Nine out of 10 new diesel cars exceed EU pollution limits, report finds 

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

Road test reveals cars emit seven times the permitted level of exhaust emissions when tested in real-world conditions

Nine out of 10 new diesel cars break new EU pollution limits when tested on roads rather than test tracks, according to a new report.

On average, the cars emit seven times the permitted level of NOx gasses, with the worst car producing 22 times the legal limit. Models from every major motor manufacturer breached the limit when they were evaluated in real-world conditions.

From 1 September, new diesel cars in the EU have had to comply with emissions rules called “Euro 6”. However, carmakers can use a whole range of techniques to ensure that their cars perform far better under test conditions than when driven by ordinary drivers.

These include stripping components from the car to reduce weight, using special lubricants, over-inflating tyres and using super-smooth test tracks. The same techniques are used to boost the apparent fuel efficiency of vehicles.

The report, from sustainable transport group Transport & Environment (T&E), compiled recent data to show that when diesel vehicles are tested in normal driving conditions they emit much greater levels of NOx gases. NOx gases and other vehicle-related pollution are estimated to cause half a million premature deaths each year in the EU.

The T&E report also found that motor manufacturers often sell less polluting models of the same cars in the US, where emissions rules are stricter. This is achieved by including devices that capture pollution and cost a few hundred euros.

“Every new diesel car should now be clean but just one in 10 actually is,” said Greg Archer, T&E’s clean vehicles manager. “This is the main cause of the air pollution crisis affecting cities. Carmakers sell clean diesels in the US, and testing should require manufacturers to sell them in Europe too.”

In April, the UK’s supreme court ordered the government to tackle the UK’s air pollution, which has been in breach of EU limits for years. Proposals from ministers released on Saturday include improving public transport and creating low-emission zones in a number of cities, perhaps following the lead of central London where most diesel drivers will have to pay a £12.50 pollution charge from 2020.

There are plans to introduce a new on-road test that will measure the real-world emissions of diesel cars, but it will not apply to all new EU cars until 2018 at the earliest. Carmakers have argued that on-road testing should be delayed until 2020.

“We cannot choose where we breathe so we must stop cars polluting our city air,” concludes the T&E report. “The technology to clean up vehicle exhausts is available and costs a few hundred euros. It is a small price compared to the nearly €1tn spent annually in health care and lost output and productivity. Cars with engines must be stopped from polluting our air or prevented from accessing our cities.”

Source: Nine out of 10 new diesel cars exceed EU pollution limits, report finds | Environment | The Guardian

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Singapore offers to help Indonesia again as air quality here on Monday remains in unhealthy range; 24-hour PSI at 11pm: 128-160

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

Singapore has offered help to Indonesia again as air quality remained in the unhealthy range on Monday (Sept 14) following a hazy weekend.

The 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) at 11pm was between 128 and 160. The unhealthy range is 101-200.

The three-hour PSI, an indicative reading not tied to the health advisory, was 181 at 11pm. It reached 249 at 9pm before declining slightly.

NEA said on Monday (Sept 14) hazy conditions are expected to persist on Monday and Tuesday.

Air quality could deteriorate as unfavourable winds may blow in denser haze from Sumatra.

Thundery showers are forecast in the pre-dawn and early morning hours may bring only a short respite.

The 24-hour PSI until 6pm on Tuesday is expected to be in the mid-to-high unhealthy range, and may enter the “very unhealthy” range if denser haze from Sumatra is blown in, said NEA.

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Dr Vivian Balakrishnan has expressed his concern over the serious haze situation and has reiterated Singapore’s offer of help to Indonesia, NEA said.

Indonesian Minister of Environment and Forestry Dr Siti Nurbaya Bakar has said they will consult Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Singapore’s offer as the latter is personally overseeing the haze containment efforts.

Minister Siti Nurbaya also agreed to Minister Balakrishnan’s request for Indonesia to share the names of companies which are suspected to be causing the fires, once they were able to confirm the information, NEA said.

Several outdoor events were either postponed or cancelled over the weekend due to the haze.

Given the air quality forecast in Singapore, healthy people should avoid prolonged or strenuous outdoor physical exertion, especially the elderly, pregnant women and children. Updates are available on www.haze.gov.sg, NEA’s website, its Twitter and Facebookaccounts.

Across the Causeway, unhealthy air quality was recorded on Monday morning in places such as Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.

In Indonesia, 14 helicopters on Monday were dumping water on blazes on western Sumatra island and the Indonesian part of Borneo island and “cloud-seeding”, which involves using chemicals to induce rain, the country’s disaster agency said.

Source: Singapore offers to help Indonesia again as air quality here on Monday remains in unhealthy range; 24-hour PSI at 11pm: 128-160, Environment News & Top Stories – The Straits Times

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Scots air pollution reduction in last 25 years welcomed by Aileen McLeod 

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

Official statistics show a long-term drop in emissions since 1990.

Figures showing a reduction in levels of air pollution over the last 25 years have been welcomed by the Environment Minister.

Official statistics reveal a long-term cut in emissions of all the main pollutants.

Between 1990 and 2013, Scotland saw decreases in emissions of 28% for ammonia, 53% for particulate matter and 67% for nitrogen oxides.

Emissions of carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and lead were down 81%, 87% and 99% respectively over the same period.

Last year, sulphur dioxide emissions from large combustion plants fell by 34% compared with the previous year, mainly due to the closure of Cockenzie power station in East Lothian in March 2013, the data reveals.

Environment Minister Aileen McLeod hailed the overall findings – but said more must be done.

Dr McLeod said: “Air pollution is harmful to human health and can contribute to climate change and I very much welcome the significant progress that has been made reducing emissions of nitrogen oxides and other air pollutants in Scotland.

“However, more needs to be done. The Scottish Government is already working closely with local authorities and other partners to improve air quality and the lives and well-being of communities and individuals across the country.

“Local authorities with air quality issues in their areas have in place local action plans to improve the situation, which can include measures such as promoting walking and cycling, for example, or greater use of cleaner vehicles.

“The forthcoming national Low Emission Strategy – which we consulted on earlier this year – will ensure greater consistency in approach across Scotland.”

Source: Scots air pollution reduction in last 25 years welcomed by Aileen McLeod | Scotland | News

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Government passing the buck on air pollution, says campaigners

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

Critics say plan to make councils responsible for policing pollution in urban areas offers no extra money or new powers

A government plan to meet European air quality limits by letting councils ban diesel vehicles and charge drivers more for parking polluting cars and vans is “disappointing” and could result in further court cases and tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths, critics say.

The plan, drawn up by the Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) in response to a supreme court ruling, proposes individual emission limits for four different vehicle types.

Local authorities would be responsible for policing the pollution in urban areas and would be told to incentivise electric, hydrogen and other ultra low-emission vehicles.

Critics say the plan offers no extra money or new powers and defers discussion on how the clean air zones might work in practice until next year. It also dodges the issue of a new runway in south-east England that could considerably increase air pollution.

The consultation document, launched by the environment secretary, Elizabeth Truss, at the same time as the announcement of the new Labour party leader on Saturday, accepts for the first time that more than 50,000 people a year die from air pollution in the UK.

This includes around 29,000 who die prematurely as a result of inhaling minute particles of oily, unburnt soot emitted by all petrol engines, and an estimated 23,500 people who die from the invisible but toxic gas NO2 emitted by diesel engines.

The document says: “About 80% of the NOx emissions which are exceeding the law are due to transport. The largest source of emissions is from diesel cars and vans where there has been significant growth in numbers over the last 10 years.”

Defra, which has long resisted the idea of setting up a national system of clean air zones, had expected seven UK urban areas – including London, the West Midlands, south Wales and Nottingham – still to be breaking EU law in 2020. In April the supreme court ruled that this was unacceptable and said the government should come up with new plans urgently.

If the clean air zones and other measures outlined in the plan are all introduced, Defra now expects that all areas except Greater London will comply with EU pollution laws by 2020. In London the targets will be met by 2025, five years earlier than previously expected, it says.

”London has a particular set of issues due to the scale of its population and the level of challenge presented by current levels of NO2 concentrations,” the document says. “Many measures have already been put in place and we consider that the measures in these plans will improve air quality sufficiently to achieve compliance with the directive in London before 2025.”

Truss said tackling air pollution was a priority. “We want local authorities and members of the public to come forward and share ideas on action to be taken at national and local level to make our nation cleaner. From improving bus and taxi fleets to investing in cycling infrastructure and upgrading roads so they run more smoothly, we want to work with our great cities and help them make changes to become better still.”

Alan Andrews, director of Client Earth, a group of environmental lawyers who took government to the European and UK courts to force action on air pollution, said: “The first reaction is disappointment. We are heading in the right direction but we are not seeing anything like a clear commitment to doing anything.

“The government seems to be passing the buck to local authorities. There has to be a clear legal commitment to act, otherwise the plans will be rejected by Europe. If we are not convinced [that the plans will work], we will go back to court.”

Simon Birkett, director of Clean Air for London, said: “Defra is passing all responsibility, without money or new powers, to local authorities. It is flouting the supreme court ruling to submit proper plans to the European commission by 31 December by intending instead to submit a ‘plan for plans by others’.

“It is making little or no effort to comply with NO2 limit values in at least 28 UK zones before 2020, seven more before 2025 and London before 2030 unless others choose to adopt its ‘plan for a plan’ of clean air zones.”

Friends of the Earth said: “Defra claims plans would mean legal limits are met five or more years earlier than currently forecast, but even then London’s children would still suffer with illegally filthy air for 10 more years. Plans for a framework for clean air zones are welcome but there is no detail on how these could work.”

Critics also accused the government of trying to bury the document by releasing it on a Saturday morning just as the Labour leadership result was being announced.

A government spokesman said: “Well, it’s out there now. I suppose every announcement is timed in a certain way.”

Source: Government passing the buck on air pollution, says campaigners | Environment | The Guardian

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Forest-Fire Haze Harming Air Quality in Indonesia, Singapore 

Posted on September 11, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

Smog caused by slash-and-burn agriculture in Indonesia is continuing to foul air quality as far away as Singapore, with readings in some parts of Sumatra island deemed “very unhealthy.”

A gauge of tiny air-pollution particles was at 344.90 as of 10 a.m. in Palembang, in the southern part of Sumatra, just beneath the dividing line between “very unhealthy” and “hazardous.” That was down from a reading of 515.63 at 4 a.m, well into hazardous territory, according to Indonesia’s meteorology agency.

The haze, caused by farmers who burn forests to clear their land for agriculture, is an annual occurrence that sends smog wafting northward to Singapore and Malaysia. Those governments havecomplained to Indonesia, and Singaporean legislators last year passed a law allowing regulators to prosecute companies involved in illegal forest burning.

Air pollution was deemed “moderate” as of 10 a.m. in both Pekanbaru in Riau province and Medan in northern Sumatra. The agency illustrates its readings with emoticons showing a crying face for unhealthy levels, a deeply frowning face for very unhealthy levels or a deeply frowning, squinting face for a hazardous reading.

A total of 15 flights leaving Banjarmasin were delayed between 6 a.m. and 1 p.m., as well as 10 departing the South Kalimantan city, the airport operator said.

The Indonesian military said in an e-mailed statement that it’s sending as many as 1,059 army, marine and air force personnel to South Sumatra on Thursday to fight the forest fires. Singapore also offered to send help and has placed a C-130 plane on standby for cloud seeding, as well as other aircraft.

In Singapore, the Pollutant Standards Index showed a three-hour reading of 187, edging closer to the “very unhealthy” range exceeding 200. It’s still far below the record of 401 set in June 2013. Any PSI reading above 100 is classified as unhealthy.

The fires are exacerbated by the local dry season. Indonesian authorities warned last week that this year’s haze will be worse than in previous years, the Bernama news agency reported, and could last through end-November.

Source: Forest-Fire Haze Harming Air Quality in Indonesia, Singapore – Bloomberg Business

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Paddington station air pollution worse than roads outside 

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

Air pollution from trains at London’s Paddington Station is worse than nearby major roads and exceeds EU recommendations for outdoor air quality, a study has shown.

Levels of particulates, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide – all of which have been implicated in health problems, including lung disease, heart conditions and premature death – were higher than roadside conditions at nearby Marylebone Road and North Kensington, the report in the journal Environmental Research Letters showed.

While guidelines are in place to control ‘outdoor’ air quality, UK rail stations are not required to comply with air quality standards and emissions from diesel trains quickly accumulate in a semi-enclosed railway station like Paddington.

“We looked at several measures of air quality,” said Adam Boies, lead author on the paper. “And we’ve shown that there are a number of times where the nitrogen dioxide concentrations exceed the EU hourly mean limits for outdoor air quality.”

Measurements were made at five locations around Paddington Station, covering two platforms, the main cooking area, a main exit and the roadside.

“It was a shame we could not do longer-term measurements,” said Boies. “But we were limited partly by the sensors available and partly by the time constraints on the station security. These would have allowed us a more direct comparison to the roadside limits.”

According to Boies, many older trains do not have a diesel particulate filter installed, which could be fitted cheaply to greatly reduce emissions. The issue is also likely to become less pressing as the Great Western Main Line, one of the major lines feeding into Paddington station, is electrified.

“Obviously, replacing these diesel trains with electric trains will also remove the emissions,” said Boies. “The majority of the locomotives in use at Paddington were ‘grandfathered’ (made exempt from the regulations for modern diesel locomotives). Newer diesel locomotives also have much lower emissions.”

Patrick Hallgate, Network Rail’s managing director for the Western route, said: “Our Great Western Electrification Programme will bring Brunel’s railway into the 21st century, by electrifying the main line that runs from London Paddington to Swansea in preparation for the arrival of a new fleet of electric trains. “

These trains will not only provide passengers with faster journeys, more seats and a more comfortable travelling experience, but they are also quieter and greener, significantly reducing noise and air pollution for passengers and our thousands of line-side neighbours.”

Source: Paddington station air pollution worse than roads outside – E & T Magazine

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Former minister Lord Drayson launches clean air app 

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

Former science minister Lord Drayson has launched an app that monitors air quality and encourages people to choose cleaner ways to travel.

The CleanSpace app provides users with details of the local air quality, which Lord Drayson hopes will raise awareness of the problem.

The app also rewards it users with CleanMiles for low emission journeys.

Last year, a Commons select committee report described air pollution as a “public health crisis”.

MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee called for new schools, care homes and hospitals to be built far away from major roads because of the dangers of air pollution.

It is estimated that it is responsible for 29,000 deaths in the UK each year.

Despite the government arguing that it was investing heavily to improve air quality, the UK Supreme Court ruled that ministers had to take immediate action to cut air pollution.

‘CleanMiles’

Lord Drayson, a Labour government minister between 2005 and 2010, said the idea for the CleanSpace app came from people asking what they could do to tackle global problems like climate change and air pollution.

“After coming out of government and deciding to start a technology business it really struck us that we are living at a time where modern internet technology gives us the tools to answer that question for people by giving them information about the air that they are breathing and motivating them to see the central truth, which is that the little things do add up,” he said.

“That is the core idea behind it. For us, it is not just telling people about the problem but motivating them to see that the solution is in all of our hands.”

The app, developed by Lord Drayson’s company, provides the user with a map and information about the air quality in the local area.

“The second aspect is that as you go about your day, the app automatically tracks you. We use the sensors within the phone to generate a signature of the way that you are moving so the phone can automatically work out how you are moving so it can work out whether you are walking, or cycling or in a vehicle,” Lord Drayson told BBC News.

If you are moving in a way that is not contributing to air pollution – cycling or walking – it credits you with what we call CleanMiles. Over time, you will be able to see what proportion of your journeys you are doing are clean or not clean.”

Lord Drayson said he hoped the app would raise people’s awareness that air quality changed all the time and that “you can make a difference to the air that you are breathing by choosing how you travel”.

He added that another key component of the app was to create an online community for like-minded people. “We know about the power of social networks and what we are trying to do is to create a social network to make a big change,” he added.

“We also know that there are people who are not aware of air pollution. What we found from our research is that by making people more aware then they start to think about this and this does change behaviour.”

In the future, the team behind the CleanSpace app plan to provide users with personal air quality monitoring devices in order to collect data that will be fed into the system.

“This will allow you to get information that is not just based on the aggregated data gathered by sensors around cities, it is the air quality you are breathing as you are moving,” Lord Drayson explained.

Sustainable showcase

In June 2013, He broke the world land speed record for a lightweight electric car, hitting a speed of 204.2mph (328.6km/h).

Rather than motorsport being part of the problem, he said that he saw racing as an opportunity to “pioneer and showcase environmentally sustainable technology”.

“I helped found the Formula E motorsport championship, which has been a real success. I developed a very high performance race car to really showcase what electric cars could do,” he explained.

“What I have learned through racing and politics is that it is really important with issues like climate change and air pollution is to show people that the future can be better, but fun and exciting as well.”

Source: Former minister Lord Drayson launches clean air app – BBC News

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Dust storm moves into Israel bringing high levels of air pollution 

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

The Environment Protection Ministry said on Tuesday that air pollution levels in Israel were high due to a dust storm that moved into the region from the east.

The Ministry recommended that people with breathing conditions, the elderly, children, and pregnant women should abstain from physical exertion and schools were told that students should limit outside activity.

High levels of particles in the air were measured on Tuesday morning in Jerusalem and Judea, the Golan Heights and the Galilee, and the ministry said that all areas of the country would experience the polluted air conditions by evening.

As of 9 a.m., levels of PM10 – particulate matter with a diameter of 10 microns or less – far exceeded typical daily averages on a non-stormy day, which rest around 60 micrograms per cubic meter, according to Environmental Protection Ministry data.

At the western Galilee monitoring station, the average PM10 level for the past 24 hours was 345 micrograms per cubic meter, with the maximum level over a 30-minute period climbing to 1,919 micrograms per cubic meter, the ministry said. The Afula station showed average and maximum values of 269 micrograms per cubic meter and 1,041 micrograms per cubic meter respectively. In Jerusalem, the average and maximum values reached 1,350 micrograms per cubic meter and 8,452 micrograms per cubic meter, while in the Negev, they rose to 223 micrograms per cubic meter and 3,086 micrograms per cubic meter respectively.

Magen David Adom advised the public to drink a lot of water (at least three liters per day), to stay out of the sun, avoid activity outside, and to use sunscreen.

In the North, Medical staff at Ziv Medical Center in Safed called on local residents to either stay inside or abstain from physical activity.

On Tuesday conditions will be hazy and hot and heat wave conditions will prevail inland and humidity will rise on the coast. At night, temperatures will be above average.

Expected highs and lows: Jerusalem 36-25; Tel Aviv 33-27; Haifa 31-26; Tiberias 41-30; Beersheba 40-25; Eilat 42-31.

Source: Dust storm moves into Israel bringing high levels of air pollution – Business & Innovation – Jerusalem Post

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