From the late 1950s onward, Helsinki experienced air pollution from energy generation, industries, waste incineration, and traffic. After having been at its worst in the late 1960s the air quality in Helsinki eventually improved remarkably. This paper examines the reasons for this environmentally advantageous outcome, which was achieved in the absence of a particularly successful environmental policy.

Examining a case of electric power transmission in California in the early twentieth century, Etienne Benson reveals how industrial infrastructures are embedded in complex environments animated by unexpected agencies often invisible to their users.

The authors detail their experience of Puchuncavi, the largest, oldest, and most polluting industrial area in Chile. They approach it from a multidisciplinary viewpoint as an experience of the Anthropocene and advocate for an enhanced pedagogy of care born of our inherited pasts and of engagement, interest, and becoming as response-ability.

In this introduction to a special section on toxic embodiment, Olga Cielemęcka and Cecilia Åsberg examine variously situated bodies, land- and waterscapes, and their naturalcultural interactions with toxicity.