Edinburgh’s bid for low emission zone 

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Edinburgh is to bid to have Scotland’s first Low Emission Zone to tackle air pollution.

Councillors have agreed to approach the Scottish government, which has said it will fund one pilot by 2018.

Lorries, vans and buses which did not meet emission standards could be fined for driving within the designated area.

Glasgow has already declared an interest in the idea. Friends of the Earth said it was the frontrunner to host the first one.

‘Deadly pollution’

A City of Edinburgh Council spokeswoman said: “We are committed to addressing air pollution as a priority through a range of integrated projects, including reducing congestion and investment in improved public transport, cycling infrastructure and active travel, in addition to exploring the potential for a low emission zone.

“We now intend to write to the Scottish government expressing our interest in establishing the country’s first low emission zone, as part of our work with the Scottish government, Transport Scotland, Health Boards and Scottish Environment Protection Agency to assist with the development of the Scottish National Low Emission Framework.”

Dr Richard Dixon, director of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “It’s great to see Edinburgh keen to create a low emission zone to protect people’s health from deadly traffic pollution.

“With its bigger death toll, Glasgow is the front runner but this is a very serious offer from the capital.

“With air pollution coming rapidly up the agenda, the Scottish government need to spell out how and when they will help councils create the second, third and subsequent low emission zones.

“Low emission zones are a really important tool in reduce emissions from traffic, by keeping the dirtiest vehicle out of the most polluted areas.

“They are likely to apply to buses, lorries and vans initially. The council have wisely pointed out that they need the Scottish government to commit finances to making Low Emission Zones happen.”

Source: Edinburgh’s bid for low emission zone – BBC News

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Air pollution kills more people in the UK than in Sweden, US and Mexico 

Posted on May 18, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

WHO figures show people in Britain are more likely to die from dirty air than those living in some other comparable countries

People in the UK are 64 times as likely to die of air pollution as those in Sweden and twice as likely as those in the US, figures from the World Health Organisation reveal.

Britain, which has a mortality rate for air pollution of 25.7 for every 100,000 people, was also beaten by Brazil and Mexico – and it trailed far behind Sweden, the cleanest nation in the EU, with a rate of 0.4.

The US rate was 12.1 for every 100,000, Brazil’s was 15.8 and Mexico’s was 23.5, while Argentina was at 24.6.

The figures are revealed in the WHO World Health Statistics 2017 report, published on Wednesday, which says substantially reducing the number of deaths globally from air pollution is a key target.

The report reveals outdoor air pollution caused an estimated 3 million deaths worldwide, most of these in low- and middle-income countries.

Wealthy European nations had high levels of air pollution from fine particulate matter. The UK had an average of 12.4 micrograms of fine particulate pollutants (PM 2.5) for each cubic metre of air, which includes pollution from traffic, industry, oil and wood burning and power plants in urban areas. This is higher than the pollutant levels of 5.9 in Sweden, 9.9 in Spain and 12.6 in France. Germany had higher levels of particulate pollution than the UK at 14.4 and Poland’s was 25.4.

Dr Penny Woods, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said the report confirmed that deaths from air pollution were higher in the UK than many other comparable countries.

She said: “It is deeply tragic that around 3 million lives are cut short worldwide because the air we breathe is dirty and polluted. In the UK, air pollution is a public health crisis hitting our most vulnerable the hardest – our children, people with a lung condition and the elderly.

“Yet, we are in the fortunate position of having the technology and resources to fix this problem. It’s time to use what we have to sort this problem out as a matter of urgency and clean up our filthy, poisonous air. The next government needs to bring in a new Clean Air Act to protect the nation’s lung health.”

The worst countries for toxic air included India, where 133.7 deaths for every 100,000 people are attributed to air pollution, and Myanmar, where the rate was 230.6 deaths.

WHO said: “Outdoor air pollution is a major environmental health problem affecting everyone in developed and developing countries alike.

“Some 72% of outdoor air pollution-related premature deaths were due to ischaemic heart disease and strokes, while 14% of deaths were due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or acute lower respiratory infections, and 14% of deaths were due to lung cancer.”

The World Health Organisation said it was up to national and international policymakers to tackle the toxic air crisis

“Most sources of outdoor air pollution are well beyond the control of individuals and demand action by cities, as well as national and international policymakers in sectors like transport, energy, waste management, buildings and agriculture,” the WHO said recently.

Source: Air pollution kills more people in the UK than in Sweden, US and Mexico | Environment | The Guardian

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Air pollution: Why and how it kills 

Posted on May 18, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Air pollution – indoor and outdoor – killed an estimated 6.5 million people in 2012, the latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows.

Exposure to high levels of air pollution, especially over the long term, can affect human respiratory and inflammatory systems, and can also lead to heart disease and cancer.

Scientists also say air pollution, caused largely by burning fossil fuels, not only contributes to climate change but is also exacerbated by it, as air stagnation linked to warmer, drier conditions allows soot, dust and ozone to build up in the lower atmosphere.

Here are some key facts about air pollution:

* Air pollution is responsible for about one in every nine deaths annually, with almost two-thirds of those deaths in the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia, the WHO says.

* By 2040, Asia will account for almost 90 percent of the rise in premature deaths attributable to air pollution.

* Ninety-four percent of deaths are due to non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular problems, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer.

* Air pollution also increases the risk of acute respiratory infections.

* Major sources of outdoor air pollution include fuel use by vehicles, dust from construction and landfill sites, coal-fired power plants, agriculture and waste-burning.

* Air pollution comes in many forms. Two particle sizes are widely monitored: PM10, coarse particles of 10 microns or less in diameter; and PM2.5, fine particles of 2.5 microns or less in diameter.

* PM2.5, about one-thirtieth of the width of a human hair, can penetrate deep into the lungs and the cardiovascular system, posing the greatest risks to human health.

* Only one in 10 people lives in a city that complies with the WHO air quality guidelines, which is a PM2.5 annual average of 10 microgrammes per cubic metre (µg/m3).

* The air pollution in Delhi is 12.2 times the WHO safe level, while in Beijing it is 8.5 times higher.

* As millions more people move to cities in the coming decades, the number of people exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution will increase.

* In 2013, exposure to outdoor and household air pollution cost global labour income losses of $225 billion. Lost income for South Asian countries alone topped $66 billion.

* It is projected that global healthcare costs related to air pollution will increase to $176 billion in 2060, from $21 billion in 2015.

* The annual number of lost working days due to sickness linked to air pollution is projected to reach 3.7 billion for the world in 2060, up from 1.2 billion now.

* The cost of air pollution – as a result of reduced labour productivity, additional health expenditure and crop yield losses – could lead to annual economic costs of 1 percent of global GDP by 2060. Sources: WHO, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Clean Air Asia, International Energy Agency, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Natural Resources Defense Council, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Source: FACTBOX-Air pollution: Why and how it kills | Reuters

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Cities need to ‘green up’ to reduce impact of air pollution: The harmful impact of urban air pollution could be combated by strategically placing low hedges along roads in a built-up environment of cities instead of taller trees, a new study has found 

Posted on May 17, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

The harmful impact of urban air pollution could be combated by strategically placing low hedges along roads in a built-up environment of cities instead of taller trees, a new study has found.

The study, just published in the journal Atmospheric Environment, points out that low hedges reduce the impact of pollution from vehicles in cityscapes where there are large buildings close to roads, far more effectively than taller trees. In some environments, trees actually make the pollution more concentrated depending on prevailing wind conditions and built-up configurations.

The study is a collaborative effort by partners from the UK, Europe and USA, led by the University of Surrey’s Professor Prashant Kumar, under the umbrella of H2020 funded project, iSCAPE: Improving Smart Control of Air Pollution in Europe.

Higher trees only have more of an impact in reducing air pollution in areas which are more open and are less densely populated by taller buildings.

Urban air quality continues to be a primary health concern as most of the world’s population currently lives in urban areas (54% in 2014), and percentage is projected to rise to 66% by 2050; this is coupled with the fact that one of the main global sources of air pollution in cities is traffic emissions.

Professor Prashant Kumar, who is Chair in Air Quality & Health at the University of Surrey, said future urban planning need to consider designing and implementing more “green infrastructure,” such as trees or hedges in the built environment to create a more healthy urban lifestyle.

Green infrastructure in cities is an urban planning solution for improving air quality as well as enhancing the sustainability of cities for growing urban populations. These green solutions include street trees, vegetation barriers (including hedges), green (or living) walls, and green roofs. They act as porous bodies which influence local dispersion of pollution and aid the deposition and removal of airborne pollutants, making the air cleaner.

Professor Kumar said: “We all know air pollution is a major factor of everyday urban life. This comprehensive review highlights that trees and hedges, as well as other green infrastructure, must be used strategically to help create healthier, less polluted cities that are also more pleasant for everyone to live and work in.

“Our other research study into London’s air quality, published this week in Atmospheric Environment, investigated the underlining factors responsible for the air pollution exposure in urban environments. The other aspects, such as time of day and wind speed, emerged as important predictors of air pollution exposure for the above-ground modes (car, bus, walk) compared with openable/non-openable windows for the underground trains.

“Our earlier study showed the weathering impact of air pollution on the building materials such as limestone, sandstone and carbon steel, used in many heritage buildings and built infrastructure. This is why we need to protect buildings as well as humans in cities in future urban planning, so the strategic placing of hedges, trees and other green infrastructure can have a direct benefit as an air pollution control measure in cities.”

The study also highlighted that green infrastructure has both positive and negative impacts on air quality at street levels, depending on the urban location it is in as well as its vegetation characteristics.

In a “street canyon” environment, where buildings like skyscrapers are close together on either side of the street, high-level green infrastructure (such as trees) generally have a negative impact on air quality. Instead, low-level hedges reduce air pollution exposure in such places. In a similar way, green walls and roofs act as a sink to effectively reduce pollution.

In open road conditions, thick, dense and tall vegetation barriers restrict the freshly emitted vehicle emissions from reaching roadsides in high concentrations where people walk, cycle or live nearby.

Apart from air pollution reduction, other benefits of urban green infrastructure include urban heat island mitigation, the potential reduction in energy consumption, better stormwater management, and climate change mitigation.

Professor Kumar added: “Under the framework of the iSCAPE project, we are currently performing targeted field investigations to quantify the effects of different types of green barriers along the busy open-road sides. This will help to develop evidence-based guidelines to support future urban planning and the public to make informed choices to “green up” their surrounding environments.”

 

Source: Cities need to ‘green up’ to reduce impact of air pollution: The harmful impact of urban air pollution could be combated by strategically placing low hedges along roads in a built-up environment of cities instead of taller trees, a new study has found — ScienceDaily

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Diesel cars pump out 50 per cent more toxic emissions than they should, major report finds

Posted on May 16, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Diesel cars are pumping out 50 per cent more toxic emissions than they should be if all were complying with pollution laws, researchers have found.

In Europe the failure to meet emissions standards could be leading to the deaths of 11,500 people every year, the new report by the University of York and the International Council on Clean Transportation .

Between 2008 and 2015 Volkswagen rigged diesel cars so they could pass stringent environmental tests while emitting dangerous levels of pollution. But until now it was unclear if other car companies had fitted similar ‘defeat devices.’

The new research concluded that diesels are emitting far more nitrogen oxides than they should for reasons which could range from ‘engine calibration to equipment failure, inadequate maintenance, tampering by vehicle owners, the deliberate use of defeat devices, or simply deficient certification test procedures.’

Professor Roy Harrison FRS, Professor of Environmental Health, University of Birmingham, said: “This is a rigorous study which highlights the serious consequences which have resulted directly from the irresponsible actions of the motor manufacturers in producing vehicles which meet regulatory requirements under test conditions, but emit far higher pollutant levels during on-road use.

“The study may well underestimate the full consequences for public health as it quantifies only the effects of particulate matter and ozone formed in the atmosphere as a result of excess nitrogen oxides emissions, but not the direct effects of the oxides of nitrogen themselves.”

Nitrogen oxide is a key contributor to outdoor air pollution.  Long-term exposure to these pollutants is linked to a range of adverse health outcomes, including disability and reduced life expectancy due to stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer.

 The government is currently planning an incentive scheme to allow diesel owners to scrap their cars for cash, if they are older models and registered at an address where air pollution is already at dangerous levels. The High Court recently ruled that the Department for the Environment must produce a plan to tackle air pollution in British cities which regularly breach safe air levels.

For the new diesel report, researchers analysed data from 30 studies of vehicle emissions under real-world driving conditions around the world.

They found that vehicles emitted 13.2 million tons of nitrogen oxide under real-world driving conditions, which is 4.6 million tons more than the 8.6 million tons expected under official laboratory tests.

Josh Miller, researcher at the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), said: “For light-duty vehicles, such as passenger cars, trucks, and vans, the European Union produced nearly 70 per cent of the excess diesel nitrogen oxide emissions.”

At a global level, the study estimates that the impact of all real-world diesel nitrogen oxide emissions will grow to 183,600 early deaths in 2040, unless something is done to reduce it.

The research was published in the journal Nature.

Source: Diesel cars pump out 50 per cent more toxic emissions than they should, major report finds

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Lack of dust makes China’s air pollution much worse 

Posted on May 15, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Airborne dust is normally seen as an environmental problem, but the lack of it is making air pollution over China considerably worse.

A new study suggests less dust means more solar radiation hits the land surface, which reduces wind speed.

That lack of wind in turn leads to an accumulation of air pollution over heavily populated parts of China.

The researchers found that reduced dust levels cause a 13% increase in human-made pollution in the region.

Sands from the Gobi

Hundreds of millions of people across China continue to be impacted by air pollution from factories and coal-fired power plants.

Studies suggest that the dirty air contributes to 1.6 million deaths a year, about 17% of all mortalities.

But this new research says that the human-induced pollution is being made worse or better by naturally occurring dust that blows in from the Gobi desert.

Using models to simulate 150 years of wind and dust patterns in the region, the researchers found that the dust deflects significant amounts of sunlight.

Without it, more heat from the Sun hits the land. Differences in the temperatures between land and sea cause the winds to blow. Without the dust, the land warms up more and that changes the temperature differential with the sea leading to weaker breezes – and more air pollution.

“There are two dust sources. One is the Gobi and the other is the highlands of north-west China, but we found the Gobi had much more influence,” said lead author Yang Yang, from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington State, US.

“Less dust in the atmosphere causes more solar radiation to reach the surface. It weakens the temperature difference between the land and the sea and impacts the circulation of the winds and causes a stagnation over eastern China and that causes an accumulation of air pollution.”

Small change, big impact

The decreases in dust emissions are considerable, varying by almost a third. The impact on winds speeds are quite small by comparison, a reduction of barely more than one-tenth of one mile per hour.

However, when this takes place on a large scale over a wide region, the small change in speed means a 13% increase in the amount of air pollution over eastern China during the winter.

Another study has recently shown a link between declining Arctic sea ice and a major air pollution event in China in 2013.

The authors of the new study believe that both theories could be true.

“Our study has the same mechanism: the weakening of winds causes more pollution, and what is behind this needs to be studied,” said Yang Yang.

“We have two views on this kind of weakening of wind. They found the sea ice, we found the dust-wind interaction can also lead to weakening of the wind. I think both of them are important.”

The researchers believe that the study may inform broader questions about how natural and human-created aerosols interact.

Many parts of the world, in addition to China, are now suffering from increased levels of air pollution and understanding how dust, winds and emissions work together may help limit some of the worst impacts of dirty air.

One of the key lessons from this study is that the absence of dusty conditions could mean the air you are breathing is worse for you, not better.

“You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t,” said Prof Lynn Russell from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California.

“Dust emissions can impair visibility, but they are not so harmful in terms of air quality,” she told BBC News.

“If it’s not a dusty year, you may be happy and spending more time outdoors because you don’t have this dust in the way, but you are actually going out to spend more time in more toxic air.”

The study has been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Source: Lack of dust makes China’s air pollution much worse – BBC News

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Gorse fires: Residents in affected areas told to stay indoors

Posted on May 12, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Cloosh Valley blaze led to Galway city having air pollution similar to that in Beijing

People living in areas affected by recent gorse fires have been advised to avoid spending prolonged periods of time outdoors.

The HSE offered the advice in a public health statement, after more than 100 gorse fires were detected across the State in recent weeks.

Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed also said on Thursday that people were illegally burning foliage at the moment and this was leading to out-of-control fires.

Landowners and the public were warned this week it is illegal to burn any vegetation growing on land during certain periods.

Anybody found burning vegetation between March 1st and August 31st is liable for prosecution by gardaí.

In its statement, the HSE said people, particularly those in the west of Ireland, should “avoid spending long amounts of time outdoors in areas affected by any smoke or ash.

“Smoke levels will change depending on wind conditions, so please use personal judgment.”

The seriousness of the fires has been attributed to a prolonged dry spell since the beginning of April, with average rainfall at 25 per cent of normal levels for this time of year.

Cloosh Valley in Co Galway has been among the worst affected areas, with one academic saying the smoke pollution arising from the valley’s fires had led to air pollution in Galway city comparable to that in Beijing.

Dr Liz Coleman, of the NUI Galway Centre for Climate and Air Pollution Studies, said the city had experienced smoke pollution for two hours on Tuesday, but it dispersed “quite quickly” afterwards.

She told RTÉ that the event was recorded on a monitoring network.

The network’s data, which is webcast live every five minutes, shows smoke pollution reaching at least 20 times the normal background level on Tuesday evening.

High-pollution events can have significant health impacts on sections of the population, including the elderly, immunosuppressed and those with chronic conditions such as asthma, Dr Coleman said.

“All you can do is stay indoors, close the windows and wait for it to pass,” she said.

Dr Coleman said the World Health Organisation had determined that 25 microgrammes of particles per metre cubed is the safest level of air quality. On Tuesday evening in Galway, the reading was 150.

‘Under control’

Meanwhile, Coillte said the fire at Cloosh Valley had been suppressed after fire-fighting on Wednesday.

Vast areas of forest and bog land in the valley have been devastated by the blaze.

Coillte said its staff and Army personnel will remain on site on Thursday to monitor hot spots, “as there is still some risk that fires could reignite”.

“With stable weather conditions and the forecast of rain on Saturday evening, it is hoped that there will be no further resurgence of the fire,” it said.

“A civil helicopter will also remain on standby today should it be needed.”

Donegal Fire Service said it had responded to 51 wild fires over the last five days, but there were currently none burning in the county.

“It is the view of the Donegal Fire Service that the vast majority of these fires are started with some form of human intervention, either accidentally or deliberately, and we would call on all members of the public to be aware of the dangers and consequences of deliberate fire-setting,” said a spokeswoman.

She said some fires “can . . . be started unintentionally by thoughtless and careless behaviour”.

Mr Creed told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that under the current controlled burning regulations a farmer has to alert the authorities of any planned fires, so they would then be on hand to ensure the blaze did not spread.

He said gorse fires were not without consequences – financially and environmentally – and people should be extremely careful.

Source: Gorse fires: Residents in affected areas told to stay indoors

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Women at greater heart disease risk from air pollution, study says 

Posted on May 11, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Doctors have warned dieters for decades to watch what they eat to stall the development of heart trouble, but a new study suggests air pollution may also contribute to heart disease.

A release from the American Heart Association said the results from the study show that car exhaust can hamper the body’s production of high-density lipoprotein (HDL).

According to the Mayo Clinic’s website, HDL cholesterol is thought to filter more dangerous forms of cholesterol from the bloodstream.

The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the Environmental Protection Agency and others, focused on measuring HDL levels after exposure to air pollution.

During the yearlong investigation, the black carbon commonly found in highway-generated air pollution led to lower HDL readings in both men and women, but with greater impact found in women.

The study’s primary author, Griffith Bell of Seattle’s University of Washington School of Public Health, said lower HDL levels can predispose people to developing heart disease later in life.

“Our study helps strengthen the biological plausibility of the link between traffic-related air pollution and cardiovascular disease,” Bell said in the release. “We’re slowly beginning to understand some of the biology of how that link works.”

Bell cautioned that further study is necessary to firmly establish the link between airborne pollution and cholesterol because this study examined data at a single point in time.

Source: Women at greater heart disease risk from air pollution, study says | Patient Daily

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