News Briefs.

The article presents news briefs related to environmental issues. According to Thomas Kupper of the Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, the first attempt to determine how much of the active ingredients in sunscreens end up in sewage sludge uncovered some surprises. Kupper is the corresponding author of a paper published in the May 24, 2005 issue of the journal "Chemosphere," that analyzed sewage sludge in Switzerland for four compounds: 3-(4-methylbenzylidene) camphor, octyl-methoxycinnamate, octocrylene, and octyl-triazone. Kupper found that the levels of all four compounds in the sludge were substantially higher from plants treating industrial wastes than those treating municipal wastes. In July 2005, the Court of Justice of the European Communities, the highest court in Europe, ordered France to pay millions of euros for ignoring European Union rules about managing fisheries. The country was fined 20 million euros for allowing the sale of undersized fish, a practice that contributes to overfishing and can decimate fish populations.