Respro® Bulletin Board

Jakarta unmoved by worsening air quality

Posted on January 25, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

More and more Jakartans are using face masks on public transportation and motorcycles and while walking on the streets.

Just like in many other cities of developing countries, people in Jakarta are being exposed to worsening air quality.

But the city administration appears to be slow to respond to the alarming rate of air pollution, with no clear plan on the table on how to address the problem.

Instead, the administration has said it will simply rely on old programs, like boosting the usage of natural gas for vehicles and better enforcement of emission tests for vehicles.

Environment Agency deputy head Ali Maulana conceded that the air quality in Jakarta was far below the safe level.

“Areas like North Jakarta and West Jakarta have the worst air pollution level,” he said on Tuesday on the sidelines of a workshop on air pollution by the Breath Easy Jakarta project, which was supported by the United States Environment Protection Agency.

The main reasons for the pollution are densely populated residential areas and a lack of adequate open green space.

“Because of the dense population, mobility of the people is also high. In addition, many areas in North Jakarta are dedicated to industry,” he said.

Ali said his agency would continue enforcing the obligation for public vehicles to use natural compressed gas (CNG). The regulation has been in force since 2007.

“However, implementation is poor due to the low number of available CNG stations and poor law enforcement,” he said. The administration also plans to convert all of its official service vehicles to be CNG-powered. “I believe the impact will be quite significant given the high number of service vehicles [owned by the administration],” he said.

The agency alone currently has 1,200 vehicles, including garbage and pickup trucks.

“After we modify all of our vehicles, we will ask other agencies to follow our lead,” he said. Ali said his agency would cooperate with city-owned company PT Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro) to establish CNG stations and mobile refueling units (MRU).

Currently, only bajaj (threewheeled motorized public vehicles), Transjakarta buses and some taxis use CNG as fuel.

In the future, all vehicles in the capital will be obliged to pass emission tests.

Sarath Guttikunda, a scientist from Desert Research Institute (DRI), which participated in the project, revealed that the level of fine particles ( PM10 ) in Greater Jakarta’s air was mostly categorized as unsafe. “The safe level is between 10 to 25 microgram per cubic meter,” he said, adding that almost all areas in Jakarta were found to have higher levels of PM10.

“Areas with heavy traffic like toll roads, airports and ports are at the PM10 level of more than 125 microgram per cubic meter,” said Guttikunda, who conducted the study from 2012 to 2015.

His study also showed that there were an average of 3,700 premature deaths, 260,000 asthma attacks and 85,000 emergency room visits per year.

Source: Jakarta unmoved by worsening air quality – City – The Jakarta Post

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

Sadiq Khan vows help to cut toxic air at 50 most polluted schools in London

Posted on January 24, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

pollution The 50 most polluted primary schools in London are to get toxic air audits to help them dramatically cut pupils’ exposure to filthy fumes.

Announcing extra help for them to bring in anti-pollution measures, Sadiq Khan branded the air quality around schools “shameful”. He warned that 360 schools in the capital are in pollution hotspots.

He spoke as the capital emerged from its worst dose of toxic air in six years. Yesterday Mr Khan declared the first “black alert” for very high air pollution since he came to power in May.

With a high pressure system creating cold, calm and settled conditions in the past week, severe particulate pollution hung over London, with levels reaching “very high” on Sunday evening — the worst since April 2011.

Toxic air hot the top “black alert” early yesterday morning, leading to one school — Sir John Cass’s foundation primary in the City — restricting time outdoors for young children.

By 9am today the level of PM2.5 particulates had fallen below the “black” level of 100 microgrammes per cubic metre at the school. However it was still on “red” alert for “high” pollution. Similar peaks were recorded at Swiss Cottage and Ley Street in Redbridge.

Mr Khan set out plans for transport and environment experts to carry out audits of the 50 most polluted schools and make recommendations to reduce dirty air.

All the schools are in areas where levels of nitrogen dioxide exceed the legal limit. Measures could include:

moving school entrances and play areas away from busy roads;
banning engine idling;
planting “barrier bushes” along roads and in playgrounds to block fumes;
minimising emissions from school boilers and kitchens;
organising “walking buses”, with large groups of pupils walking together along pavements to get them out of cars.
Councils changing street layouts, restricting the most polluting vehicles from driving around schools, and pedestrianising entrances.

The Mayor has allocated £250,000 to the audits, which if successful could be extended. Boroughs will then work with schools to bring in the changes, using part of £1 billion “Healthy Streets” funding over the next five years.

Mr Khan announced the audits at an event with pupils who have worked with Greenpeace on a letter — signed by 100 schools — urging him to continue fighting air pollution.

He said: “Every child deserves the right to breathe clean air in London and it is a shameful fact that more than 360 of our primary schools are in areas breaching legal pollution limits.

“Yesterday I was forced to issue the first ‘very high’ air pollution alert under my new system, London’s filthy air is a health crisis and our children are particularly vulnerable.”

Source: Sadiq Khan vows help to cut toxic air at 50 most polluted schools in London | London Evening Standard

Posted in Air Quality, Europe, London, UK | Tagged Air Pollution, Black Alert, London, London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, UK | Comments Off

Paris rolls out color-code stickers for cars to curb pollution

Posted on January 24, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

The French capital on Monday launched a new color-coded sticker scheme to restrict car use in its latest attempt to curb air pollution many Parisians blame for coughing fits, eye irritation and runny noses.

The “Crit’Air” system bans all diesel-fueled cars registered between January 1997 and December 2000 – identifiable by a grey sticker on the windscreen – from the capital. About 6 percent of France’s 32 million cars fall into this category.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said she hoped to get the ban extended from Tuesday to vehicles registered between 2001 and 2005 – color-coded brown and comprising 14 percent of France’s car fleet – to better fight the smog problem. It was not clear whether a final decision had been taken by late on Monday.

Pollution from vehicles in the City of Light often builds up into a greyish haze over the city and is becoming an increasing concern to local health authorities.

An offer of free public transport when smog levels are high has had only limited success. Authorities have also tried to restrict vehicles entering the capital during air pollution spikes on the basis of license plates.

A spokeswoman for the Paris municipal authorities said police would find the color-coded scheme easy to operate. She was not able to estimate how many cars would be affected in the city.

Hidalgo has also increased the cost of parking, banned free parking on Saturdays and the August holiday period, and is turning a highway on both banks of the Seine into a riverside park.

On Monday, several areas of France were shrouded by high levels of ultrafine and health-harming particles emitted by cars, particularly those with diesel engines.

“I can really feel the pollution. I have young children and I can see it on their skin and hair. It’s such a shame that in Paris, which we call the City of Light, we’re not able to fix this problem,” one Parisian, Marie, told Reuters Television.

“I never cough but today I’ve had coughing fits, I have a runny nose, it’s really not nice,” said Henriette Robine, another Parisian.

Source: Paris rolls out color-code stickers for cars to curb pollution | Reuters

Posted in Air Quality, Europe, France | Tagged Air Pollution, France, Paris | Leave a comment

‘Filthy air’ prompts ‘very high’ pollution alert for London

Posted on January 23, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

A “very high” air pollution alert has been issued by the Mayor of London for the first time.

Warnings are being issued at bus stops, roadside signs and Tube stations under a new alert system set up by Sadiq Khan.

The rise has been attributed to cold, calm and settled weather, meaning winds are not dispersing local pollutants.

The mayor said “the shameful state of London’s toxic air” meant he had to trigger the alert.

“This is the highest level of alert and everyone – from the most vulnerable to the physically fit – may need to take precautions to protect themselves from the filthy air,” he said.

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Current pollution levels for PM10 concentrations are at 101 micrograms – more than double the legal limit.

The air quality index numbers run from one (lowest) to 10 (highest). The current levels have been rated as 10.

Notices will be displayed at bus stops, river pier stops, Tube stations and on signs on London’s busiest roads.

Susan Boix, from Erith, South London

While walking the dogs today I felt so sick from the pollution and now have a sore throat.

It was so bad I felt like I was in an enclosed space with a car engine running.

I had to pull my sweatshirt up to cover my mouth and nose. I’ve never experienced it like that before.

Now and again it’s bad but not like today. You could taste the pollution.

In recent weeks several “high” alerts have been issued, but the current weather conditions coupled with an “unusually high amount of domestic wood burning” has led to the highest pollution alert being issued.

The mayor’s office said episodes of pollution with high concentrations occurred a few times per year in London, but very high pollution instances were rare.

The government’s committee on the medical effects of air pollutants (COMEAP) advises adults and children with lung problems, adults with heart problems and older people, to avoid strenuous physical activity.

People with asthma may find they need to use their inhaler more often.

Source: ‘Filthy air’ prompts ‘very high’ pollution alert for London – BBC News

Posted in Air Quality, Europe, London, UK | Tagged Air Pollution, London, London Mayor, PM10, Sadiq Khan, UK | Leave a comment

Air pollution levels soar in Belfast, Londonderry, Armagh and Newry

Posted on January 23, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Northern Ireland, London, the South East and Eastern regions are experiencing very high levels of pollutants known as particulate matter, or PMs, which come from sources such as traffic emissions, in particular diesel engines.

High levels of air pollution are currently being monitored in Armagh, Belfast, Londonderry and Newry, according to the Department of Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs.

The department’s monitoring stations indicate that moderate levels are being experienced in some other urban centres across Northern Ireland. Air quality is likely to improve from this evening and into tomorrow as winds strengthen.

The high levels of pollution are believed to be as a result of local pollution sources such as road vehicles and home heating emissions combined with cold, calm weather conditions in which pollutants are not being dispersed.

During periods of high pollution the symptoms of people with lung or heart disease may worsen. Healthy people are unlikely to experience any ill effects.

>>Air pollution levels in your town today<<

Hourly updates on levels of particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and carbon monoxide are available on the Department’s website: http://www.airqualityni.co.uk.

With the high pressure and still conditions continuing, air pollution is also expected to be a problem across much of the UK on Tuesday.

In very high pollution conditions, people are advised to limit exercise outside, while those with lung and heart problems and older people should avoid strenuous activity.

Where there is high air pollution, adults and children with lung problems and adults with heart problems, as well as older people, should reduce the amount of strenuous exercise they do.

High and very high levels of pollution can cause people with asthma to need to use their inhaler more.

In London, one of the areas worst hit by the conditions, Mayor Sadiq Khan has issued pollution alerts at Tube stations, bus stops and roadsides.

The Green Party’s Baroness Jones accused the Government of not doing enough to warn people elsewhere in the country of the issue.

And she said: ” When air pollution episodes are capable of triggering an extra 300 deaths as well as hundreds of emergency admissions to hospitals around the country, I think that we have to consider emergency measures to discourage driving, encourage a switch away from diesel and promote less polluting alternatives.”

Air pollution from sources including factories and vehicles is linked to the early deaths of around 40,000 people a year in the UK, and causes problems such as heart and lung diseases and asthma.

Source: Air pollution levels soar in Belfast, Londonderry, Armagh and Newry – BelfastTelegraph.co.uk

Posted in Air Quality, Europe, UK | Tagged Air Pollution, Armagh, Belfast, Derry, Newry, Northern Ireland | Leave a comment

60mph speed limit for M1 under consideration to combat air pollution

Posted on January 23, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Highways England plans to introduce Britain’s first pollution-linked speed limits to help reduce smog over Sheffield

A proposal to impose Britain’s first pollution-linked speed limits in order to help ease smog over Sheffield is being considered by Highways England.

A 60mph speed limit at rush-hour when vehicle numbers are highest where the M1 runs close to schools and homes in the city could help address air quality concerns, a report commissioned by the agency found.

The mandatory speed limit, if approved, would be in place between 7am and 7pm seven days a week between junctions 32 and 35a.

The suggested initiative follows a Nice study, published in December, which found that “driving smoothly” could ease air pollution. Accelerating or decelerating too rapidly leads to greater fuel consumption and means harmful emissions are being released into the environment unnecessarily, the study found.

A 60mph speed limit could also help create a smoother journey as drivers would not be be accelerating and then decelerating at pinch points so often, a spokesperson for the AA said.

The plan coincides with Department for Transport (DfT) plans for a £106m “smart motorway”, which is due to launch in March.

The scheme is likely to add thousands of cars, vans and other vehicles to the roads, causing an increase in air pollution. Sheffield already misses EU air quality targets and was highlighted by the World Health Organisation for having dangerously high levels of air pollution.

To mitigate the increased pollution caused by the smart motorway scheme, Highways England, which admits it is a “key challenge”, has been trialling a number of initiatives.

Currently, an average of approximately 120,000 vehicles per weekday use the motorway in Sheffield, according to Mouchel, an engineering consultancy that put together the report.

It estimates that the smart motorway scheme will add a further 5,000-10,000 vehicles a day by opening the hard shoulder to traffic. It stated: “Air quality assessment predicted that operating a [smart motorway] at 70mph, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, would result in significant adverse impacts on air quality.”

The consultancy firm found that the best way to prevent an increase in illegal pollution would be to implement a speed limit.

The AA spokesman said the proposal, if implemented, could provoke anger among road users, who will face fines if they exceed 60mph.

He said: “Car users are always the easy hit when it comes to pollution when actually they are not one of the main contributors. There will be people raising their eyebrows about whether this is just an example of the authorities trying to look like they are doing something.

“There will be a section of car users, who will see that this is not safety-related, and that they are being penalised for emissions that are likely to have come from other sources as well. That same section will say they pay billions of pounds in taxes … and if we’re contributing that amount of money why isn’t it being spent on the road network to deal with the issues?”

He added: “There is a very good chance that the traffic is already moving at that speed during rush-hour.”

Highways England stressed that the speed limit is just one of “a range of other mitigation options” being trialled, and that despite the scheme being due to launch at the end of March, “there is no suggestion of a delay to the scheme on the M1 and there will be mitigation in place for when the scheme opens”.

Other options include painting barriers with “catalytic paints” designed to remove pollutants from the air and putting piles of “mineral polymer” – made from a secret compound that absorbs nitrogen dioxide – alongside the road.

Clive Betts, MP for Sheffield South East, told the Sunday Times: “Sheffield has already had to close two schools by the M1 because the pollution was so bad, but there are still many residents breathing filthy air — and there will be far more if the motorway gets busier.

“The government has known about this problem but has still expanded the motorway. Now it is trialling these Mickey Mouse schemes which are bound to fail.”

A Highways England spokesperson said: “Smart motorways are central to the modernisation of England’s motorways, reducing congestion and improving journey time reliability by smoothing traffic flows. One of our key challenges in delivering the £15bn government investment in infrastructure is tackling the issue presented by air quality and in order to meet environmental targets we are investing in wider programme of air quality research to help address this.”

A DfT spokesperson said: “We are firmly committed to improving the UK’s air quality and cutting harmful emissions. That is why we have invested more than £2bn since 2011 to promote greener vehicles and support green transport schemes and have set out how we will improve air quality through a new programme of clean air zones.”

The proposal comes as Sheffield’s Green party launch a campaign to tackle the city’s poor air quality. A statement said: “Air pollution continues to exceed legal limits in many areas, contributing to an estimated 500 premature deaths in Sheffield every year.

“We call on Sheffield city council to take action to tackle this public health crisis by urgently agreeing and implementing a new action plan to clean up the city’s air and protect our health.”

Source: 60mph speed limit for M1 under consideration to combat air pollution | World news | The Guardian

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

Air pollution causes 95% premature deaths in Mumbai and Delhi: Study

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Deaths due to air pollution in Mumbai and Delhi have doubled over the last 25 years, and together with chronic bronchitis, it accounts for 95% of premature deaths in two of India’s biggest cities, found a study by the Indian Institute of Technology – Bombay (IITB).

The study estimated that if exposure to fine suspended particulate matter of size less than 10 microns (PM10) prematurely killed 19, 291 people in Mumbai in 1991, the number jumped to 32,014 in 2015. In Delhi, premature mortality increased to 48,651 in 2015 from 19,716 in 1995.

In Mumbai, the annual average PM10 decreased from 142 micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m3) in 1995 to 137 μg/m3 in 2015. In Delhi, however, it increased from 204ug/m3 in 1995 to 263 μg/m3 in 2015. The permissible level for PM10 is 20 micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m3), as per the World Health Organisation.

Exposure to high levels of PM10 – harmful solid and liquid particles floating in the air – leads to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and premature death.

The cost of treating diseases caused by air pollution also doubled for people from Mumbai and Delhi in the same period — from Rs24,816 crores to Rs49, 0559 crores – that’s 1.01% of India’s gross domestic product.

“Globally, Mumbai and Delhi are among the 20 most polluted cities, a combined result of vast urbanisation, old automobiles, outdated industrial plants, and lack of government regulation,” said Kamal Jyoti Maji, lead investigator, Centre for Environmental Science Engineering, IIT-B.

The team used epidemiology-based exposure-response function – a mathematical equation – to calculate premature mortality and morbidity rates. Estimates of mortality and morbidity cases are based on the level of exposure to concentration of particulate matter in Delhi and Mumbai.

The increase in the premature mortality rates also coincides with the rise in cost of treatment for 18 diseases that are caused with exposure to elevated PM10 levels. If the annual spend is converted into Indian currency, after taking the US-India currency exchange rate as Rs 46 for a dollar in 2005, Mumbaiittes spent 70% more on medicines, doctors and hospitalisation between 1991 and 2015 — from US$ 2680.87million (Rs12,323 crores) to US$ 4269.60 million (Rs19,640 crores). In Delhi, the cost went up to more than double during the same period – US$ 2714.10 million (Rs12,484 crores) to US$ 6394.74 million (Rs29, 415 crores).

“Determining a quantitative value of air pollution-related health impacts is becoming a vital element in evaluating the economic cost. This will help pollution control authorities in Mumbai and Delhi to take decisions on cost–benefit analysis to pollution control measures,” said Maji.

Source: Air pollution causes 95% premature deaths in Mumbai and Delhi: Study | mumbai news | Hindustan Times

Posted in Air Quality, Asia, India | Tagged Air Pollution, Delhi, India, Mumbai, PM10, World Heath Organization (WHO) | Leave a comment

Air quality in Salt Lake County reaches red level

Posted on January 19, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

The air quality in Salt Lake County has reached red levels, according to the Utah Department of Environmental Quality.

UDEQ bumped the air quality level into the “red” zone Wednesday afternoon, meaning the following people should limit outdoor activities or heavy exercise: