Dyah Paramita from CRPG in Indonesia is attending the IPEN Global Meetings for the first time.

After her husband experienced mercury poisoning linked to dental amalgam, she advocates for awareness in Indonesia.

Follow updates: https://ipen.org/articles/ipen-global-meeting

Tunisia is facing growing waste management challenges due to limited infrastructure and delays in treatment facilities, TAP News Agency reports. Officials warn gaps in capacity are contributing to environmental and public health risks as waste continues to accumulate.

🔗 https://ow.ly/j4nX50YGXLa

Congratulations to the 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize winners!

These six extraordinary women show that you don’t have to cross oceans to find environmental leadership—you might find it next door.
#ChangeStartsWhereYouStand

Discover their stories: goldmanprize.org/2026

#GoldmanPrize

Concerns are growing about toxic waste and industrial pollution along the US-Mexico border, where weak enforcement and oversight gaps are driving disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities, UN expert Marcos Orellana told The Guardian.

🔗 https://ow.ly/3GQB50YH0UT

Following new analysis from NYU Langone Health, an interactive map shows the global health burden linked to phthalates, chemicals common in many plastics, highlighting regional differences in exposure and impacts.

🔗 public.tableau.com/app/profile/sara.hyman23...

The 2026 The Goldman Environmental Prize winners will be announced on Monday, April 20!

Watch the ceremony live on the #GoldmanPrize YouTube channel on Monday, April 20, at 5:30 pm PDT | 8:30 pm EDT.

More at goldmanprize.org/ceremony

#ChangeStartsWhereYouStand

A Nature study found plastics can contain any of more than 16,000 different chemicals, a quarter of which may pose health concerns. When burned in low-tech furnaces, researchers say the dangers multiply.

A new analysis from Leonardo Trasande and the team at NYU Langone Health highlights the global health burden linked to phthalates, chemicals common in many plastics, pointing to widespread exposure and impacts on human health.

🔗 https://ow.ly/WkXW50YIK7Z

The factory that poisoned this Congolese town is gone. But the toxic lead remains. The government promised a cleanup and medical care, and the WHO offered to help. In the year since, silence.

After we found lead poisoning, a battery recycling factory in the Republic of Congo was shut down. Officials promised medical care and a cleanup and @who.int offered to help, but since then, residents have heard nothing. Read the full story 👇

You don’t have to cross oceans to find environmental leadership—you might find it next door.

The 2026 The Goldman Environmental Prize winners will be announced April 20, highlighting leaders driving change in their communities.

📅 April 20 | ⏰ 5:30pm PDT | 8:30pm EDT

goldmanprize.org/ceremony

Join a virtual side event at Escazú COP4 on implementing Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers to support efforts to mitigate pollution. The session will explore how PRTRs strengthen transparency and access to environmental information.

📅 April 22 | 3pm CEST

💻 https://ow.ly/kK6X50YGVlB

Michigan study links PFAS to weaker COVID vaccine response The findings add to a growing body of research on PFAS health effects in Michigan.

New research reported by Garret Ellison for MLive finds PFAS exposure may weaken the body’s immune response to vaccines, including COVID-19. Scientists say this adds to growing evidence that these “forever chemicals” can interfere with immune function.

🔗 https://ow.ly/brls50YGULl

Widely used pesticide linked to more than doubled Parkinson’s risk Breadcrumb Home News & Insights Widely used pesticide linked to more than doubled Parkinson’s risk New UCLA study combines human, animal research to identify chlorpyrifos as potential environmental cause of brain disease Credit: Mirko Fabian - Unsplash January 7, 2026 3 min read A new study from UCL…

A UCLA Health study found long-term exposure to chlorpyrifos is linked to a 2.5x higher risk of Parkinson’s disease. Despite this, it is still used in many countries. IPEN contributed to its addition to the Stockholm Convention list for global ban.

🔗 https://ow.ly/trZb50YGCX5

PPC Webinar | The Plastic Detox: A Conversation About Plastic & Health On Thursday, April 9, Plastic Pollution Coalition, in collaboration with the Oceanic Preservation Society, will host a webinar with the film’s co-director, Louie Psihoyos, environmental and reproductive epidemiologist Shanna H. Swan, Ph.D., and environmental justice leader Reverend Lennox Yearwood Jr.,. Together, they will discuss the latest science about plastics and human health, the far-reaching impacts of the plastic pollution crisis, and the practical steps people can take to “Unplastic Your Life.” This webinar will be moderated by Dianna Cohen, Co-Founder and Chief Vision Officer,...

Webinar tomorrow on plastic’s impact on human health, covering emerging science, policy, and effects on the body. Hosted by Plastic Pollution Coalition, featuring the co-director of The Plastic Detox.

📅 April 9 | 5pm EDT | 11pm CEST
💻 Register here: https://ow.ly/ZsFj50YFI9N

Addressing biodiversity conservation and plastic pollution in Ghana Plastic pollution is one of the fastest-growing drivers of biodiversity loss, undermining all ecosystems and ocean health, human health and well-being, the potential of a circular plastics economy and a sustainable blue economy. Two new reports funded by NORAD highlight the work that IUCN continues to do within the plastic pollution, ocean conservation and biodiversity interlinkages, assessing the situation of plastic pollution and biodiversity impacts in Ghana.

IUCN shares reports on efforts in Ghana to tackle plastic pollution while protecting biodiversity, where mismanaged plastic waste threatens ecosystems, wildlife, and livelihoods.

IPEN highlights related risks in its own report.

🔗 https://ow.ly/AosT50YEoKb
📄 https://ow.ly/sXFV50YEoKc

The 'green' mining boom poisoning rivers in Southeast Asia A boom in mineral and gold mining is polluting Mekong tributaries and other rivers in Southeast Asia. Indigenous and rural, farming communities are trying to stand up to for their villages and unique ways of life, but will authorities listen?

“Green” mineral mining is expanding in Southeast Asia, contaminating rivers and threatening communities that rely on them, reports Deutsche Welle.

IPEN’s report From Pristine to Polluted highlights impacts on river communities.

🔗 Watch: https://ow.ly/yaKj50YEoxO
📄 Read: https://ow.ly/72On50YEoxQ

Glyphosate detected in baby cereal in South Africa is prompting calls for a ban, reports Mongabay.

Advocates warn infants are especially vulnerable to exposure through food.

IPEN also reports on highly hazardous pesticides.

🔗 https://ow.ly/byhv50YE53o
📄 https://ow.ly/EqYw50YE53n

Residents exposed to PFAS call for stronger drinking water protections, citing health concerns and long term impacts, according to Alaska Public Media.

Alaska Community Action on Toxics documents impacts of PFAS contamination in Alaska.

🔗 https://ow.ly/G0UW50YE4NL
📄 https://ow.ly/uYn250YE4NG

Rising levels of plasticizer chemicals, including phthalates, have been detected in children in Germany, according to Deutsche Welle.

IPEN has published studies from 15 countries on these impacts.

🔗 https://ow.ly/ugKy50YCRbl
📄 https://ow.ly/oBZT50YCRbm

The Plastic Detox: A Free Educational Webinar on the New Documentary Film — Beyond Plastics - Working To End Single-Use Plastic Pollution Join Beyond Plastics on Thursday, May 7, 2026 at 7 PM ET/ 4 PM PT for a free educational webinar on the eye-opening new documentary film, The Plastic Detox. We’ll discuss plastics’ role in human fertility with Louie Psihoyos, the film’s director, Shanna Swan, Ph.D., one of the world’s leading enviro

Discover the science behind the documentary The Plastic Detox in this free webinar presented by Beyond Plastics. Experts will discuss the film’s “detox” experiment, plastics’ health impacts, and global trends.

📅 May 7 | 7pm EDT | 1am CEST

🔗 Click to register: https://ow.ly/RSYG50YAKki

Mining’s toxic timebomb: dams full of poisonous waste are dotted around the world. What happens when they burst? While tailings dams are meant to last for ever, extreme weather events are making many unstable – with devastating consequences for nature and humans

The Guardian reports that thousands of mining tailings dams worldwide, filled with toxic waste, risk catastrophic failure. When they burst, they release poisonous sludge into rivers, ecosystems, and downstream communities.

🔗 https://ow.ly/1IR850YAIls

Plastic, from home and abroad, spills into Türkiye’s waters ADANA, Türkiye — Along the final stretch of the Seyhan River, in southern Türkiye, plastic bits in various colors dot the water and sediment. When the river bends, shredded plastic, degraded by the elements, forms large gray patches. Downstream, where the Seyhan flows into Mersin Bay, debris large enough to display clues to its origin […]

Plastic waste from domestic and imported sources is polluting Türkiye’s waters, Mongabay reports. Environmental groups warn it risks becoming a dumping ground for global plastic waste without stronger controls.

🔗 https://ow.ly/7VOg50YAGr9

Roadmap launched to restart deadlocked UN plastics treaty talks The chair of the negotiations proposes informal meetings through 2026 to bridge deep divisions among countries, following the collapse of talks in Geneva last year

Reporting from Climate Home News highlights a roadmap to revive stalled global plastics treaty talks. After months of deadlock, diplomats will meet this year ahead of formal negotiations in 2026 or 2027.

🔗 https://ow.ly/lzYm50YAERE

A report from Yale Environment 360 examines how decades of mining in Zambia have left communities exposed to dangerous levels of heavy metals.

Lead contamination is linked to neurological damage, developmental delays, and long term health impacts.

Click to learn more: https://ow.ly/VwnS50YAoHc

Join the CHE webinar "Plastics, Chemicals & Infertility: What We Know Now" with Dr. Shanna Swan, covering fertility trends, environmental exposures, and a “detox” experiment from a recent documentary.

📅 April 2 | 1pm EDT | 7pm CEST
🔗 https://www.healthandenvironment.org/che-webinars/97127

Join a webinar hosted by the World Bank and UNITAR on reducing mercury use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining and learn about technologies that can reduce or eliminate mercury use in ASGM and protect communities.

🗓 Wednesday, April 1
⏰ 8am EDT | 2pm CEST

🔗 https://ow.ly/YGGh50YziSw

Potentially toxic ‘forever chemicals’ may harm kids during critical period for bone development | CNN Chemicals called PFAS may lower bone density in adolescents, a new study has found.

New reporting from CNN’s Kristen Rogers links PFAS “forever chemicals” to lower bone density in children, raising concerns about long-term health impacts.

Scientists say even low-level exposure early in life may have lasting effects.

Click to learn more:
https://ow.ly/ZwjZ50YyNmu

How the EU lets plastic be labelled ‘recycled’ at just 2.5% re-used content Plastic products in the EU could soon be labelled "recycled" — even when they contain barely any recycled material. A new definition backed by most member states allows plastics with as little as 2.5 ...

1EUobserver reports that current EU rules allow plastic products to be labeled as “recycled” even when they contain as little as 2–5% recycled content, raising concerns about misleading claims and greenwashing: euobserver.com/206325/how-t...

Recycling revolution or plastic deception? Chemical recycling promises to transform plastic waste, and Houston is at the center of this big experiment in the US. While industry touts it as a breakthrough, activists are finding that much of the plastic doesn't get recycled after all. Is Houston leading the way to real change - or revealing the limits of the latest recycling fad?

IPEN’s technical advisor Lee Bell shares his perspective on the realities behind chemical recycling and how it's used as a propaganda tool in his recent appearance on the Living Planet podcast.

Listen here: www.dw.com/en/houston-we-have-a-pla...

Dr. Karlsson explains that persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are invisible but far-reaching toxins that accumulate in our food, products, and environment. She explores how IPEN and civil society are bridging science and policy to expose hidden contamination and drive solutions worldwide.