Environment | WPN World People News

A view of one of many bridges over the Danube River connecting the two sides, Buda and Pest, of Hungarian capital, Budapest.

As cleanup begins in earnest at the BP refinery fire site, 20 miles northwest of Bellingham, Washington, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's air monitoring team is standing down after seeing no measurable threats to public health from airborne pollutants related to the fire.

Cyclone Giovanna damaged 70 percent of homes in Brickaville, on the east coast of Madagascar

Flooding in Bangkok, Thailand

Experts say there is a high likelihood of a big earthquake hitting the huge metropolis of Tokyo in the next few years. Authorities are trying to ensure the city is as prepared as possible for another large quake.

Mothers with hungry children lining up at distribution site in Taoa, Niger, for food handouts

At least 37 people were injured in an explosion caused by a mixture of chemicals used for cleaning a swimming pool at a hotel in Thailand, local media reported.

Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its non-cancer science assessment for dioxins, which was last reviewed in the 1980s. Dioxins are toxic chemicals that naturally exist in the environment and can be released into the environment through forest fires, backyard burning of trash, certain industrial activities, and residue from past commercial burning of waste. Today’s findings show that generally, over a person’s lifetime, current exposure to dioxins does not pose a significant health risk.

"I think it starts with attitude and also the awareness levels," she said. "The officials are not aware of the risks. If they were aware, they would realize the loss of life, and property and economic loss that can happen. So this kind of training has to happen."

A field of withered crops in Mali’s Kayes region.