Air pollution a concern at levels currently accepted as ‘safe’ 

Posted on July 11, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Government agencies must not become complacent in the effort to provide clean air to all citizens, warn authors of a new report.

The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) warns today that government agencies must not become complacent in the effort to provide clean air to all citizens. Despite the advancements that have been made since the 1963 introduction of the Clean Air Act in the United States, much more remains to be done. The most recent example of this is a report published in the New England Journal of Medicine looking at 12 years of Medicare beneficiary data, which showed the risk of death increased in proportion to the amount of fine particulate matter in the atmosphere. Most concerning was the finding that, although the current National Ambient Air Quality Standards declare that 12 micrograms per cubic meter of fine, inhalable particles (those with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less, or “PM2.5“) is an acceptable level, there was a 13.6% increase in the risk of death for every increase in 10 micrograms of fine particles per cubic meter of air below that “acceptable” threshold. The study also found there was no “safe” level of exposure, or level where the risk of death was unchanged.

Major producers of PM2.5 particles globally include the burning of solid fuels (such as coal and wood), and various fuels for transportation. “More than 2.8 billion people worldwide use solid fuel for cooking, and many more use solid fuels for heating their homes,” according to Dr. Akshay Sood, Professor of Medicine at the University of New Mexico and member of FIRS Environmental Committee.

Dr. Sood continues, “People have seen pictures of New Delhi, Beijing, or Los Angeles smog. This smog is made up of these fine particles. It is concerning that communities in the United States that meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards and believe their air is ‘safe’ may not entirely be protected from the adverse health effects of PM2.5.” Certain segments of the population, such as children, the elderly, and those with cardiopulmonary diseases are at higher risk of the health effects of pollution.

Inadequate outdoor air quality affects many people around the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 92% of the world’s population live in areas with inadequate outdoor air quality, and this pollution contributes to 1 out of every 8 deaths. This new data from the United States should spur governments to redouble their efforts to provide their citizens with the cleanest air possible. FIRS strongly recommends compliance with WHO Air Quality Guidelines, as well as the Paris Climate Agreement.

Source: Air pollution a concern at levels currently accepted as ‘safe’ — ScienceDaily

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Tube passengers ‘breathe in 12m toxic air particles a minute’… and could be at risk of dementia 

Posted on July 11, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Tube travellers could be at risk of developing dementia as it emerged passengers can inhale more than 12 million toxic air particles a minute on the Underground.

Monitors placed on the Tube network by Transport for Londonfound that “nanodusts” comprised mostly of iron oxides surge with the movement of trains.

They are thought to spike because of the grinding of wheels and rails as trains brake, and are also blown up from the tracks as trains move along them.

Peaks measured by TfL and released to The Sunday Times under freedom of information laws found that particle levels on the Central line exceeded two million particles for every litre of air.

Ten litres of air are breathed in by adults every minute, meaning passengers could inhale between 12 and 20m particles in that time. Despite being different from pollution on roads, the “nanodusts” are said to be equally toxic and are often so small they can pass straight into people’s organs and brains.

The British Lung Foundation’s Professor Stephen Holgate warned such exposure could lead to dementia.

He told The Sunday Times: “The particles in underground railways are rich in iron and other metals such as copper, chromium, manganese and zinc. Metal particles increase our risk of asthma, lung and cardiovascular disease and possibly dementia.”

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says humans should not be exposed to more than 50 micrograms of particles per cubic metre in an average 24-hour period.

But on the Northern line, TfL measured the mass of particles per cubic metre of air peaking at between 250 micrograms and 1,000 micrograms. Similar levels were reportedly found on the Victoria and Piccadilly lines.

TfL insisted commuters and staff would not be exposed to excessive levels of toxic air because they do not spend all day in the Tube.

Mark Wild, managing director of London Underground, said: “We have a new air quality programme to ensure particles are kept to a minimum. Levels are well within Health and Safety Executive guidelines.”

But Professor Barbara Maher of Lancaster University told the Sunday Times: “There is growing evidence that exposure to iron magnetite nanoparticles, from urban air pollution, raises the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.”

Source: Tube passengers ‘breathe in 12m toxic air particles a minute’… and could be at risk of dementia | London Evening Standard

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The downside of summer sunshine

Posted on July 10, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

The June heatwave brought dangerously high ozone levels and caused serious summer smog

The hottest June day in the UK since 1976 caused widespread summertime smog across southern England and the Midlands. Sevenoaks in Kent and Lullington Heath, East Sussex, measured the greatest ozone level for 11 years; reaching eight on the UK government’s ten-point scale for the first time. The winds then turned westerly and carried our polluted air eastwards to create problems over Germany.

Ozone can take days to form in the atmosphere. It therefore spreads across very wide areas. To reduce the worst impacts, Paris once again banned the oldest vehicles from its roads and, in a targeted approach, restrictions were placed on industries that emit volatile hydrocarbons that contribute to ozone formation. In a re-run of the 2003 heatwave, smoke from the tragic forest fires in Portugal spread over France and reached the UK during the hot weather.

Ozone in the stratosphere protects us from the sun’s harmful UV, but breathing the ozone that forms at the ground is very harmful. Health guidelines are set assuming eight-hour exposure, based on studies of schoolchildren in summer camps. A new study of 60m elderly people in the US showed the health impacts from breathing ozone over many years in outdoor air, even at levels below current US standards.

Health impacts of air pollution are dominated by exposure to particle pollution and nitrogen dioxide, leading to the much quoted figures of around 40,000 early deaths yearly in the UK. According to European Environment Agency, including ozone exposure would add around 700 early deaths to the annual tally.

Source: The downside of summer sunshine | Environment | The Guardian

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Delhi air quality not ‘good’ in over 500 days, even when it rained

Posted on July 7, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Air quality index data between 2016 to June 2017, available with the Central Pollution Control Board, revealed that pollution levels in Delhi refused to drop even during the rainy season. Not even in the month of June 2017, when the city received one of the heaviest rains in the last decade.

Delhi might have just experienced the wettest June in more than a decade, but even the heavy rains failed to wash away some of the city’s deadliest air pollutants.

Air Quality Index data between 2016 to June 2017, available with the Central Pollution Control Board, revealed that pollution levels in Delhi refused to drop even during the rainy season. Not even in the month of June 2017, when the city received one of the heaviest rains in the last decade.

“Delhi hasn’t witnessed a single day in the last 535 days, in which air quality could be termed ‘good’. The air quality in nearly 50% of the days had poor category air quality followed by very poor,” said D Saha head of the air laboratory in the Central Pollution Control Board.

Scientists and environment experts were alarmed and apprehends that this could be the effect of the Green Field Gap — a phenomenon in which even heavy rains fail to wash air pollutants.

“Usually rains wash away the particulate matter. But there are some particulate matters, whose size varies between 0.1 micron and 1 micron. They are not cleaned and linger even after heavy rains. They are hydrophobic and tend to bounce away whenever a rain drop hits them,” said SN Tripathi coordinator of Centre for Environmental Science & Engineering at IIT Kanpur.

These are mostly the secondary particles (nitrates and sulphates) which form in the air from primary particles (SO2 and NO2) because of some complex reactions. Even the Supreme Court mandated EPCA had warned of such secondary particles in its action plan.

“Triggers such as high solar radiation and high relative humidity help primary particles to graduate into secondary ones. These particles may at times play havoc with the local rains by delaying and dispersing the rains,” said Abhijit Chatterjee, atmospheric scientist of Bose Institute in Kolkata.

Scientists have warned that long term exposure to pollution levels even in the satisfactory and moderate category could prove harmful to humans and can trigger a range of pulmonary and cardiac diseases.

The AQI is considered good if the PM10 level is below 50 micrograms per metre cube and PM2.5 level is below 30 micrograms per metre cube on a 24 hour average.

“But these are just permissible standards which we maintain for regulatory purposes. The safe standard is much lower and anything above 25 is considered unsafe for humans. Long term exposure even to such low doses of pollution could trigger several diseases,” said Sagnik Dey, associate professor at Centre for Atmospheric Sciences in IIT Delhi.

In the NCR region, air pollution levels in Noida too was equally bad in June 2017 as the city failed to register a single day in which air quality was in the good category. Gurgaon, however, experienced at least five days during June when air quality was in the good category.

“This means we are adding more pollution that what rains can wash away,” said Dey.

Source: Delhi air quality not ‘good’ in over 500 days, even when it rained | delhi news | Hindustan Times

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France to ban sales of petrol and diesel cars by 2040

Posted on July 7, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Move by Emmanuel Macron’s government comes a day after Volvo said it would only make fully electric or hybrid cars from 2019

France will end sales of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040 as part of an ambitious plan to meet its targets under the Paris climate accord, Emmanuel Macron’s government has announced.

The announcement comes a day after Volvo said it would only make fully electric or hybrid cars from 2019 onwards, a decision hailed as the beginning of the end for the internal combustion engine’s dominance of motor transport after more than a century.

Nicolas Hulot, the country’s new ecology minister, said: “We are announcing an end to the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040.” Hulot added that the move was a “veritable revolution”.

Hulot insisted that the decision was a question of public health policy and “a way to fight against air pollution”. The veteran environmental campaigner was among several political newcomers to whom Macron gave top jobs in his government.

Pascal Canfin, the head of WWF France and a former Green politician who served in François Hollande’s government, said the new policy platform to counter climate change went further than previous administrations in France. “It places France among the leaders of climate action in the world,” he told France Inter radio.

Prof David Bailey, an automotive industry expert at Aston University, said: “The timescale involved here is sufficiently long term to be taken seriously. If enacted it would send a very clear signal to manufacturers and consumers of the direction of travel and may accelerate a transition to electric cars.”

Norway, which has the highest penetration of electric cars in the world, has set a target of only allowing sales of 100% electric or plug-in hybrid cars by 2025.

Other countries have floated the idea of banning cars powered by an internal combustion engine to meet air quality and climate change goals, but have not yet passed concrete targets.

The Netherlands has mooted a 2025 ban for diesel and petrol cars, and some federal states in Germany are keen on a 2030 phase-out.

India, where scores of cities are blighted by dangerous air pollution, is mulling the idea of no longer selling petrol or diesel cars by 2030, and said it wants to introduce electric cars in “a very big way”.

The UK has an aspiration of all new cars being electric or ultra low emission by 2040, but has been criticised by campaigners and politicans for being slow to act on air pollution.

Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said: “I welcome the strong leadership the French government has shown by making the decision to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040.

“This radical step shames the timid and insufficient response of our own government to the health threat posed by poor air quality.”

France’s announcement came as Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicted electric cars would come to dominate the automotive market more quickly and dramatically than previously thought.

Electric vehicles will make up 54% of all light-duty vehicle sales by 2040, up from the 35% share Bloomberg was forecasting just last year, according to a new report by the research group.

Bloomberg said such a widespread uptake of electric vehicles would globally reduce oil demand by 8m barrels a day and increase electricity consumption by 5% to charge all the new cars.

But Tony Seba, a Stanford University economist who has published research predicting electric cars will even more rapidly take over from conventional cars, said of France’s plan: “Banning sales of diesel and gasoline vehicles by 2040 is a bit like banning sales of horses for road transportation by 2040: there won’t be any to ban.”

French car manufacturers Peugeot, Citroën and Renault ranked first, second and third on a 2016 list of large car manufacturers with the lowest carbon emissions, the European Environment Agency said.

Just 0.6% of new car registrations across the EU last year were for pure electric vehicles, compared with 1.1% of new cars sold in France.

French-Japanese carmaker Renault-Nissan has been an enthusiastic early advocate for the vehicles, taking 14.6% of the EU market share for battery-powered vehicles. The firm has built 425,000 of the more than 2m electric cars sold globally.

France’s reliance on nuclear power stations for 80% of its electricity supply means that a shift to electric vehicles rather than oil-powered ones would dramatically cut its remaining carbon emissions.

Source: France to ban sales of petrol and diesel cars by 2040 | Business | The Guardian

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Nepal’s Kathmandu ranks 5th in Pollution Index 2017

Posted on July 6, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Nepal’s capital city Kathmandu has ranked 5th in Pollution Index 2017 mid-year as published by the Numbeo.com recently.

African country Ghana’s capital city Accra tops the list as New Zeanland’s capital city Wellington ranks as the least polluted cities among 269 cities around the globe.

Kathmandu slumps two spots down to 5th with 96.57 pollution index.

Numbeo said it included relevant data from World Health Organisation and other institutions for the ranking.

The cities were listed on the basis of air pollution and then the water pollution/accessibility followed by other pollution types.

According to the Department of Environment of Nepal, the particulate matter (PM 2.5) of Ratnapark is 107 µg/m³ marking Kathmandu as one of the unhealthy cities to live in.

PM 2.5 indicates the matter present in the air that are 2.5 microns or below. These particles include dust, coal, particles exited from power plants and home heating, car exhaust and pollen plants among others.

Kathmandu’s downfall was heralded due to the snail paced road expansion projects in the Kathmandu Valley and delay in the underground installation of Melamchi Drinking Water pipes in the city.

The government’s failure to replace the old and outdated vehicles plying on the roads of the city have also added air pollution in Kathmandu.

The renewed hopes of making Kathmandu a better place to live after the local level elections was confined to the public stunt of mayor and deputy mayor brooming the streets in Kathmandu.

The KMC needs to do more and come up with more strategies, including installation of dustbins around the city to collect disposable and non disposable products to preserve, clean and safeguard the air quality of the Kathmandu.

KMC also needs to strictly implement the government’s decision of keeping a plastic dustbins inside the vehicle to restrict the passengers from throwing garbage out of the vehicle onto the streets.

Locals and pedestrians have been hit hard along roads in Kathmandu Valley due to dust in dry season and muddy waterlogged road during monsoon.

It has been learned that there is surge in the number of respiratory related diseases in the valley due to air pollution.

Kathmandu denizens and visitors need to do their part to improve the air quality of the Kathmandu.

Source: Nepal’s Kathmandu ranks 5th in Pollution Index 2017

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Metro traffic becoming health hazard 

Posted on July 6, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Traffic congestion in Metro Manila is now a critical health issue for Filipinos, an environmental group said in a statement on Wednesday.

This was revealed by a study conducted by Kaibigan ng Kaunlaran at Kalikasan (KKK), a non-government organization that advances sustainable development by providing science-based research to policy makers.

“Not only is this costing the country and Filipinos billions in potential income every day, traffic congestion in Metro Manila is also contributing largely to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases,” the study stated.

“Inhalation and ingestion of pollutants from mobile sources can cause diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease and stroke,” it added.

The project “Modeling Particulate Matter Dispersion in Metro Manila” used an internationally recognized mathematical technique to predict the pathways of pollution from various sources.

The study revealed that 76% of air pollutants came from vehicle emissions; 20% from burning refuse, street-side cooking, and construction work; while only 4% is attributed to “industrial” sources.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around three million deaths per year are linked to outdoor pollution, with majority occurring in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific.

Locally, the Department of Health (DOH) has noted that the leading causes of death include cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, among them, lung cancer exacerbated, if not directly caused, by air pollution.

The study covered 16 cities and one municipality.

It was conducted over a period of two years and completed recently with support from nonprofit group Clean Air Asia, Scientific Research Institute Manila Observatory and independent professionals.

The study, however, noted that not all of Metro Manila experiences dirty air the same way due to variability of factors including air quality monitoring data, topography, actual traffic count, type of vehicles and fuels, and meteorology, among others.

KKK called on the government to lead a transition from cars to mass transit to lessen air pollution.

“A highly functional mass transport system, combined with land use and population management, would greatly support a drive for cleaner air in Metro Manila,” the group said.

Source: Metro traffic becoming health hazard | Cebu Daily News

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Hanoi to ban motorbikes by 2030 to curb pollution, traffic 

Posted on July 5, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Officials in Vietnam’s traffic-choked capital Hanoi vowed on Tuesday to banish motorbikes by 2030 to ease environment and congestion woes, a decision that swiftly divided a city where two-wheelers are the main means of transportation.

Hanoi is famed for legions of motorbikes — sometimes stacked with entire families or overloaded with deliveries — that clog roads in a fast-growing city with limited public transportation. There are five million motorbikes among a population of about seven million, compared to half a million cars on the road.

In a country where the average annual wage is still around $2,200, the affordability of motorbikes makes them ubiquitous. Yet critics have blamed the emissions-heavy motorbikes for Hanoi’s deteriorating air quality and worsening traffic congestion. The decision to ban motorbikes by 2030 was approved by 95 out of 96 city councillors at a meeting on Tuesday.

Officials said the number of vehicles was growing at an “alarming” rate, according to a report on the city government’s website. “Traffic jams and air pollution will become serious in the future if no immediate management measures are in place,” the report said. The ban will be implemented in metropolitan districts and public transport options would be increased to wean people off their scooters, the report added.

The number of registered motorbikes in Vietnam is among the highest in Southeast Asia, and officials in Hanoi have long-mulled banning the bikes in an effort to modernise the city along the lines of Seoul or Tokyo. Some welcomed the move, saying the ban is crucial to cleaning up Hanoi’s air, which is notoriously smoggy in the winter months.

“Too many private cars, too many motorbikes… the quality of air is really bad and the decision made today will improve that,” economist and transport expert Luong Hoai Nam told AFP. The city clocked 282 days of “excessive” levels of PM2.5 — fine particulate matter harmful to human health — last year, according to non-governmental group GreenID, citing World Health Organisation guidelines.

The Hanoi government is rolling out an air monitoring system in an effort to make Hanoi “green and clean and civilised so that people living and working here have a high quality of life”, Nguyen Trong Dong, the head of the city’s environment department told AFP last month.

On social media, some people decried the motorbike ban announcement — questioning whether the government will really offer viable public transport alternatives as promised. “This idea is totally insane,” said office worker Hoang Thuy Duong, who rides a motorbike to work daily. “Motorbikes are the best means of transportation in Hanoi. I doubt authorities can replace them with public vehicles,” she told AFP.

Hanoi does not have a metro system, only public buses which account for 12 percent of travel demand in the city. Officials said Tuesday they plan to boost that share to around 50 percent by 2030. Construction of a sky train in the city has been repeatedly delayed but is slated to open next year. Some said limiting individual vehicle use is not effective without efficient public transport in place. “When you just employ banning as one measure they never succeed,” said Jung Eun Oh, senior transport specialist at the World Bank in Vietnam.

Source: Hanoi to ban motorbikes by 2030 to curb pollution, traffic – GG2

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