Driving ban on half Paris motorists after air pollution briefly tops Shanghai

Posted on March 24, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

Paris on Monday imposed a partial driving ban and made public transport free in an attempt to cut noxious smog, after pollution levels briefly surpassed that of Shanghai last week.

Authorities announced that all cars with plates ending in even numbers must stay off the roads on Monday, after days of political wrangling over how to tackle the high amount of harmful particles shrouding Paris.

Anne Hidalgo, the Socialist mayor, had wanted to impose the ban last week after lack of wind or rain and cold nights helped push up pollution levels.

According to Plume Labs, Paris for a few hours last week hit 127 in its air pollution index chart of 60 cities, with Shanghai in second place on 106 and London on 91.

However, the government of fellow Socialists refused, reportedly so as not to annoy suburban voters ahead of Sunday’s local elections.

Lorries are being asked to drive around the capital while a maximum speed limit of 20 kilometres per hour is in force in a bid to cut levels of dangerous micro-particles.

Motorists unauthorised to drive face a €22 (£16) fine and being told to leave their car where it is or see it impounded.

Commercial, electric or hybrid cars are all exempt, as are those carrying at least three people. Use of Autolibs, Paris’ low cost rental electric cars, is free for the first hour for subscribers.

The ban came after a strong prevalence of particles with a diameter of less than 10 microns, or PM10.

These are the most monitored as the smaller and lighter a particle is, the longer it stays in the atmosphere and can remain suspended for weeks. They can also lead to asthma, allergies and respiratory ailments.

The safe limit for PM10 is set at 80 microgrammes per cubic metre (mcg/m3).

Some 750 police officers were stationed on roads leading in to the capital to stop drivers flouting the ban. While many motorists with even number plates were still on the roads – often reportedly telling police they had “not watched the news” – traffic levels were definitely below normal.

Similar emergency measures were last implemented almost exactly a year ago – on March 17 – during a particularly bad spike in smog. The operation saw pollution drop but Ségolène Royal, the ecology minister said a more global response was necessary.

The partial ban will be lifted on Tuesday, as winds are due to pick up.

According to 2011 World Health Organisation figures, Ahwaz, in southwesternIran, far outstrips infamously polluted cities like New Delhi or Beijing, with 372 parts per million of PM10. Beijing, by comparison, was on 121 parts per million, Paris on 38 and London on 29.

via Driving ban on half Paris motorists after air pollution briefly tops Shanghai – Telegraph.

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South-East Asian haze increases risk of respiratory mortality

Posted on March 23, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

Research has shown a significant association between haze events in South-East Asia and mortality rates caused by respiratory illness on the west coast of peninsular Malaysia.

Research has shown a significant association between haze events in South-East Asia and mortality rates caused by respiratory illness on the west coast of peninsular Malaysia.

Since 1997, the massive burning of biomass in Sumatra and Kalimantan, Indonesia, has affected neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Southern Thailand. The burning of biomass has generated a significant amount of haze that travels overseas, affecting the region’s economy and public health.

Haze resulting from forest fires is known to increase the concentration of toxic airborne particles that are smaller than ten microns in size, such as carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and ozone. Previous studies have found that airborne particles can cause serious respiratory effects. In 1997, South-East Asian haze increased the number of asthma attacks by 10.7% in Malaysia alone.

Professor Mazrura Sahani, an environmental epidemiology expert at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, recently conducted a follow-up study on this issue focusing on Klang Valley, the most populated and most affected area on the west coast of peninsular Malaysia. She analysed the association between mortality rates from respiratory illness in Klang Valley and 88 days of recorded haze events from 2000 to 2007. Haze events typically last for seven days.

Professor Sahani collected respiratory mortality data from Malaysia’s Department of Statistics and obtained environmental data from six continuous air quality monitoring stations in Klang Valley. Her results showed that South-East Asian haze has increased the risk of respiratory mortality in Klang Valley as a result of increased exposure to toxic particles during the haze days. By the sixth day of a haze event, daily mortality rates were higher than normal.

According to Professor Sahani, this finding indicates the need for local public health authorities to provide appropriate health advice during haze episodes. The most vulnerable or sensitive groups to air pollution are children, adult females, the elderly, and those with underlying respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. She also stresses the need for international cooperation to reduce biomass burning given the serious public health problems this causes.

In 2015, Professor Sahani plans to study other health risks associated with air pollution and haze on the affected community. In addition, she will focus on determining the toxicity of the constituents of haze pollution in Malaysia.

via South-East Asian haze increases risk of respiratory mortality — ScienceDaily.

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‘Idling’ motorists in Westminster to face £20 fines

Posted on March 23, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

Motorists in Westminster who sit in a stationary car with the engine running and refuse to turn it off are to be fined £20.

The move reflects concerns from local residents and businesses about air quality, Westminster City Council said.

A team of traffic marshals will patrol the borough and ask car owners with stationary vehicles to switch off their engines, the council said.

The penalties will come into force on 1 May, as a “last resort”.

The new policy follows Camden Council’s fines for buses which idle for too long, introduced in 2011.

Neil Greig, director of policy and research at the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said the “key issue” would be how the marshals enforced the fines.

He said: “If they target private car drivers pulling up for a moment in relatively clean, modern cars in a draconian way – whilst ignoring old buses, coaches, large trucks, utility company vans or taxis idling for long periods – then it will quickly be seen as yet another revenue-raising exercise.”

via BBC News – ‘Idling’ motorists in Westminster to face £20 fines.

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The potency of airborne allergens may be boosted by air pollution

Posted on March 23, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

It often appears as if allergic conditions are worsened by air pollution. The American Chemical Society has reported via Newswise on March 22, 2015, that air pollutants could boost the potency of common airborne allergens. Air pollutants associated with climate change could also be a primary contributor to the unparalleled increase in the number of people who are seen sneezing, sniffling and wheezing during allergy season.

Researchers have said that the gases nitrogen dioxide and ground-level ozone appear to set off chemical changes in certain airborne allergens which could increase their potency. It is this finding coupled with changes in the global climate conditions which may help explain why airborne allergies have been becoming more common.

Ulrich Pöschl, Ph.D., of the Max Planck Institute in Germany, says that it has long been suspected by scientists that air pollution and climate change are involved in the increasing prevalence of allergies across the world. However, understanding the underlying chemical processes which have been behind this phenomenon has proven to be elusive. Dr. Pöschl goes on to say his groups new research is beginning to suggest how chemical modifications in allergenic proteins happen and how this may affect allergenicity.

Christopher Kampf, Ph.D. says this research shows that chemical modifications of allergenic proteins may play a significant role in the increasing prevalence of allergies across the world. It is anticipated that with increasing levels of these pollutants there will be more of these protein modifications and these modifications will be seen to affect the allergenic potential of the protein.

The National Institutes of Health has written on the connection between air pollution and allergens. It has been observed that the prevalence of allergic diseases has been increasing in recent decades in the industrialized world. Researchers believe that exposure to environmental pollutants may partially explain this increased prevalence. There is actually significant scientific evidence to show that air pollution increases exposure to allergens. It is clear air pollution is a growing public health problem which may be making life more miserable than ever for people suffering from allergies.

via The potency of airborne allergens may be boosted by air pollution – National health | Examiner.com.

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France Addresses Air Pollution By Banning 50% Of Vehicles In Paris

Posted on March 23, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

France has put in place an odd-even scheme based on the last number of the car’s plate number to address the country’s air pollution problem. It would halve the number of vehicles in Paris.

On Monday, when the scheme starts, vehicles whose plate numbers end in 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 are allowed in Paris. The next day, it would be the turn of car owners to use their vehicles which has plate numbers ending in 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8.

Offenders will be fined 22 euro. More than 1,000 cops have been deployed to ensure that drivers follow the rules, reports the Independent. The scheme has been tried in some countries such as the Philippines not so much to curb pollution, but because of the gridlock due to the very large number of vehicles vis-à-vis road networks.

The law was approved in late 2014. It permits the French government to cut vehicles in Paris by 50 percent every time micro-particles in the atmosphere breaches 50 microgrammes per cubic metre.

The use of the law even triggered a throwback of the romance between President Francois Hollande and ex-flame Segolene Royal, the country’s environment minister.

Anne Hidalgo, Paris mayor, wanted it imposed on Friday, but Royal opposed, saying banning even-numbered vehicles without advance warning is punitive. But Hollande sided with Hidalgo, not with his former partner.

The odd-even scheme, however, is not really the root of the problem for two of the best-known female Socialist politicians in France. The Independent says that the two had been at odds with each other for a long time now.

Exempt from the scheme are vehicles with three or more riders, reports Quartz. Hidalgo pushed for the scheme because of a haze that covered the capital city the past week as levels air pollution reached PM10 particulates, which is a level higher than what the World Health Organisation considers acceptable air quality.

via France Addresses Air Pollution By Banning 50% Of Vehicles In Paris.

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All-out efforts to fight smog

Posted on March 21, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

Singaporean air force joins mission as situation in northern provinces to worsen today; Army mobilising resources

THAILAND mobilised all its resources yesterday to combat the haze crisis in the North, which threatens to be the worst in recent history, with air pollution in some parts of Chiang Ri province already three times beyond safety limits.

The situation has worsened to the point that several military aircraft, including two Chinooks from Singapore, are actively spraying the area with water in a bid to reduce the smog.

The Thai-Myanmar Joint Border Committee will convene a meeting in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district to discuss the smog problem today. The air pollution in this district stood at 280 micrograms of particulate matter per cubic metre of air yesterday. The particulate matter is less than less than 10 microns in diameter (PM10).

The amount of PM10 per cubic metre of air was also alarmingly high at 383mcg in Chiang Rai’s Muang district between 7am and 9am yesterday.

The amount of PM10 should never exceed 120mcg per cubic metre of air.

“We are now seriously advising people to wear face masks when going outside,” Chiang Rai’s disaster-prevention-and-mitigation chief

Sawang Momdee said.

Thick smog reduced visibility on the road to just 500 metres, though it did not affect flight services to and from the province yesterday. Chiang Rai Airport has installed extra lighting on its runway to improve visibility.

The Pollution Control Department said the situation will worsen today due to overall weather conditions, adding that the amount of PM10 will most likely rise in all eight smog-hit provinces in the North by between 2 and 8 per cent.

Singaporean assistance

Apart from Chiang Rai, the provinces of Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Phayao, Nan, Lampang, Phrae and Uttaradit are also struggling with air pollution.

Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) spokesman ACM Monthon Satchukorn said yesterday that Singapore Air Force, which is taking part in Cope Tiger 2015 joint military exercises, will deploy its two Chinook helicopters to help Thailand deal with the smog and forest-fire problem. These helicopters will join the several that Thailand’s armed forces have deployed for the mission.

In a Facebook post, Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said, “It [the Chinooks] will be equipped with a 5,000-litre water bucket from the Singapore Civil Defence Force. Let’s support our SAF men and women who are tasked for this mission – that they will do their job well and keep safe.”

According to the Royal Thai Army (RTA) deputy spokesperson Colonel Sirichan Ngathong, relevant authorities are now mobilising resources to tackle the smog problem.

Haze was visible to the naked eye in Chiang Mai province yesterday, with many tourists complaining.

“I came up here to enjoy the views, but I can’t see anything,” Pares Inta, who was at the Phra That Doi Kham viewpoint in Chiang Mai, said.

Another tourist, Suprapa Chaykarn, said tourists usually headed to Chiang Mai in the hope of getting fresh air. “But the province is now covered with smog and pollution. That’s why people are reluctant to visit Chiang Mai at the moment.”

PM10 readings in Chiang Mai province hit 235mcg yesterday.

However, Lai-ad Bungsrithong, president of Thai Hotel Association Northern Chapter, said the heavy smog did not affect tourism in Chiang Mai much because many hotels are 70 to 75 per cent full – similar to the same period last year. She also said tourists had not cancelled bookings, though there has been a slight drop in new bookings.

via All-out efforts to fight smog – The Nation.

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Singapore’s air pollution rises to unhealthy level

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

Singapore’s air pollution hit levels classified “unhealthy” on Friday, the government’s National Environment Agency said on its website. (www.haze.gov.sg)

The 3-hour Pollution Standards Index (PSI) in the city-state rose to 102 at 4 p.m. local time (0800 GMT). A PSI reading above 100 indicates air pollution has reached an “unhealthy” level.

The PSI level in the island-nation hit a record-high of 401 in June 2013, when smoke from forest burning in Indonesia engulfed the city.

via Singapore’s air pollution rises to unhealthy level | Reuters.

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Air pollution prompts UK health warning

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

Smog over parts of England, Wales and Northern Ireland has prompted a warning from Public Health England.

The Department for Environment said there was moderate to high levels of the pollution, which is caused by traffic fumes and other sources.

Air pollution has also blown in from Europe and Public Health England said the conditions could affect people with lung or heart problems or asthma.

Defra said levels were due to fall to moderate or low levels by Friday.

Smog is formed when pollutants, dust, pollen and other particles that would normally be dispersed by winds are prevented from escaping from the layer of cool air that is trapped at the Earth’s surface.

Sotiris Vardoulakis, head of Public Health England’s air pollution and climate change group, said: “While most people will not be affected by short term peaks in air pollution – some individuals, particularly vulnerable groups such as those with existing heart or lung conditions, may experience increased symptoms.”

According to Defra, south Wales and South West England saw the highest levels of pollution in the UK on Thursday, reaching eight out of 10 on its pollution index.

The West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside, North East England and Northern Ireland also recorded high levels – graded as seven out of ten on the index.

North-west England, the East Midlands and parts of London had seen moderate levels – six out of 10 – while Scotland had seen low levels of pollution, Defra said.

Deborah Waddell from Asthma UK warned that people with breathing problems needed to be careful.

“We could expect that people today would have more asthma symptoms and every person that has an asthma attack today could have a potentially have a fatal asthma attack so we need them to be vigilant,” she said.

Steve Cleaton from the BBC Weather Centre said: “The good news is that air quality is forecast to gradually improve through the course of the remainder of Thursday and throughout Friday.

“Weak weather fronts will cross the country from the northwest introducing clearer Atlantic air.”

High levels of air pollution were reported in Paris, France, on Wednesday.

via BBC News – Air pollution prompts UK health warning.

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