Air Pollution Kills in America Despite EPA Efforts

Posted on June 29, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Air pollution continues to drive premature deaths in the United States with no level of exposure leaving humans unaffected, according to new research.

The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found a strong correlation between mortality and exposure to the pollutants ozone and particular matter, both of which contribute to smog. The higher the concentration of the pollutants in the air the higher the chance of an early death, according to the research.

While air pollution levels in the U.S. have declined significantly in recent decades thanks to regulation — including the Clean Air Act — many cities and regions still struggle to meet air quality standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). But the new research suggests that even those standards may not be stringent enough: Air pollution contributes to premature mortality even below those levels.

“We think air quality in the United States is good enough to protect our citizens,” Joel Schwartz, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health who authored the study, said in a statement. “In fact we need to lower pollution levels even further.”

The study joins a growing body of research showing the deadly effects of human exposure to air pollution at any level. But while researchers behind many recent studies have relied on relatively small data sets, the new study used data from more than 60 million Medicare beneficiaries between 2000 and 2012.

Air pollution has received the most attention in the developing world, and for good reason. Recent research published in the journal Nature estimated that air pollution leads to more than three million deaths annually. But research has also showed that tens of thousands of people in the U.S. face an early death because of exposure to air pollution.

The Trump Administration has promised to focus its environmental efforts on “clean air and clean water,” but has also sought to undo or defund many of the programs that address those issues. At President Donald Trump’s direction, the EPA has begun a process to undo rules regulating power plant emissions, which contribute to a variety of health ailments, in addition to climate change. The Trump budget proposal also includes funding cuts for EPA programs across the board. “Despite compelling data, the Trump administration is moving headlong in the opposite direction,” scientists wrote in a New England Journal editorial accompanying the study. “We must redouble our commitment to clean air. If such protections lapse, Americans will suffer.”

Source: Air Pollution Kills in America Despite EPA Efforts | Time.com

Posted in Air Quality, USA & Canada | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Germany moves to crack down on vehicle emissions

Posted on June 28, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Germany will discuss a national plan to cut pollution from diesel engines and set up a new organisation to test vehicles to try to restore consumer confidence after Volkswagen’s emissions scandal, ministers said on Tuesday.

The moves – almost two years after the Volkswagen scandal broke – come as the German government faces growing pressure ahead of national elections on Sept. 24 to reduce emissions or see some cities ban diesel cars themselves.

On Monday, Reuters reported the transport ministry was pushing carmakers to update engine management software to cut pollution in up to 12 million diesel vehicles in the country, citing people familiar with the talks.

On Tuesday, the transport ministry and the environment ministry announced the creation of a “national diesel forum” to work with the auto industry and regional governments to cut emissions, with the first meeting set for Aug. 2.

“We want emissions to fall across Germany,” Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said in a statement.

Dobrindt, a member of the Bavarian sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats, has come under fire for being close to the country’s powerful car industry and for not doing enough to combat vehicle pollution.

Government sources told Reuters on Monday the software update could cost 1.5 billion to 2.5 billion euros (1.33 billion pounds to 2.21 billion pounds), but HSBC analysts said hardware might be needed that could mean costs of up to 10 billion euros.

Sales of diesel cars have been falling since the Volkswagen scandal, but have dropped even faster since cities, including Stuttgart and Munich, have considered banning some diesel vehicles, blaming emissions for increased respiratory disease.

Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks, a member of the centre-left Social Democrats that are Merkel’s junior coalition partners, said the diesel forum was an opportunity for carmakers to win back lost trust and improve air quality.

MORE TRANSPARENT TESTS?

Separately, the transport ministry said it was setting up a new institute to ensure “more transparency and reliability” in vehicle tests, involving consumer organisations, local governments and environmental groups, as well as the auto industry and ministries.

However, the KBA motor vehicle authority, which reports to the transport ministry and currently oversees vehicle testing, will remain responsible for licensing new models.

The ministry said the new institute would test about 70 car models a year using realistic driving scenarios, rather than relying solely on laboratory conditions, and the emissions and fuel consumption results would be made public to allow car buyers to make better comparisons.

It noted that current official tests do not take into account factors such as the use of air conditioning and radio, or the weather or style of driving, which all influence fuel consumption.

Germany’s VDA auto industry association said in a statement its members were keen to give customers more information about variance in fuel efficiency and would fully participate in the new institute in the interests of more transparency.

However, the environmentalist Greens questioned how independent the new institute would be given the car industry is set to pay its annual budget of 2 million euros.

In the aftermath of the Volkswagen scandal, the German transport ministry ordered tests on the carbon dioxide emissions of 29 models. On Tuesday, it said 17 passed the test, while 10 models still needed to be tested in the coming months.

However, some versions of an Opel Zafira car and a Smart For Two produced by Daimler emitted more carbon dioxide than they should, although the Smart model still needed to undergo further tests. Both versions of the models in question are now discontinued.

Zafira diesels already on the road will have to undergo a software update, the ministry said, although the licences for both vehicles will not be withdrawn.

Opel said the Zafira had passed all legal tests, noting fewer than 3,800 of the model in question had been sold in Germany.

European governments have promoted diesel cars as part of efforts to fight climate change as they produce less carbon dioxide than petrol cars, although environmental groups have cast doubt over how much less they produce and have focused instead on the levels of toxic nitrogen oxides they emit.

Source: Germany moves to crack down on vehicle emissions | Reuters

Posted in Air Quality, Europe, Germany | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Air pollution casts shadow over solar energy production: Hardest-hit areas are big solar investors: China, India, Arabian peninsula 

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Global solar energy production is taking a major hit due to air pollution and dust.

According to a new study, airborne particles and their accumulation on solar cells are cutting energy output by more than 25 percent in certain parts of the world. The regions hardest hit are also those investing the most in solar energy installations: China, India and the Arabian Peninsula.

The study appears online June 23 in Environmental Science & Technology Letters.

“My colleagues in India were showing off some of their rooftop solar installations, and I was blown away by how dirty the panels were,” said Michael Bergin, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Duke University and lead author of the study. “I thought the dirt had to affect their efficiencies, but there weren’t any studies out there estimating the losses. So we put together a comprehensive model to do just that.”

With colleagues at the Indian Institute of Technology-Gandhinagar and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Bergin measured the decrease in solar energy gathered by the IITGN’s solar panels as they became dirtier over time. The data showed a 50-percent jump in efficiency each time the panels were cleaned after being left alone for several weeks.

The researchers also sampled the grime to analyze its composition, revealing that 92 percent was dust while the remaining fraction was composed of carbon and ion pollutants from human activity. While this may sound like a small amount, light is blocked more efficiently by smaller humanmade particles than by natural dust. As a result, the human contributions to energy loss are much greater than those from dust, making the two sources roughly equal antagonists in this case.

“The humanmade particles are also small and sticky, making them much more difficult to clean off,” said Bergin. “You might think you could just clean the solar panels more often, but the more you clean them, the higher your risk of damaging them.”

Having previously analyzed pollutants discoloring India’s Taj Mahal, Bergin already had a good idea of how these different particles react to sunlight. Using his earlier work as a base, he created an equation that accurately estimates the amount of sunlight blocked by different compositions of solar panel dust and pollution buildup.

But grimy buildup on solar panels isn’t the only thing blocking sunlight — the ambient particles in the air also have a screening effect.

For that half of the sun-blocking equation, Bergin turned to Drew Shindell, professor of climate sciences at Duke and an expert in using the NASA GISS Global Climate Model.

Because the climate model already accounts for the amount of the sun’s energy blocked by different types of airborne particles, it was not a stretch to estimate the particles’ effects on solar energy. The NASA model also estimates the amount of particulate matter deposited on surfaces worldwide, providing a basis for Bergin’s equation to calculate how much sunlight would be blocked by accumulated dust and pollution.

The resulting calculations estimate the total loss of solar energy production in every part of the world. While the United States has relatively little migratory dust, more arid regions such as the Arabian Peninsula, Northern India and Eastern China are looking at heavy losses — 17 to 25 percent or more, assuming monthly cleanings. If cleanings take place every two months, those numbers jump to 25 or 35 percent.

There are, of course, multiple variables that affect solar power production both on a local and regional level. For example, a large construction zone can cause a swift buildup of dust on a nearby solar array.

The Arabian Peninsula loses much more solar power to dust than it does humanmade pollutants, Bergin said. But the reverse is true for regions of China, and regions of India are not far behind.

“China is already looking at tens of billions of dollars being lost each year, with more than 80 percent of that coming from losses due to pollution,” said Bergin. “With the explosion of renewables taking place in China and their recent commitment to expanding their solar power capacity, that number is only going to go up.”

“We always knew these pollutants were bad for human health and climate change, but now we’ve shown how bad they are for solar energy as well,” continued Bergin. “It’s yet another reason for policymakers worldwide to adopt emissions controls.”

This work was supported by the US Agency for International Development and the Office of the Vice Provost for Research at Duke University.

Source: Air pollution casts shadow over solar energy production: Hardest-hit areas are big solar investors: China, India, Arabian peninsula — ScienceDaily

Posted in Air Quality, Asia, China, India, Middle East | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Munich to ban diesel vehicles from city following court order

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Munich has announced it will implement a ban on diesel vehicles, in its ongoing attempt to combat illegal air pollution. The mayor of the German city, who made the announcement, said he saw “no other way” to resolve the issue in the shortest possible timeframe.

The move follows a court judgment ordering the city to improve its air quality plans, the result of legal action pursued by Deutsche Umwelthilfe and ClientEarth.

The environmental lawyers and campaigners welcomed the move as a step in the right direction, but warn that excluding Euro 6 vehicles from the ban, as the mayor plans to, will present its own set of problems.

The trouble with Euro 6

CEO of Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) Jürgen Resch said: “The diesel ban in Munich should actually apply to most Euro 6 diesel vehicles. Current measurements show even the latest Euro 6 models chart record nitrogen dioxide emissions – often these newer models are in fact many times more polluting than 10-year-old Euro 4 diesels. If the Bavarian government really intends to exempt Euro 6 diesel vehicles from the ban, we will address this in our ongoing legal action.”

ClientEarth CEO James Thornton said: “Announcing a diesel ban is progress – Munich is heading in the right direction. Diesel vehicles are the main culprit for the high levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution that chokes our towns and cities. However, more ambition is needed. Authorities must be bolder and face up to the realities of Euro 6 vehicle emissions.”

DUH plans to release new data in the coming days about the true extent of pollution from Euro 6 vehicles. Resch added: “The vast majority of the Euro 6 diesels currently in circulation are many times over the legal limit for nitrogen oxides (NOx). Those who want to keep driving in cities must under no circumstances buy a diesel car.”

Thornton added: “The mayor’s announcement today is testimony to the effectiveness of litigation in defending public health and achieving real change.”

Source: Munich to ban diesel vehicles from city following court order

Posted in Air Quality, Europe, Germany | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Diesel charge trial launched in central London 

Posted on June 26, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Diesel car drivers will be charged an extra £2.45 an hour from today to park in parts of central London, in an attempt to combat toxic air.

Westminster council is launching a trial of the “D-charge” on pay-to-park bays in Marylebone, and parts of Fitzrovia and the Hyde Park area. It is the first town hall in Britain to impose the surcharge on parking bays.

The hourly charge for all pre-2015 diesel vehicles will be £7.35. All other vehicles will continue to be charged £4.90 per hour.

Announcing the charge in January, councillor David Harvey, Westminster’s cabinet member for environment, sports and community, said: “Additional charges for diesel vehicles will mean people think twice about using highly polluting cars and invest in cleaner transport that will make a real difference in the quality of air we breathe.”

The 50 per cent surcharge is intended to deter the heaviest polluting vehicles from parking in the area, which has some of the city’s highest levels of air pollution.

It has support of community groups including the Marylebone Association.

Sadiq Khan is introducing a £10 “T-charge” for older, more polluting cars, on top of the congestion charge, on October 23.

Source: Diesel charge trial launched in central London | London Evening Standard

Posted in Air Quality, Europe, London, UK | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

New annual air quality targets already exceeded in Christchurch and Kaiapoi

Posted on June 26, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Christchurch and Kaiapoi have already exceeded new annual air quality targets just four weeks into winter.

Christchurch and Kaiapoi have already exceeded new annual air quality targets just four weeks into winter.

Christchurch has recorded four high air pollution nights since May 14 and Kaiapoi has notched up six since May 23.

New national compliance targets, introduced in September last year, allow for three high pollution nights each year. From 2020, it will reduce to one.

Both locations have already recorded almost as many high pollution nights this year as they did for all of last year, when Christchurch had five and Kaiapoi seven.

Environment Canterbury (ECan) air portfolio director Katherine Trought said home heating was the major contributor to winter air pollution in the region.

On Sunday night, when temperatures plummeted below freezing, Christchurch air pollution levels hit 63 micrograms of particulate per cubic metre of air at a monitoring site in St Albans. Kaiapoi hit 61 on Sunday night. The health guideline is 50 PM10.

PM10 particles are used to measure air quality levels. The particles are so small they can get into the lungs, potentially causing serious health problems.

Trought said given the number of high pollution nights already experienced this year, it was likely last year’s figure would be exceeded, but the long term trend was falling and the level of the pollution had dropped.

ECan figures show 32 nights exceeded pollution guidelines in Christchurch in 2011 and were often in concentrations of more than 100 PM10. In the early 2000s, the number of high pollution nights exceeded 50 and levels were more than 200 PM10.

Trought said ECan had been working for a long time to get people to upgrade their heating technology and to reduce the amount of smoke produced by their wood burners.

It was encouraging to see the uptake of low and ultra-low emission burners and, by January 1, 2019, any new burner installed must be an ultra-low emission burner, she said.

ECan has also deployed investigators to trawl Christchurch’s streets looking for chimneys producing visible smoke for longer than 15 minutes.

Trought said 100 letters and bundles of kindling had already been handed out to residents with smoking chimneys.

“We prefer to go out early in winter to make sure people get the message rather than leaving it to August.”

Residents could face $750 fines if chimneys continued to belch smoke after receiving warnings, but ECan has so far opted for education over penalties.

Source: New annual air quality targets already exceeded in Christchurch and Kaiapoi | Stuff.co.nz

Posted in Air Quality, Australia & Oceania | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Latest diesel car models remain highly polluting, tests show 

Posted on June 24, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Six new vehicles including Land Rover and Suzuki are adding to air pollution crisis, despite stricter rules coming in months

The latest diesel car models are failing to meet pollution limits when on the road, just three months ahead of stricter new tests, independent tests have found. Results show that none of six new 2017 diesel cars met the EU standard for toxic nitrogen oxides (NOx) pollution in real-world driving.

The updated Equa Index, produced by the testing firm Emissions Analytics, shows that 86% of all diesel models put on to the British market since the 2015 Volkswagen emissions scandal failed to meet the official limit on the road, with 15% producing at least eight times more NOx emissions.

Levels of NOx, emitted mostly by diesel vehicles, have been illegally high in 90% of the UK’s urban areas since 2010. The toxic fumes are estimated to cause 23,500 early deaths a year and the problem has been called a public health emergency by a cross-party committee of MPs.

The government has indicated that any charging plans would exempt cars meeting the latest Euro 6 standard. But while some new Euro 6 diesel cars, for example the BMW 5 Series, meet the official limit when on the road, others pump out far more pollution, with the Nissan Qashqai, for example, emitting 18 times the official limit.

“These high-emitting vehicles will leave a long legacy and a dilemma for the proposed clean air zones: how can you change on the basis of Euro standards if there is such a wild divergence in performance?” Molden said.

The latest Equa Index update, which adds 20 new models to its database, shows that 70% of the diesels launched in 2016 and 2017 emit at least double the official NOx limit when on the road. That level of emissions was the standard set for Euro 4 in 2005. The most polluting of the new 2017 models tested are Land Rover Discovery, Maserati Quattroporte and Suzuki Vitara models, though all meet current legal standards.

The current official test for NOx emissions from diesel cars is laboratory-based, and carmakers have adapted their vehicles to pass this while emitting far more NOx in real-world driving. Volkswagen was caught cheating the test and other carmakers are still being investigated.

Molden said software upgrades from manufacturers would quickly and significantly cut the emissions of many existing diesel cars. But apart from VW cars, few vehicles in Europe have been recalled.

She said the latest Equa Index data showed a continuing failure by regulatory authorities: “Only three months from the new rules and almost two years after Dieselgate exposed widespread cheating on diesel emissions, regulators continue to approve vehicles that are up to 12 times more polluting than the legal limit. This demonstrates the corrupt system where the purse of carmakers rules over public health.”

From September, new diesel models will have to pass stricter, more realistic driving tests, although they will still be allowed to emit double the official limit to allow for suggested uncertainties in the measurements.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, which represents the UK motor industry, said: “What has been proven by official UK government emissions tests is that new cars meet legal requirements. A new, official and robust emissions test will be in place this September, with cars tested on the road for the first time, meaning industry is meeting the toughest standards in the world.

He said: “Industry is committed to improving air quality across our towns and cities, and we look forward to working with government to encourage the uptake of the latest, low-emission vehicles, regardless of fuel type.”

Source: Latest diesel car models remain highly polluting, tests show | Environment | The Guardian

Posted in Air Quality, UK | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

California named state with the worst air quality (again) 

Posted on June 20, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

High ozone levels and a quickly growing population are making it tough to implement regulations to reduce pollution, says a professor.

The quality of the air in California may be improving, but it’s still dire.

That’s according to the American Lung Association’s recent “State of the Air 2017” report, which labeled the state and region a leader in air pollution, with the highest ozone levels.

The annual study ranks the cleanest and most polluted areas in the country by grading counties in the U.S. based on harmful recorded levels of ozone (smog) and particle pollution. The 2017 report used data collected from 2013 to 2015.

The top three regions in the country with the worst smog levels were Los Angeles-Long Beach; Bakersfield; and Fresno-Madera; Salinas, though, was recognized as one of the cleanest cities in the state and the country.

“The Los Angeles basin is exposed to the highest ozone levels in the country,” explains Steve LaDochy, Ph.D., professor of geography and urban analysis at California State University, Los Angeles, an expert in air pollution and climate. “It is getting better here, but it’s still the worst.”

The air quality in the state was significantly better in northern California, found the report. Nonetheless, more than 90 percent of Californians still live in counties with unhealthy air.

The Price of a Growing Population​​

Dr. LaDochy says implementing eco-friendly air regulations are key to lowering pollution levels and that the rise in electric vehicle (EV) use and renewable energy sources have helped to improve air quality.

That said, he stresses that efforts to reduce pollution shouldn’t slow because some progress has been made. “There are a lot of people still living in unhealthy areas and there is still a need for improvement,” says LaDochy, who has conducted studies of L.A.’s air quality and climate, many with the help of student researchers at Cal State LA.

The federal Clean Air Act, passed in 1970, first addressed the emissions of hazardous air pollution and researchers have long linked poor air quality to asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, and premature death.

LaDochy suspects that California’s continuously growing population is largely to blame for the state’s failing grades on “State of the Air” reports and more residents is also behind the Central Valley’s recent drop in air quality, according to the report.

“Population in [the Central Valley] has really bloomed; it’s nearly doubled,” he says. “The coast is so expensive, so more and more people are moving to central California.” The rise and growth of agriculture in the area has also led to a boom in population.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, California’s population rose from 15.8 million in 1960 to 39.2 million in 2016.

While the state has some of the strictest environmental regulations in the U.S., keeping regulations in full effect is a challenge given the increase in residents, LaDochy adds.

What is Ozone?

California, and more specifically the Los Angeles region, is especially susceptible to high ozone levels. Says LaDochy, “Our geography and our climate are two very big factors.”

Ozone, a highly reactive gas, is produced when the sun’s rays split oxygen molecules. “It is a byproduct of our sunny weather and so many cars on the road,” he explains. “So when the ozone levels go up, it is basically because there are a lot of cars and sunlight present.”

Ho​​t days are especially bad for smog. “The higher the temperature, the worse the ozone levels,” he continues. “So if our city keeps getting hotter, that is going to cause higher levels of ozone.”

LaDochy believes that recent proposed federal cuts to environmental programs will have a direct impact on the state’s air quality. “One thing we can do is cool down these cities, and Los Angeles is trying to do different things to do that,” says the air pollution expert, citing the city’s efforts in planting trees and implementing cool roofs.

“We can take a lot out of the ​[“State of the Air”] report,” he says. “It is telling us that yes, we are improving, but there is still a lot to do. We need to be more sustainable, we need to live less consumptive lives. Everyone needs to do their part, every little bit counts.”

To help reduce pollution, the American Lung Association suggests driving less (carpool, walk or bike when you can), switching to electric transportation, avoiding burning wood, and using less energy overall.

Source: California named state with the worst air quality (again) — ScienceDaily

Posted in Air Quality, Health Effects of Air Pollution, USA & Canada | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment