Utah will welcome 2017 with bad air and broken pollution monitors 

Posted on December 30, 2016 by Respro® UK Ltd

Inversion brought by chilly weather will stay until a storm blows out stagnant air.

Utah’s first major pollution episode of the season likely will be sticking around to ring in the new year, but equipment failures are already interfering with the state’s real-time air quality reports.

As of Thursday, levels of air pollution in Salt Lake County were in the red range — generally unhealthy for all people — while Utah and Davis counties’ air quality was unhealthy for sensitive populations.

Pollution data from Weber County was unavailable on account of a malfunctioning monitor, but the air there didn’t appear better, according to Donna Spangler, a spokeswoman for the Department of Environmental Quality. Residents of that area should refer to reports from Davis County while the Division of Air Quality works to bring the Ogden monitor back online, she said.

Spangler said the monitor was replaced earlier this week by division staff, but that the new monitor subsequently malfunctioned. She said the monitor should be repaired by next week.

Meanwhile, pollutant levels are expected to continue to climb through the weekend. Calm, chilly weather, coupled with the presence of snow on the ground, has allowed a temperature inversion to develop. That inversion will remain until a storm blows in to churn up the stagnant air — but forecasts don’t anticipate stormy weather before the first of the year.

The inversion forecast from the Utah Climate Center at Utah State University also expects the current conditions to hold until about Jan. 1. A second inversion is forecast for later that month.

Until a storm arrives, Spangler said, anything put into the air on the Wasatch Front will remain there. The amount of pollution in the air roughly doubles every day during an inversion.

Pollution released during an inversion is like water in a bathtub, she said. “It keeps filling up, unless you have something to drain it. If people continue to drive and not pay attention, it’s just going to get worse.”

Burning wood and other solid fuels is currently banned on the Wasatch Front, and emission-producing industries must also modify or cease operations.

That is expected to remain in place over the weekend in all monitored counties except Carbon, Duchesne, Tooele, Uintah, and Washington counties.

Spangler also encouraged Wasatch Front residents to plan ahead and avoid driving this weekend. Those who must drive should consolidate trips and avoid idling their vehicles — driving turns on a car’s pollution controls sooner, and it also speeds up how fast it warms up.

And if you have any snow left over from the last storm, Spangler suggests using a shovel, rather than a snow blower.

Air-conscious partygoers might also think twice before setting off fireworks. Fireworks during July’s holidays have been known to temporarily push Salt Lake City’s air quality into the “purple” or “very unhealthy” range.

Salt Lake City’s official New Year’s Eve celebration — EVE WinterFest — has dispensed with fireworks in recent years due to air-quality concerns.

“I don’t want to be a killjoy,” Spangler said, “but if you care about the air, you can hold off on those fireworks.”

Source: Utah will welcome 2017 with bad air and broken pollution monitors | The Salt Lake Tribune

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Paris suffers ‘worst air pollution for at least decade’ 

Posted on December 30, 2016 by Respro® UK Ltd

Officials in the French capital have implemented a series of measures in an attempt to tackle the problem

paris-smog

Paris has suffered its most serious surge in air pollution for a decade, experts have warned.

Airparif, an organisation which monitors air quality in the French capital, said levels have reached the “alert threshold”.

So city officials have implemented a series of measures in an attempt to tackle the problem.

All public transport has been made free on days when smog was particularly bad in an attempt to encourage residents to avoid using their vehicles entirely.

The Velib’ bicycle and Autolib’ electric car schemes were also made free of charge in the hope of deterring people from driving.

They have previously introduced a rule that alternates the days that cars can be driven into the city depending on whether they have odd or even number plates.

The City of Lights has previously banned vehicles built before 1997, which affected around 10 per cent of cars on the road.

“Cars are poisoning the air. We need to take preventive measures,” said Paris city hall transport official, Herve Levife.

“We want these bans to automatically take effect when the pollution exceeds a certain level, not have to negotiate them with the Government each time.”

Fine-particle air pollution in France causes approximately 48,000 premature deaths a year.

Source: Paris suffers ‘worst air pollution for at least decade’ | The Independent

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Madrid bans half of cars from roads to fight air pollution 

Posted on December 29, 2016 by Respro® UK Ltd

Odd- and even-numbered vehicles will swap use of roads in Spanish capital until smog eases

Madrid has ordered half of most private cars off the roads on Thursday to tackle worsening air pollution, a first in Spain.

The restrictions will operate between 6.30am and 9pm and will be re-evaluated daily depending on pollution levels. The city council said in a statement: “vehicles with even-number registration plates will be allowed to drive around on even-number days and cars with odd-number registration plates on odd-number days”.

The measure is activated when levels of harmful nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere go above 200 microgrammes per cubic metre in at least two measuring stations for two days running, and if the air is unlikely to clear imminently.

There are exceptions to the ban, such as for mopeds, hybrid cars, those carrying three people or more or used by disabled people. Buses, taxis and emergency vehicles are also exempt.

“It’s not about traffic restrictions but about the important issue of public health,” deputy mayor Marta Higueras said. “Lots of people suffer from breathing problems and are very affected by pollution.”

With 3.2 million residents and 1.8m cars, Madrid often suffers from bad bouts of pollution. The move to ban half of cars is level three on a scale of four anti-pollution measures. Level four bans taxis from the city, except those that are hybrid cars.

The measure implemented by the city hall, which has been led by an alliance of leftist groups since 2015, sparked criticism from the conservative Popular party (PP) which ruled Madrid for nearly a quarter of a century and governs at the national level.

Íñigo Henríquez de Luna, a PP spokesman in Madrid’s local parliament, called the move “ideological” and said authorities should do more to encourage residents to avoid using their cars rather than punish them.

The anti-pollution measures were implemented by former PP mayor Ana Botella just before municipal elections in May 2015.

Source: Madrid bans half of cars from roads to fight air pollution | World news | The Guardian

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Air pollution in Delhi: Benzene levels shoot up, growing cold makes things worse for public 

Posted on December 29, 2016 by Respro® UK Ltd

In addition to already highly toxic air of National Capital, benzene levels in the air shoot up for yet another time and with growing cold, the concentration of the carcinogen is expected to rise.

In addition to already highly toxic air of National Capital, benzene levels in the air shoot up for yet another time and with growing cold, the concentration of the carcinogen is expected to rise. According to scientists, benzene concentrations are higher in colder areas and if the temperature drops in the coming days, the levels are bound to rise. The pollutant is highly toxic even at low concentrations and is known to cause leukemia in the long run, which is a malignant progressive disease in which the bone marrow and other blood-forming organs produce increased numbers of immature or abnormal leucocytes.

The biggest source of benzene in the air is vehicular exhaust and fuel vapours. According to experts, while some benzene is produced when fuel is burnt, the major part is contributed as vapour from petrol pumps.

If stats by Indian Express are to be believed, on Tuesday, around midnight the benzene levels in the air quality at Anand Vihar, touched 43.7 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3), almost 9 times the prescribed standard of 5 µg/m3. During the evening hours on the same day, the benzene level at R K Puram counted as 37 µg/m3. It has to be noted that at both places, the concentration of benzene did not go below 8 µg/m3 at any time during the past three days.

A shocking fact comes up when we got know that despite its toxicity, benzene is not part of the pollutants that comprise the National Air Quality Index. Though, DPCC officials say they are aware of the high levels of benzene and have been ringing an alarm bell for many months. Taina step towards fixing the issue, in February, DPCC wrote to oil companies and asked them to install vapour recovery systems at petrol pumps to reduce pollution.

Anil Kumar, director, Environment Department was quoted as saying, “We have again raised the issue in recent meetings with officials of the Environment Department. The levels are very high and benzene has a tendency to settle in colder areas. The coming days could see higher concentrations. Vapour recovery systems are crucial at this stage and we are insisting on them.”

According to T K Joshi, director, Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, he says that according to studies, benzene at lower levels is much more toxic than at higher concentrations. And soon the levels we are seeing would fall into the category of low levels and can be very dangerous. The compound is typically linked to myloid leukemia which a form of blood cancer. He also warned that the situation is alarming and a vapour recovery system is crucial now.

Source: Air pollution in Delhi: Benzene levels shoot up, growing cold makes things worse for public – The Financial Express

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Air pollution in Europe

Posted on December 28, 2016 by Respro® UK Ltd

France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain or Bosnia-Herzegovina…. All these countries, whether big or small, are being threatened with the same problem: air pollution.

According to the World Health Organisation, this is now the environmental factor causing the greatest concern for our health. The European Environment Agency states that around 90% of the urban population in Europe is exposed to pollutants which are considered to be harmful.

“This hike in pollution is partly due to the increased emissions caused by more heating being used to combat cooler temperatures,” explains weather forecaster Lionel Guiseppin. “Also, other contributing sources of pollution are traffic and manufacturing. These factors combine to create an accumulation of pollution. “

The European Union is trying to find solutions to this dangerous threat. A directive governing national emissions levels has been issued (the PEN directive) and the EU has also set limits, for the first time, on the ambient concentrations of fine particles.

On a national scale, each member state has taken emergency measures to limit the harmful effects.

Many European towns, especially in France, have reduced the speed limit in built up areas from 50 to 30 km per hour. The aim is to encourage the use of bicycles. The introduction of the ruling concerning alternate number plates, although quite efficient, has caused problems for public transport.

“I think it’s a good thing but at the same time it is a bit of a pain,” says French commuter Laurice Harrow. “As it’s free today, people are no longer using their cars but the trains are full and we no longer have any space, it’s a real pain.”

The second solution offered by Public Authorities is to ban vehicles with a high level of pollution. In Germany, ignoring this directive can lead to a fine of up to 40 euros while in Sweden, drivers may have to pay 113 euros. In London, the fines are higher still and can reach approximately 1200 euros for heavy goods vehicles.

Whilst waiting for the benefits of these solutions to take effect, some citizens have already taken measures. Anti-pollution masks are slowly but surely infiltrating the large European towns.

Source: Air pollution in Europe

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Forget Beijing, world’s worst air has Mongolians seeing red

Posted on December 28, 2016 by Respro® UK Ltd

If you think air pollution in China has been bad, consider Mongolia.

Levels of particulate matter in the air have risen to almost 80 times the recommended safety level set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) – and five times worse than Beijing during the past week’s bout with the worst smog of the year.

Just as the Chinese capital contends with pollution from the surrounding industrial province of Hebei and coal-fired power plants in the northern provinces of Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi, Mongolian power plants working overtime during the frigid winter belch plumes of soot into the atmosphere, while acrid smoke from coal fires shrouds the shanty towns of the capital, Ulaanbaatar, in a brown fog.

Angry residents held a protest, organised via social media, on December 26. In minus 20 degree temperatures, protesters gathered outside government offices to shout “smog is a silent killer” and “we can’t breathe”.

The level of PM2.5, or fine particulate matter, in the air as measured hourly peaked at 1985 micrograms per cubic metre on December 16 in the capital’s Bayankhoshuu district, according to data posted by government website agaar.mn. The daily average settled at 1071 micrograms that day.

The WHO recommends PM2.5 exposure of no more than 25 micrograms over 24 hours.

In Beijing, the year’s worst bout of noxious smog prompted officials to issue the year’s second red alert last week and order 1200 factories to close or cut production. Earlier this week, PM2.5 levels exceeded 400 in the capital, and Chinese officials on Tuesday cancelled 351 flights because of limited visibility. The highest daily average in the past week, on Wednesday, registered 378. Worse, the PM2.5 reading in Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei, exceeded 1000 micrograms per cubic metre earlier this week, according to the China National Environment Monitoring Centre.

But Mongolia’s contracting economic growth and a widening budget gap have left authorities few resources to fight the dangerous smog.

After first cutting the night-time electricity tariff by 50 per cent to encourage residents to heat their homes with electric heaters instead of raw coal or other flammable material that is often toxic, Prime Minister Erdenebat Jargaltulga announced on Friday that the tariff would eliminated entirely as of January 1.

Longer term, he proposed building apartments to replace makeshift housing using a loan from China, doing more to encourage electric heating, and reducing poverty to slow migration to the capital, according to a government statement.

The conversion of ger districts, where hundreds of thousands of people live in makeshift homes including tents, into apartment complexes has so far been stymied by an economic crisis that has pushed the government to seek economic lifelines from partners including the International Monetary Fund and China.

On Wednesday, Defence Minister Bat-Erdene Badmaanyambuu announced that a 50-bed wing of Ulaanbaatar’s military hospital would open up for children with pneumonia, as city hospitals were filled to capacity.

Public anger over the government’s handling of pollution has been growing on social media, where residents share pictures of the smog, encourage methods of protection and call on the government to do more to protect citizens. The latest trend Friday had Mongolians changing their profile pictures on Facebook to show themselves wearing air pollution masks.

The air pollution protest next week was being organised for Sukhbaatar Square, the capital’s central plaza. A crowdfunding campaign to purchase 100 air purifiers for hospitals and schools raised more than $US1400 in five days.

“The hospital I visited today did not have any air purifiers, even though 40 mothers were scattered along a narrow corridor, each with a sick baby in their arms,” Onon Bayasgalan, an environmentalist who organised the crowdfunding campaign, said on Thursday. “They sleep on fold-out cots in the corridors, as the hospital rooms are full of pneumonia cases.”

Earlier this month, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned of an impending crisis if the smoke levels were not reduced, calling children under five and those still in the womb the most vulnerable.

“Children are projected to suffer from unprecedented levels of chronic respiratory disease later in life,” the UNICEF report said, warning of the rising economic costs of these diseases unless “major new measures” were urgently enacted.

“The alarming levels of air pollution in Ulaanbaatar during the long winter cannot be neglected any longer, as their short- and long-term negative health impact has been demonstrated, especially for children.”

A 2013 study by Canada’s Simon Fraser University concluded that 10 per cent of deaths in Ulaanbaatar were related to complications from air pollution.

“Most of my colleagues’ children are hospitalised or at home struggling with respiratory problems,” Lhagva Erdene, news director at Mongol TV station, said. “We feel helpless and frustrated for the inaction of our government.”

Neither the ministers for foreign affairs nor the environment replied to requests for comment.

Byambasaikhan Bayanjargal, who heads the Business Council of Mongolia in the capital, said he and his family try to stay indoors as much as possible and spend weekends outside the city.

“There have been shifting policies, and that is frustrating,” he said. “There needs to be consistent policy and stability so businesses can find solutions to this problem.”

On Friday, PM2.5 levels in northern Ulaanbaatar peaked at 932 at midday, while the monthly average for December so far was 518. Meanwhile in Beijing, where the government lifted its pollution warning on Thursday, skies were clear and air quality improved.

Source: Forget Beijing, world’s worst air has Mongolians seeing red

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Utah air getting worse as inversion settles in 

Posted on December 28, 2016 by Respro® UK Ltd

Despite a strong weekend storm, Utah’s air is getting dirtier.

Much of the state is sitting under polluted skies with no immediate end in sight. Across the Wasatch Front — and even beyond — we may be in for several days of air that’s not entirely fit for breathing.

“We’re definitely in an inversion,” said Donna Kemp Spangler, spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. “Pollution from automobiles, home heating, businesses, industry is really just making the air pollution bad.”

The inversion comes after a whopper of a storm over the weekend that pounded much of the state. You’d think that might have cleared things up.

“I think it helped,” said Spangler.

Just not enough.

“It has to have the right meteorological conditions which is not just snow falling,” Spangler said. “It actually has to have a punch to it, a little bit of a wind system going to actually push the pollution out.”

So now, with no imminent storms, people in Utah are stuck with smoggy air that isn’t getting any better. The inversion is visible from almost anywhere. Kristy Conlin saw it Tuesday afternoon when she brought her out-of-town friends to an overlook above Salt Lake City.

“My friend from Brazil said, oh, there’s these clouds so we can’t see anything,” Conlin said. “When I told her it was an inversion, she was very surprised.”

Of course, it’s not just tough to look at. For children and others who are sensitive to pollution, it can be hazardous.

“We’re talking about really small particulate pollution that gets lodged in your lungs,” said Spangler.

Officials urge people to cut down on driving and wood burning — small things that can make a difference. Staying inside can help, too, if things get really bad. But as of now, Conlin isn’t there yet.

“You have to live still, I guess,” she said, looking out over the valley. “You can still see the organization of the city so it’s good.”

You can follow the air quality across the state by clicking here.

Source: Utah air getting worse as inversion settles in | KUTV

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Traffic calming measures in Madrid: Madrid City Hall ups traffic-calming measures in bid to control pollution 

Posted on December 28, 2016 by Respro® UK Ltd

“Level 2” protocol will see parking restrictions for non-residents inside M-30 beltway until nitrogen dioxide levels fall

High pollution levels in the Spanish capital will once again see Madrid City Hall impose traffic calming measures tomorrow, according to an announcement made by the council on Tuesday. The head of the environment department, Inés Sabanés, signed the activation of the “level 2” protocol today, which will be kept in place until air contamination falls.

On Monday, the council took the decision to introduce 70km/h speed limits on the M-30 beltway and access routes into the center of Madrid. Given expected high pollution levels, from Wednesday there will be no street parking for non-residents within the boundaries of the M-30.

The current restrictions were sparked after measuring stations on the Castellana boulevard, in Plaza de España, Cuatro Caminos and Ramón y Cajal detected more than 180 micrograms of nitrogen dioxide per meter cubed during two consecutive hours. The clear weather conditions currently forecast for the city will not help the situation.

The measures to be put into place tomorrow will not affect motorbikes or scooters, nor motorists who have residents’ parking permits. Also exempt from the parking restrictions are people transporting people with limited mobility, taxis, local business owners in the affected areas, official vehicles, removal firms or emergency services. The fine for not observing the parking restrictions can reach up to €90, although if settled immediately the amount is half that.

Speed limits were put in place last week within the M-30 due to high pollution levels, while parking restrictions were last put in place toward the end of October. Madrid is one of a group of European cities that is considering banning diesel cars from its center by 2025.

Source: Traffic calming measures in Madrid: Madrid City Hall ups traffic-calming measures in bid to control pollution | In English | EL PAÍS

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