Respro® Bulletin Board

12 stations flash red pollution alerts in central, southern Taiwan

Posted on November 12, 2018 by Respro® UK Ltd

AirVisual earth map of AQI levels in China and Taiwan

Due to poor diffusion conditions and an accumulation of pollutants, the air quality in central and southern Taiwan is still poor with harmful levels of pollution reported in 30 air quality monitoring stations, 12 of which are flashing red alerts.

As of 9 a.m. this morning, Taiwan’s Air Quality Monitoring Network is reporting harmful levels of pollution across much of western Taiwan, with more than half of the air quality monitoring stations flashing orange and red alerts for high levels of PM 2.5 concentration.

The 12 stations which have flashed a red alert are Mailiao, Chiayi, Xinying, Annan, Tainan, Qiaotou, Fengshan, Renwu, Zuoying, Qianjin, Shanhua, and Qianzhen.

The Environmental Protection Agency said that the lack of wind in the early morning has led to an accumulations of pollutants. In the afternoon northeastern winds are expected to increase, possibly bringing in more pollution from neighboring countries.

Northern Taiwan may see orange alerts within a short period of time. As diffusion conditions remain poor, southern and central Taiwan will likely continue to see red alerts throughout the day. The EPA predicts that red alerts will continue to be seen in Yunlin, Chiayi and Tainan counties, while orange alerts will be seen in central Taiwan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung, Matsu, Kinmen, and Penghu. Other parts of Taiwan should see moderate to good air.

In response to the poor air quality in Yunlin, Chiayi, and Tainan, Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) has instructed the coal-fired Taichung power plant to reduce power generation from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

via 12 stations flash red pollution alerts i… | Taiwan News

Posted in Air Quality, Asia, Taiwan | Tagged Air Pollution, Taiwan | Leave a comment

Small-particle air pollution may raise glaucoma risk in some

Posted on November 9, 2018 by Respro® UK Ltd

In people who already have a genetic vulnerability, small-particle air pollution known as black carbon may raise the risk of developing glaucoma, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that in older men with genetic variations that made them especially susceptible to oxidative stress, long-term exposure to black carbon, a pollutant linked to vehicle emissions and other products of combustion, was associated with higher pressures in the eye, according to the study published in JAMA Ophthalmology.

“Oftentimes, when we think about glaucoma we think about risk factors like age and genetic predisposition and we don’t think about the environment,” said the study’s lead author, Jamaji Nwanaji-Enwerem, an MD/PhD candidate at the Harvard Medical School in Boston. “But one thing we’re starting to appreciate more is how the environment impacts health outcomes.”

One area in which there hasn’t been a lot of research is the impact of the environment on eye disease, Nwanaji-Enwerem said. So, he and his colleagues decided to look at the effect of the tiny particles of black carbon, which are smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter and can penetrate deep into the lungs, and from there, into the bloodstream.

The researchers analyzed data from 419 older men from the Boston area who had been participating since the 1960s in a larger U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs aging study. They came in for health exams every three to five years after joining the study and as part of those exams intraocular pressure was measured.

Glaucoma, which can eventually result in blindness if not treated, is most often caused by high intraocular pressure, or high fluid pressure within the eye.

“When eye pressure is too high, it causes damage to the optic nerve, the cable that connects our eyes to the brain and visual pathways,” explained Dr. Christopher Starr, an ophthalmologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, who was not involved in the new research. “If you lose cells in that nerve, you lose vision. It usually starts with peripheral vision loss and as time goes on you lose more and more.”

For the study, Nwanaji-Enwerem’s team determined the men’s pollution exposure using a modeling program that included black carbon levels gleaned from 83 monitoring sites and weather data.

The researchers then analyzed the pollution results along with each man’s eye pressure readings and a host of other health and lifestyle factors, including BMI, smoking status, heart disease, blood pressure and diabetes.

Overall, they found no link between pollution and eye pressure. But when they looked just at men who had certain gene versions that made them vulnerable to oxidative stress, the researchers found an association between higher pollution levels and a slight increase in eye pressure.

While interesting, the new study’s findings will need to be duplicated, Starr noted, adding that even if proven, the effects seen in this study are small. “They may not even be clinically significant in the context of glaucoma,” he said.

The differences in intraocular pressure might have been more striking if the men in the study had lived in a place that had high levels of black carbon pollution, Starr said.

While it’s clear that family history can raise your risk for glaucoma, studies of other possible variables have been mixed, said Dr. Julia Polat, an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pennsylvania, who was not involved in the new research.

“When patients ask, ‘what can I do to modify my risk?’ unfortunately I don’t have a lot of definitive information to give them,” Polat said. “I tell them to eat healthy, exercise and stop smoking, not necessarily because it will help with glaucoma, but because these changes can make them healthier overall.”

Glaucoma is especially insidious because it generally develops with no symptoms, Starr said. That’s why people should be getting their pressures checked on a regular basis, he added.

“One of the ironic things, if you look at global surveys in almost all societies and cultures vision is by far what people cherish and value most,” Starr said. “And yet, people see their GP for yearly checkups, but don’t see an eye doctor regularly.”

SOURCE: https://bit.ly/2JNqelK and https://bit.ly/2FlnQnE JAMA Ophthalmology, online November 8, 2018.

via Small-particle air pollution may raise glaucoma risk in some – Business Insider

Posted in Air Quality, Health Effects of Air Pollution, Medical Studies | Tagged Air Pollution, Glaucoma, Health Effects of Air Pollution, Research | Leave a comment

Pollutionwatch: fireworks increase UK air pollution for several days

Posted on November 9, 2018 by Respro® UK Ltd

Guy Fawkes events caused five days of particle pollution problems, reaching maximum levels in several locations

This year, Guy Fawkes events caused five days of particle pollution problems. Fireworks caused increased air pollution on Friday and Saturday evening across the eastern half of England, including London, Southampton and Hull. On Sunday firework smoke was measured across northern England, Coventry and Chesterfield, and in Derry in Northern Ireland. On Bonfire Night itself particle pollution reached the maximum level of 10 on the UK air pollution scale in Chesterfield, Leeds, Sheffield, Stockton-on-Tees and York, and lingered overnight to cause further problems the next day.

In India, Diwali fireworks have been implicated in the severe smogs that affect the Delhi region each year. In 2016, the Indian capital was enveloped in a severe smog for more than a week after Diwali, leading to a ban on firework sales that has split public opinion. This year the courts have relaxed the rules to allow the sale of less polluting “green” fireworks that produce less smoke and do not contain metals such as lead and mercury. This may help, but it will not cure Delhi’s chronic post-monsoon smogs, which are mainly caused by burning of rice stubble in the surrounding region. So, in addition to firework restrictions, there is a clear need for alternative ways to clear crops to improve the air quality breathed by more than 63 million people in the area.

via Pollutionwatch: fireworks increase UK air pollution for several days | Environment | The Guardian

Posted in Air Quality, Europe, London, UK | Tagged Air Pollution, Chesterfield, Coventry, Derry, Diwali, fireworks, Hull, India, Leeds, London, Sheffield, Southampton, Stoke-on-Tees, UK, York | Leave a comment

Air pollution skyrockets to hazardous levels in India

Posted on November 9, 2018 by Respro® UK Ltd

Toxic clouds descended upon New Delhi on Thursday, forcing residents indoors and posing significant health concerns. The lethal smog came just hours after celebrations to mark Diwali, the Hindu “festival of the lights.”

Commemorating the triumph of good over evil, the holiday happens every fall — but this year the atmosphere threw a wrench in the plan. The city of more than 18 million awoke Thursday morning to a shroud of hazardous haze, spurred by construction activity and vehicle emissions and exacerbated by fireworks detonated the night before.

The air pollution soared to 20 times safe levels.

For the second year in a row, India’s 31-member Supreme Court banned the sale of most fireworks leading up to the festivities. Only “green” fireworks were to be sold, a prohibition that extended to online merchants — including Amazon. The court also set a fixed time, from 8 to 10 p.m., for them to be set off.

Despite the strict regulations, poor enforcement may have been inevitable in a city so large. Residents continued to ignite fireworks after midnight while donning face masks and coughing up ashen soot. Last year, New Delhi’s chief minister likened the debacle to a “gas chamber,” according to The Guardian.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) is based on the concentrations of five air pollutants: ground-level ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter. The latter describes fine particles in the air between 2.5 and 10 microns across, roughly 1/28th the diameter of a strand of human hair.

AQI values lower than 50 are considered good. When they exceed 100, they are considered to be “unhealthy for sensitive groups.” Big concerns come around 150-200. Anything over 300 is deemed “hazardous.” New Delhi’s AQI hit about 1,000 in the early morning hours Thursday, the worst conditions found just south of Safdarjung Airport.

A weather balloon launched from the hub at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday night shows a strong inversion present just a thousand feet above the surface. This layer of warm air acted as a “ceiling” to the atmosphere, trapping all pollutants below. The smoke can’t rise, so it becomes penned. It’s like leaving a vehicle idling with your garage door shut. The consequences can be deadly.

Temperature change with altitude in New Delhi, India, indicative of pollutant-trapping inversion. (University of Wyoming adapted by Matthew Cappucci)

Particulate matter can come from natural sources — like dust storms in the Sahara — but is a more common byproduct of vehicle emissions, construction and “dirty combustion.” Its concentrations proved to be less during the daytime as the inversion lifted and allowed the air to mix out. Other gases — like ozone — feed off sunlight and reach their highest levels in the early afternoon.

This is the third year consecutive data has been collected to show an alarming spike following Diwali. Pollution levels have historically tripled or quadrupled overnight, making Diwali peak date of the year for pollution.

India is infamous for its pollution, rivaling China as the greatest polluter of greenhouse gases and particulate matter by gross domestic product. A 2015 study warned that nearly half of all New Delhi schoolchildren would develop irreversible lung damage before reaching adulthood.

This latest pollution episode comes 10 days after the World Health Organization released a report concluding that 93 percent of children worldwide breath toxic air daily. The chilling findings link the toxic gases we release to “lower cognitive test outcomes,” compromised “mental and motor development” and issues with “neurodevelopment.”

via Air pollution skyrockets to hazardous levels in India – The Washington Post

Posted in Air Quality, Asia, India | Tagged Air Pollution, Delhi, Diwali, fireworks, India, PM - Particulate Matter, Smog | Leave a comment

World’s Worst Air Pollution Spikes as Indians Go Firecracker Crazy

Posted on November 8, 2018 by Respro® UK Ltd

Air pollution levels skyrocketed in New Delhi and left India’s capital shrouded in toxic smog as millions of Indians set off firecrackers on Wednesday evening for Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.

The air quality index, or AQI, hit 980 at 4:30 a.m. Thursday, according to website AirVisual, which monitors air pollution around the world. The levels surged as people violated an order of the Supreme Court and burst firecrackers before and after a two-hour window set for the purpose. Readings below 50 are considered safe, while anything above 300 is considered hazardous.

The air quality is just about as bad as it was in 2017 a day after Diwali, when levels exceeded 1,000, roughly ten times worse than the air pollution in Beijing. The levels on Thursday came down from their peak, with the gauge reading 622 as of 6:30 a.m. The smog last year led the capital’s chief minister to declare his city had become a “gas chamber.”

Toxic air is estimated to kill more than 1 million Indians each year, according to the nonprofit Health Effects Institute.

New Delhi was ranked the most polluted city in the world on Thursday, according to AirVisual’s global rankings. Lahore in Pakistan was at second place with AQI at 273 as of 8 a.m. local time. By comparison, New York had readings of just 29 as of 10 p.m. on Wednesday local time.

With different air quality monitors showing varied readings across the capital, it was still clear that New Delhi’s air was the worst in the world. Levels of dangerous PM 2.5 — the fine, inhalable particles that lodge deep in the lungs, where they can enter the bloodstream — were pushing close to 1,400 in some parts of the Indian capital early on Thursday morning, according to a website run by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, a government agency.

Burning Crops

Delhi’s air pollution is a toxic mix of vehicular exhaust, smoke from burning crops in the nearby states of Punjab and Haryana, road dust and billowing sand from thousands of construction sites. The pollution is intensified by winter weather patterns and hemmed in by the towering Himalayas to the north.

Severe air pollution — which has been linked to serious ailments including lung cancer and heart disease — affects dozens of cities across South Asia.

Nearby Lahore, over the border in the Pakistani province of Punjab, has been one of the worst affected in recent weeks as agricultural crop burning intensified. Afghanistan’s Kabul and Nepal’s Kathmandu have also been near the top of the pollution rankings.

India alone, according to the World Health Organization’s 2016 rankings, accounted for the world’s 10 most-polluted cities as measured by PM 2.5.

The Lancet estimates that 6.5 million people die annually around the world because of air pollution, mostly in India and China.

via World’s Worst Air Pollution Spikes as Indians Go Firecracker Crazy – Bloomberg

Posted in Air Quality, Asia, India | Tagged Air Pollution, Air Quality Index (AQI), Delhi, Diwali, India, PM2.5 | Leave a comment

The when, where and what of air pollutant exposure

Posted on November 6, 2018 by Respro® UK Ltd

Scientists have linked air pollution with many health conditions including asthma, heart disease, lung cancer and premature death. Among air pollutants, fine particulate matter is especially harmful because the tiny particles (diameter of 2.5 ?m or less) can penetrate deep within the lungs. Now, researchers have integrated data from multiple sources to determine the personal exposure of people in peri-urban India to fine particulate matter. They report their results in Environmental Science & Technology.

According to the World Health Organization, 11 of the 12 cities with the world’s highest levels of fine particulate matter are located in India. Human sources of these air pollutants include factory emissions, car exhaust and cooking stoves. Countries with limited resources often have increased air pollution compared with other countries, and their sources of exposure are likely different. However, few studies have been conducted to measure personal exposure to air pollutants in these regions. Cathryn Tonne and colleagues wondered if they could use a combination of techniques to measure the contributions of time (when?), location (where?) and people’s activities (what?) to personal exposure to fine particulates in peri-urban India.

The team characterized the personal exposures of 50 study participants in South India over several 24-hour periods. To do so, they integrated data from GPS devices, wearable cameras, questionnaires, and ambient and personal measurements of fine particulate matter. The researchers found significant differences between men and women, with men showing higher levels of personal exposure throughout the day. For women, exposures were mostly related to cooking. For the men, who largely did not engage in cooking, higher exposures were linked to their presence near food preparation, smoking or industry.

The authors acknowledge funding from the European Research Council, the Wellcome Trust and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.

via The when, where and what of air pollutant exposure — ScienceDaily

Posted in Air Quality, Asia, Health Effects of Air Pollution, India, Medical Studies | Tagged Air Pollution, Health Effects of Air Pollution, India, PM2.5, Research, World Heath Organization (WHO) | Leave a comment

Air pollution linked to autism

Posted on November 6, 2018 by Respro® UK Ltd

The study of children in Shanghai, from birth to three years, found that exposure to fine particles (PM2.5) from vehicle exhausts, industrial emissions and other sources of outdoor pollution increased the risk of developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by up to 78%. The study included 124 ASD children and 1240 healthy children (as control) in stages over a nine-year period, examining the association between air pollution and ASD.

The study, published today in Environment International, is first to examine the effects of long-term exposure of air pollution on ASD during the early life of children in a developing country, adding to previous studies that have already linked prenatal air pollution exposure to ASD in children.

“The causes of autism are complex and not fully understood, but environmental factors are increasingly recognised in addition to genetic and other factors,” Associate Professor Guo said.

“The developing brains of young children are more vulnerable to toxic exposures in the environment and several studies have suggested this could impact brain function and the immune system. These effects could explain the strong link we found between exposure to air pollutants and ASD, but further research is needed to explore the associations between air pollution and mental health more broadly.”

Air pollution is a major public concern and is estimated to cause up to 4.2 million deaths (WHO) every year globally. Outdoor pollutants contribute to a high burden of disease and pre-mature deaths in countries including China and India, especially in densely populated areas.

Even in Australia where concentrations are typically lower, air pollution from burning fossil fuels and industrial processes causes about 3,000 premature deaths a year — almost three times the national road toll and costing the economy up to $24 billion.

Associate Professor Yuming Guo, from Monash University’s School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, says global air pollution is rapidly becoming worse and there is no safe level of exposure.

“The serious health effects of air pollution are well-documented, suggesting there is no safe level of exposure. Even exposure to very small amounts of fine particulate matter have been linked to preterm births, delayed learning, and a range of serious health conditions, including heart disease.”

The study examined the health effects of three types of particulate matter (PM1, PM2.5, PM10) — fine airborne particles that are the byproducts of emissions from factories, vehicular pollution, construction activities and road dust. The smaller the airborne particles, the more capable they are of penetrating the lungs and entering the bloodstream causing a range of serious health conditions.

PM1 is the smallest in particle size but few studies have been done on PM1 globally and agencies are yet to set safety standards for it.

“Despite the fact that smaller particles are more harmful, there is no global standard or policy for PM1 air pollution.”

“Given that PM1 accounts for about 80% of PM2.5 pollution in China alone, further studies on its health effects and toxicology are needed to inform policy makers to develop standards for the control of PM1 air pollution in the future.”

Story Source:

Materials provided by Monash University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

via Air pollution linked to autism — ScienceDaily

Posted in Air Quality, Asia, China, Health Effects of Air Pollution, Medical Studies | Tagged Air Pollution, China, Health Effects of Air Pollution, PM - Particulate Matter, PM1, PM2.5, Research, Shanghai | Leave a comment

Childhood obesity linked to air pollution from vehicles

Posted on November 5, 2018 by Respro® UK Ltd

Research suggests first year ‘critical window’ in which toxic air can increase weight gain

Early exposure to air pollution from vehicles increases the risk of children becoming obese, new research has found.

High levels of nitrogen dioxide, which is emitted by diesel engines, in the first year of life led to significantly faster weight gain later, the scientists found. Other pollutants produced by road traffic have also been linked to obesity in children by recent studies.

Nitrogen dioxide pollution is at illegal levels in most urban areas in the UK and the government has lost three times in the high court over the inadequacy of its plans. The pollutant also plagues many cities in Europe and around the world.

“We would urge parents to be mindful where their young children spend their time, especially considering if those areas are near major roads,” said Jeniffer Kim, at the University of Southern California, who led the new research. “The first year of life is a period of rapid development of various systems in the body [and] may prime the body’s future development.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) revealed last Monday that 90% of the world’s children are breathing unsafe air, a situation described as “inexcusable” by the WHO’s head. Concern over the impact of toxic air on children’s health is rising as research reveals serious long-term damage to both their physical and mental health.

A large recent study found toxic air significantly increases the risk of low birth weight, leading to lifelong damage to health. Others linked air pollution with birth defects, cot deaths and the first direct evidence of pollution particles in mothers’ placentas has also been revealed.

The new research, published in the journal Environmental Health, followed 2,318 children in southern California and built on earlier work which had identified traffic pollution as a major risk factor for the development of obesity in children.

The research investigated the impact of air pollution from busy main roads, where diesel trucks are common, in the crucial first year of life. They found that by age 10, children suffering high early exposure were almost 1kg heavier on average than those with low exposure. The scientists took a series of other factors into account, including gender, ethnicity and parental education, and think it is unlikely that variations in diet could explain the strong link found.

“Our study suggests that early life may represent a critical window of exposure where increased [air pollution] may result in increased risk for higher childhood [weight] trajectories, which in turn may lead to childhood obesity,” the researchers concluded.

Other pollutants emitted by vehicles have also been linked to childhood obesity. A 2017 study in Boston implicated particulate pollution, while a 2012 study in New York City found the same for children exposed to polyaromatic hydrocarbons while in the womb.

The new research was not able to examine how air pollution increases weight gain in the children, but Kim said inflammation was a possibility: “The most common thought is inflammation of body systems like the lungs which may spill over into the entire body – the brain which regulates appetite and changes in fat metabolism.”

“This study showing an association between increased body mass in children and exposure to air pollution from roads is important since it is compatible with previous studies showing an association between type 2 diabetes and air pollution in adults,” said Prof Jonathan Grigg, at Queen Mary University London and not involved in the research.

“However, more research is needed to explain how toxins inhaled into the lungs affect fat cells throughout the body,” he said. In mice experiments, brain inflammation caused by air pollution has been shown to result in anxiety-induced overeating.

A separate new study on asthma, a disease long linked to air pollution and that is the most common chronic respiratory disease in the world, has estimated that between 9m and 33m emergency visits to hospital result from dirty air every year.

The upper estimate represents almost a third of all emergency admissions suffered by the 358 million asthma sufferers in the world. “The findings estimate the magnitude of the global asthma burden that could be avoided by reducing [outdoor] air pollution,” the scientists said.