Pollution causing more deaths than Covid: UN

Oil stained polluted mangrove in Bakana Rivers in Nigeria (Courtsy dawn.com)

GENEVA REUTERS Feb 15 - Pollution by states and companies is contributing to more deaths globally than Covid-19, a U.N. environmental report published on Tuesday said, calling for “immediate and ambitious action” to ban some toxic chemicals.   
 The report said pollution from pesticides, plastics and electronic waste is causing widespread human rights violations and at least 9 million premature deaths a year, and that the issue is largely being overlooked.   
 The coronavirus pandemic has caused close to 5.9 million deaths, according to data aggregator Worldometer.   
 “Current approaches to managing the risks posed by pollution and toxic substances are clearly failing, resulting in widespread violations of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment,” the report’s author, U.N. Special Rapporteur David Boyd, concluded.   
 It urges a ban on polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl, man-made substances used in household products such as non-stick cookware that have been linked to cancer and dubbed “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down easily.