorganic materials such as heavy metals.

The Australia Commonwealth House of Representatives has passed a new legislation - The Fuel Quality Standards Act 2000. The Act empowers the Federal government to set consistent high fuel quality standards for the whole country and provides a framework to enforce national quality standards for fuels.

The law aims to reduce pollution arising from the use of fuel that may cause environmental, greenhouse and health problems. It will also facilitate the adoption of better engine and emission control strategies and allow for more effective operation of engines.

According to a French government agency, watches sold in France under the brand name "Trophy" are contaminated with radioactivity. The contaminating radionuclide is cobalt-60 and it is located in the hinges of the adjustment links on the watch bracelet.

Scientists agreed that the hole in the ozone layer will close up in about 50 years time if decreases in the emissions of the ozone depleting gases such as CFC (chlorofluorocarbons) are coupled by a reduction in the releases of 'greenhouse gases'.

Scientists were able to come to a consensus on the time it will take for the ozone layer to close because they understand better how CFC gases behave once they break down into chlorine and how that will affect the ability of the ozone layer to repair itself.

CFC gases are considered by scientists to be the primary ozone layer depleting compound. They damage the ozone layer because each chlorine or bromine atom released from them destroys as many as 1000 ozone molecules. Greenhouse gases, which drift up into the stratosphere, can speed up the loss of ozone.

Sick building problems may arise because of improperly designed or maintained heating; ventilation and air conditioning systems; office equipment; furniture and supplies and operations in the building. According to Donna Reynolds, a spokeswoman for the American Lung Association of Virginia, air in normal office buildings contains pollutants such as pollen, animal particles, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that cause illnesses such as headaches, sluggishness, sneezing and coughing.

In an effort to prevent this "Sick Building Syndrome", the American Lung Association of Virginia has incorporated high performance filter systems in its newly built office. The filter system is made up of two-stage electric heat pumps, each with high efficiency particle accumulation (HEPA) filters and the ability to respond to building load changes. These filters help to screen off the pollutants effectively.