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Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦 @traqua.bsky.social · 9m

To this day, nobody has officially been held accountable for the suffering of Vietnamese victims, and it is unlikely that the US will admit liability for the horrors caused by Agent Orange.

Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦 @traqua.bsky.social · 9m

Since 2007, the US has spent $300 million on clean-up operations and supporting disabled veterans, but compensation for Vietnamese victims remains a sensitive topic. US veterans who fought in Vietnam have also been affected, but they have received better support.

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Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦 @traqua.bsky.social · 9m

Some groundwater sources have dioxin levels that exceed safe limits, posing a particular risk to communities that rely on wells.

The US and Vietnam have collaborated on remediation and monitoring. These programmes involve thermal desorption as well as containment methods to prevent further spread.

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Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦 @traqua.bsky.social · 10m

TCDD, the dioxin found in Agent Orange, can survive for up to three years in soil exposed to sunlight. However, if it is leached into rivers or sediments, it can have a half-life of more than 100 years. The chemical continues to affect crops and trees and has caused irreversible damage to mangroves.

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Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦 @traqua.bsky.social · 12m

Even before the 2008 survey, it was known that high concentrations of dioxin remained in soils and the aquatic environment in Vietnam, particularly near former US air bases.

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Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦 @traqua.bsky.social · 12m

A 2008 study collecting breast milk showed that Agent Orange chemicals were still persistent in the environment and in humans. Dioxin has been linked to birth defects, cancer, and developmental disabilities. However, both Vietnam and the USA have been reluctant to support further research.

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Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦 @traqua.bsky.social · 15m

It is estimated that 74M L of chemicals were spread over South Vietnam as part of Operation Ranch Hand (also named Operation Hades).

Agent Orange refers to a range of herbicides named after the orange stripes on the barrels. Other chemical mixtures also existed, such as Agent Pink and Agent White.

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Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦 @traqua.bsky.social · 16m

Agent Orange was an herbicide and defoliant used by the US military during the Vietnam War (1961–1971) to clear the jungle, destroy crops, and reveal hiding places. It contained 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), a highly carcinogenic substance.

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Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦 @traqua.bsky.social · 16m

Man-made disasters and their long-lasting impact on 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿, human health and the environment.

Less a disaster and more a deliberate ecocide, and, although never officially recognised as such, a war crime by the USA.

𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗢𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 (𝟭𝟵𝟲𝟭–𝟭𝟵𝟳𝟭, 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗻𝗮𝗺)

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Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦 @traqua.bsky.social · 24m

This is such a heartwarming story. Any Cornish cavers on here?

Reposted by Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 47m

‘Escapism is down there’: The men finding solace and community in the dark of disused Cornish mines

A new documentary, The Lost Boys of Carbis Bay, follows a band of explorers into their underground world

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦

De Morgen @demorgen.be · 1h

De Israëlische activist Adi Ronen Argov geeft ieder kind dat in Gaza is vermoord een naam en een gezicht op haar Hebreeuwstalige website. ‘Ze waren hier, ze bestonden echt, en Israëliërs mogen later niet zeggen dat ‘ze het niet hebben geweten’.’

‘We ontkennen dat er een genocide plaatsvindt. Dat wíj die zelf uitvoeren’: Adi Ronen Argov over haar lijst van vermoorde kinderen

www.demorgen.be

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Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦 @traqua.bsky.social · 31m

En amper volgers van haar account 🥲. Verbaast me niet.

Reposted by Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦

DailyScience.be @dailysciencebe.bsky.social · 21h

Les abeilles sauvages, essentielles et pourtant mal connues

A l’heure du déclin de la biodiversité mondiale, que savons-nous réellement — et surtout que nous reste-t-il à découvrir — sur les abeilles sauvages, ces pollinisatrices essentielles ? C’est la question au cœur du postdoctorat de Nicolas…

Les abeilles sauvages, essentielles et pourtant mal connues

A l’heure du déclin de la biodiversité mondiale, que savons-nous réellement — et surtout que nous reste-t-il à découvrir — sur les abeilles sauvages, ces pollinisatrices essentielles ? C’est la question au cœur du postdoctorat de Nicolas Leclercq, mené au sein de l’Agroecology Lab de l’ULB, dans l’équipe du Pr Nicolas Vereecken. À partir des données existantes, l’objectif est d’identifier et de cartographier les importantes lacunes dans nos connaissances écologiques et évolutives sur les abeilles sauvages.

dailyscience.be

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Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦 @traqua.bsky.social · 23h

🔹 A 𝗽𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 to determine the feasibility of exploiting wells.
🔹 A 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 for a municipality.
🔹 Installation of a 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗯𝗶𝗱𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 for an 𝗮𝗾𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹 project.
🔹 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗹𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 for an urban planning permit.

Hats off to the Expert Team Amaël , Maurel, and Romain! 👏

Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦 @traqua.bsky.social · 23h

While Bizz Dev Sofie was networking and enjoying the drinks and events at Pollutec Expo in Lyon last week, TRAQUA's hydrogeologists didn't sit still.

Quite the contrary!

They spent a whole week doing fieldwork for four different projects!

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Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦 @traqua.bsky.social · 1d

Les essais de traçage au traceur en hydrogéologie ne sont pas réservés aux systèmes karstiques ou à des fins environnementales. Nous sommes actifs dans des domaines qui vont bien au-delà. De l'exploitation minière à la géothermie, en passant par la construction de tunnels.

Reposted by Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦

DailyScience.be @dailysciencebe.bsky.social · 1d

Traqua, au cœur de l’eau et du sous-sol

L’eau souterraine n’a jamais été aussi stratégique, que ce soit pour la transition énergétique, la résilience urbaine ou la qualité environnementale. Le développement de Traqua, une spin-off de l’université de Namur, avec son positionnement de niche, en…

Traqua, au cœur de l’eau et du sous-sol

L’eau souterraine n’a jamais été aussi stratégique, que ce soit pour la transition énergétique, la résilience urbaine ou la qualité environnementale. Le développement de Traqua, une spin-off de l’université de Namur, avec son positionnement de niche, en atteste. L’entreprise participait ces derniers jours au salon bisannuel Pollutec, à Lyon. À ce rendez-vous incontournable pour les entreprises innovantes dans le secteur de l’environnement, sa présence était une évidence.

dailyscience.be

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Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦 @traqua.bsky.social · 2d

Although remediation is ongoing, there is still debate about the extent of the contamination and how effective the methods are. While the remaining community of Hinkley continues to be engaged, organising public meetings and independent monitoring, the town is now largely abandoned.

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Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦 @traqua.bsky.social · 2d

The contamination had a catastrophic impact on the groundwater, making it unsafe to drink and causing long-term environmental damage. The plume continues to spread, and some wells still exceed safety standard for chromium-6 by up to 2.500 times.

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Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦 @traqua.bsky.social · 2d

Due to the size of the plume and the difficulty of reducing chromium levels to natural background levels, the remediation is expected to take decades.

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Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦 @traqua.bsky.social · 2d

PG&E was legally required to clean up the contamination and has spent over $750 million on remediation. This has included pumping ethanol into the ground to convert toxic chromium-6, planting alfalfa to help absorb the chemical and constructing barriers to contain the contamination plume.

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Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦 @traqua.bsky.social · 2d

Erin Brockovich played a crucial role in exposing the contamination of the groundwater in Hinkley and holding PG&E accountable. Despite having no formal legal training, she collected evidence showing that PG&E was aware of the contamination and its carcinogenic impact on the local population.

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Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦 @traqua.bsky.social · 2d

By 2013, the plume had grown to approximately ten kilometres long and three kilometres wide. Chromium-6 levels far exceed safe limits and pose serious health risks, including cancer, to local residents.

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Traqua.be 💧🧪🔦 @traqua.bsky.social · 2d

Between 1952 and 1966, the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) dumped approximately 1.4 billion litres of chromium-6-contaminated wastewater into unlined ponds in Hinkley, California. This toxic chemical seeped into the groundwater and created a massive plume of contamination.

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