Colombia halts aerial coca eradication after WHO Glyphosate cancer ruling
Aerial use of Glyphosate herbicides in Colombia prove too controversial after WHO findings on cancer risks.
The Ukraine conflict’s legacy of environmental damage and pollutants
Early indications suggest that the conflict in Ukraine’s Donbas region has resulted in a number of civilian health risks, and potentially long-term damage to its environment. In order to mitigate these long-term risks, international and domestic agencies will have to find ways to coordinate their efforts on documenting, assessing and addressing the damage.
The civilian health risks from TNT in Syria’s barrel bombs
The TRWP was recently asked to help identify a substance associated with partially detonated barrel bombs in Syria. While the irritant fumes and pink powdery residue appeared to be from TNT and not a chemical weapon, the health risks from exposure to this common explosive are increasingly well understood and should be taken into account when examining the civilian impact of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.
WHO finds that Glyphosate is probably carcinogenic – implications for Plan Colombia
The World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified the world’s most widely used herbicide Roundup as probably carcinogenic in humans. Roundup is widely used in US supported efforts to destroy poppy and coca fields in Colombia’s long running internal conflict and the decision will add to existing concerns over the health impact of aerial spraying.
Military health surveillance – lessons for post-conflict civilian health monitoring
Military personnel may come across a number of natural and anthropogenic environmental health risks during training, domestic operations and overseas deployment. The response has been to seek to integrate data on environmental risks and exposures into health monitoring programmes. Could these systems help inform approaches aimed at monitoring the risks to civilians from toxic remnants of war?
Iraq’s continuing struggle with conflict pollution
While Iraq is still recovering from the environmental impact of both Gulf wars, it now faces new environmental problems caused by the current conflict against the Islamic State. Since the uprising began in June 2014, fierce battles have taken place in and around cities and industrial areas, affecting the already precarious environmental situation. Wim Zwijnenburg considers the risks and response.
Towards an integrated approach to the material legacies of war: landmines, explosive remnants of war and environmental contamination
This blog examines how mine action became decoupled from earlier, more holistic approaches to addressing the material legacies of wars, which included environmental harm, and whether it is time for this to be reappraised.
Rebuilding Gaza and the need to assess TRW risks
The widespread damage to urban areas in the latest conflict in Gaza has generated a range of toxic remnants of war, from debris, to sewage and water contamination to the residues of weapons, there is a pressing need for an environmental assessment in the affected areas.