New Year air pollution in NCR 13 times past safe level

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

The DENR says initial data covering 4 cities in Metro Manila show that Las Piñas and Marikina registered an over 4,000%-increase in air pollution in the first hours of 2015

The post-New Year air pollution level in parts of Metro Manila was 13 times above safe standards, according to an initial report of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Two cities – Las Piñas and Marikina – registered air pollution levels of around 2,000 ug/Ncm (micrograms per normal cubic meter of air) on the first morning of 2015 – 13 times above the 150 ug/Ncm level deemed safe by the World Health Organization.

Out of 4 air monitoring stations in the mega city, the Las Piñas air monitoring station recorded the highest increase in air pollution, according to DENR data obtained by Rappler.

These initial results represent only 4 of the 16 cities and one town in Metro Manila.

Results from other cities were still being collated as of writing and will be ready by Monday, January 5, said DENR Environmental Management Bureau Director Jonas Leones.

At 1 am on January 1, air pollution levels reached 2,000 ug/Ncm in terms of particulate matter 10 microns and below in diameter (PM10).

This marked a 4,344% increase from air pollution levels detected at 7 am on December 31, which was at 45 ug/Ncm.

STATION PM10 (Dec 31, 2014 | 7 am) PM10 (Jan 1, 2015 | 1 am) % increase
Navotas City 54 360 567
Commonwealth, Quezon City 29 359 1,138
Marikina City 35 1,988 5,580
Las Piñas City 45 2,000 4,344

PM10 are particles small enough to penetrate the lungs and bloodstream, making it an important standard for healthy air.

Marikina City was a close second in terms of highest air pollution with its monitoring station recording a PM10 level of 1,988 ug/Ncm.

This was a 5,580% increase from the PM10 level recorded hours before the New Year’s Eve countdown – 35 ug/Ncm.

SPIKE. This is a graph from the DENR of the air pollution levels in Las Piñas City from the morning of December 31, 2014 to the morning after New Year's Eve

SPIKE. This is a graph from the DENR of the air pollution levels in Las Piñas City from the morning of December 31, 2014 to the morning after New Year’s Eve

Can’t compare to 2014

The alarming spike in air pollution was attributed, unsurprisingly, to the prolific use of fireworks on New Year’s Eve.

Leones was not surprised that Las Piñas and Marikina topped the list.

“These are cities with a lot of residential areas. The more households in a city, the more people setting off fireworks,” he told Rappler.

But New Year air quality this year can’t be compared to last year’s because of different conditions.

“It rained on New Year’s Eve and the morning after. The rain helped to lessen the concentration of air pollutants so it’s impossible to compare,” he told Rappler.

But based on the increase in air pollution levels in the hours leading to New Year’s Eve, he said he is certain there was no big change from last year.

The 2014 New Year revelry led to Metro Manila air pollution triple that of celebrations in 2013 and 10 times above safe levels.

He joined the call of Environment Secretary Ramon Paje for local government units to ban fireworks. President Benigno Aquino III and the Department of Health also appealed to citizens not to use fireworks to welcome the new year.

Six cities and one town are already prohibiting the use of fireworks in their jurisdictions.

via New Year air pollution in NCR 13 times past safe level.

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Air Pollution Haze Over India and Nepal As Seen From Space

Posted on January 1, 2015 by Respro® UK Ltd

In October 2014, India’s Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) released a proposal for a new air quality index that would be used to quantify and communicate the severity of haze outbreaks. The new air quality index would synthesize levels of various pollutants—including PM2.5, PM10, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, ozone, and carbon monoxide—into one easy-to-understand number and warning color that would be used to alert the public about health risks during outbreaks.

While the proposed air quality index is still in the planning stages, it might have been useful in late October 2014. Since October 22, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS) on the Aqua and Terra satellites have observed an increasingly thick layer of haze hovering over northern India. The image above shows the area as observed by Terra on October 27, 2014. Red boxes show where MODIS detected fires.

Rice paddies and wheat and vegetable fields are commonly cleared with fire in the Punjab in October and November, so smoke from such fires are likely an important source of the haze. The smoke combined with routine urban and industrial pollution from cities in northern India to produce the pall of gray. Smoke from fireworks associated with Diwali celebrations also may have contributed to the buildup of haze, according to news reports from several cities.

Normally, air pollution dissipates relatively quickly because pollutants disperse as warm air near the surface rises. In this case, a temperature inversion associated with a storm system in northern Pakistan and India has helped hold the haze in place by trapping cool air under a layer of warmer air.

India’s government anticipates that an air quality index will help citizens minimize their exposure to hazardous pollutants during haze outbreaks. “The air quality index will prove to be a major initiative for improving air quality in urban areas, as it would enhance public awareness and involvement, and would create a competitive environment among cities to take steps for air pollution mitigation,” noted Susheet Kumar, chairman of India’s CPCB, while introducting the proposal. The efforts comes after the World Health Organization and Yale University recently listed India as having some of the most severe air pollution in the world.

via Air Pollution Haze Over India and Nepal As Seen From Space | SpaceRef – Your Space Reference.

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Tehran air pollution puts nearly 400 in hospital

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Respro® UK Ltd

In 2012, pollution contributed to the premature deaths of 4,500 people in Tehran and about 80,000 in the country

Almost 400 people have been hospitalised with heart and respiratory problems caused by heavy air pollution inTehran, with nearly 1,500 others requiring treatment, an official said Tuesday.

Year round, more than four million cars spew exhaust fumes into the atmosphere of the Iranian capital. The situation worsens in winter, when cold air leads to a carcinogenic fog that blankets the city.

The latest casualties were treated Monday, according to Hassan Abbas, an emergency services manager quoted by the official IRNA news agency.

“Some 392 people were admitted to hospital due to respiratory and heart problems,” he said. “We treated another 1,434 externally.”

Authorities are said to be considering school closures and the introduction of traffic restrictions for the whole capital  on Wednesday, although this has not yet been officially confirmed.

However, the sick and elderly have been asked to avoid city traffic due to the effects of breathing in a noxious mix of carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and dirty rubber particles.

The capital and other cities, including top tourist attraction Isfahan and the religious destination of Mashhad, have experienced pollution peaks in recent weeks.

Tehran, with its population of 12 million people, is one of the most polluted cities in the world, partly because of an altitude ranging from 1,100-1,700 metres (3,600-5,600 feet) above sea level in a basin surrounded by mountains.

In addition, Iranian cars consume on average more than other countries, a situation made worse by some fuel being of low quality.

Pollution peaks in winter are regularly caused by the climate inversion phenomenon, where cold air near the ground is trapped by warmer air above preventing pollution being dispersed over a bigger area.

In 2012, pollution contributed to the premature deaths of 4,500 people in Tehran and about 80,000 in the country, according to the health ministry.

via Tehran air pollution puts nearly 400 in hospital | Middle East Eye.

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Pollutionwatch: Big ships, bigger stink

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Respro® UK Ltd

Nowadays, Christmas arrives by ship not sleigh. The labels of our new Christmas jumpers, novelty socks, toys and mobile phones reveal the global trade in manufactured goods and the huge distances they travel.

Shipping is more energy efficient than road or air transport, but a lack of controls on ship exhausts and the poor quality of marine fuel mean 15% of global nitrogen oxides and 8% of sulphur gaseous pollution come from ocean-going ships.

This matters because 80% of shipping is within 400km of land, and major sea corridors and ports are large pollution sources. In Hong Kong, the world’s fourth largest port, daily changes in ship pollution have been linked to heart attack frequency. Ship pollution can also be found in smaller port cities such as Cork, Gothenburg and Brisbane.

Marine fuel is mainly residues from refining road and aviation fuel, and therefore contains most of the impurities. Vanadium emitted from ship funnels can be found in the air throughout Europe – in Paris and London, for example. But the greatest impact of shipping pollution in Europe is felt in Denmark and the Netherlands.

Much of waters around the US and Europe are now pollution control zones for ships, requiring them to burn better quality fuel. This does help. Reduced sulphur in fuel from 2006 led to cleaner air in Dover and Rotterdam.

However, growth in shipping and increasingly stringent controls on land-based pollution sources mean ship pollution is set to grow as a proportion of our pollution exposure.

via Pollutionwatch: Big ships, bigger stink | Environment | The Guardian.

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‘Very high’ levels of air pollution recorded in Northern Ireland

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Respro® UK Ltd

Very high levels of air pollution have been recorded overnight in Newry – with other areas across Northern Ireland also suffering from increased levels.

The numbers have been blamed on weather conditions causing a build up of pollutants from cars and home heating.

According to the Department of the Environment the “pollution levels are the result of the still, misty and cold overnight weather conditions we are currently experiencing, which can lead to the build up of localised pollutants caused by emissions from vehicles and home heating”.

“Similar pollution levels may again occur later this evening (December 29), lasting until early tomorrow morning December, 30 2014 in urban areas of Northern Ireland.

“The prevailing weather conditions are expected to then change leading to a forecast of low pollution levels for Northern Ireland.”

The department said ‘very high’ levels were recorded in Newry between 2.30pm on December 28 and 5am on December 29.

‘High’ levels also occurred in Londonderry, with ‘moderate’ levels reported in Lisburn and Armagh.

via ‘Very high’ levels of air pollution recorded in Northern Ireland – BelfastTelegraph.co.uk.

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Governor’s budget includes $20M to fight air pollution

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Respro® UK Ltd

Gov. Gary Herbert said he wants the state to continue on its path of “significant action” in the fight against air pollution, once again recommending that $20 million be spent to eliminate dirty, diesel-burning school buses.

Among his budget recommendations unveiled earlier this month: new funding for targeted air quality programs that include the school bus replacement program, more money for local-specific pollution research, and extra dollars for monitoring and compliance.

“We are pretty excited. I think the governor has shown his commitment to air quality through one of the most powerful tools that he has, which is his budget,” said Amanda Smith, executive director of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. “We worked very closely with his staff and the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget to develop proposals for what we think are pretty strategic ways to help with the problem.”

A seven-county area — the Wasatch Front and Cache Valley — is out of compliance with federal clean air standards on fine particulate pollution, or PM2.5, because of 24-hour spikes driven by temperature inversions in the cold of winter.

The Utah Air Quality Board has passed a slew of new regulations clamping down on emissions from industry, small businesses and even changing what products can be purchased in the state, and Utah leaders are pushing an accelerated adoption of cleaner fuel and car standards.

In the 2014 session, lawmakers ponied up more than $3 million in new money to address air quality, and upped tax incentives for cleaner cars to address what has become one of the state’s most nagging public health problems.

It is a major category of air emissions when you have these older, diesel buses that we know are running in our nonattainment areas. We can get significant emission reductions if they convert to natural gas.–Amanda Smith, executive director of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality
Herbert’s budget last year included the $20 million to take care of the school buses — which was not funded — so he is reiterating the request for the 2016 fiscal-year budget.

Smith said the buses pollute the air and pose unacceptable health risks to children.

“It is a major category of air emissions when you have these older, diesel buses that we know are running in our nonattainment areas. We can get significant emission reductions if they convert to natural gas,” she said, adding that the conversion ends up being a fiscal boost for schools as well, given that natural gas is so much cheaper than diesel fuel.

“But probably the most critical thing is that our kids are sitting on the buses and breathing that air,” Smith said.

Another key funding request is the $1.5 million Herbert wants directed to the Clean Air Replacement, Retrofit and Off-Road Technology program, which uses grants to replace old, polluting equipment.

Smith said she believes this is pivotal in the air pollution fight because grant recipients must demonstrate specific pollution reductions if old equipment is replaced.

“It is very targeted funding,” she said, adding that the agency will look at helping businesses that use lawnmowers, snowblowers or other equipment in need of replacing.

The governor also wants $1.3 million to continue the free transit pass program for state employees. Smith said the program was rolled out last year as pilot between state agencies and the Utah Transit Authority, and the goal is to continue the program for 18,000 employees.

“It makes it really plausible to state agencies to ask employees to ride public transportation,” she said.

Herbert’s budget also directs extra money for legal services in the Division of Air Quality — to review permits — and offers another $400,000 for monitoring and compliance.

Tim Wagner, executive director of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, said the clean air advocacy organization is encouraged by many aspects of Herbert’s clean air funding initiatives.

“I think all of these funding requests sound pretty reasonable, and the (Clean Air Replacement, Retrofit and Off-Road Technology program) money will be effective,” he said.

Wagner added, however, that the group does not feel $400,000 is enough to boost compliance.

“The state needs to have a good enforcement arm, and they can only do that with a proper budget,” he said.

via Governor’s budget includes $20M to fight air pollution | KSL.com.

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Average US Car Now Older, Resulting In More Air Pollution

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Respro® UK Ltd

Researchers at the University of Denver found that the US on-road freeway fleet age increased due to the global recession from 2008–2010. To put it simply, because consumers had less money available to purchase new vehicles, they hung on to the ones they owned, thus increasing the average age of vehicles being driven today.

There is an expected vehicle turnover for non-recession years that results in new vehicles entering the national fleet and older ones exiting. Older cars tend to emit more air pollution, so when consumers hang on to them and continue driving, more air pollution is generated.

The researchers captured vehicle data in Los Angeles, Tulsa, and Denver. Data for over 68,000 vehicles was studied.

They were able to quantify higher air pollution levels. “Using fleet fractions from previous data sets, we estimated age-adjusted mean emissions increases for the 2013 fleet to be 17–29% higher for carbon monoxide, 9–14% higher for hydrocarbons, 27–30% higher for nitric oxide, and 7–16% higher for ammonia emissions than if historical fleet turnover rates had prevailed.”

The Recession of 2008 and Its Impact on Light-Duty Vehicle Emissions in Three Western United States Cities, Gary A. Bishop and Donald H. Stedman, is the full study.

The researchers determined that the mean age of the 2013 fleet was nine years. Another factor related to the recession was that many drivers drove less to reduce their fuel consumption and save money. So, even though the fleet increased in age, overall air pollution from vehicles might not have increased.

Interestingly, sales of Chevy Volts and LEAFs have done well even though they have faced challenging economic times. They still represent a tiny portion of the fleet, however. The LEAF produces no tailpipe emissions, of course, and Chevy Volts are in the same bolt most of the time, largely running on electricity.

As the economy continues its very gradual recovery, will consumers return to buying new cars with better emissions controls? Will sales of Volts, LEAFs, and Teslas grow?

Hopefully, most of the fleet will some day soon-ish be made up of low-emission, super-low-emission, ultra-low-emission, and zero-emission vehicles.

via Average US Car Now Older, Resulting In More Air Pollution | CleanTechnica.

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Alaska officials aim to submit air quality regulations by end of year

Posted on December 28, 2014 by Respro® UK Ltd

Public testimony wrapped up on the state’s proposed air quality regulations last week, and state officials believe they can have the regulations ready by the end of the year.

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation received about 90 comments on the proposed regulations that deal with such items as opacity limits for wood stoves and what can and can’t be burned in a solid fuel stove.
The state is developing air quality regulations to tackle the chronic wintertime air pollution in some areas of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, mainly centered around the cities of Fairbanks and North Pole. Both areas, known together as the non-attainment area, are in violation of federal clean air standards enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA requires the state, by the end of 2014, to submit documents showing the state has a plan to clean up the air.

Division of Air Quality Director Alice Edwards said the testimony is being used to fine tune the regulations before they’re adopted and submitted to the EPA before the end of the year.

“A team of staff from the Division of Air Quality are reviewing all the comments received and working with the commissioner and Department of Law staff to refine our thinking and put the final package together,” she said.

The package of regulations along with the expected arrival of clean burning natural gas in the coming years is expected to clean up the air by 2019, a date that many clean air advocates say is too distant.

The public response to the state regulations was much more muted compared with when an earlier draft of the regulations was shown off last year. That initial draft, which had fewer specifics and more time for public testimony, drew much more interest and particularly strong opposition.

DEC spokesman Ty Keltner said about 330 people submitted comments on the last set of regulations.

Keltner said the comment sessions have produced ideas that won’t be able to make it into the plan submitted to the EPA in the coming days. But he said those ideas could find a place in amendments and updates to the plan.

“There were a lot of ideas that came up during this last round of public comment,” he said. “DEC will continue to consider these other suggestions and will continue to work with the Borough Assembly and the rest of the community to develop ideas to improve air in the Fairbanks North Star Borough non-attainment area.”

The Borough Assembly is considering its own set of air pollution regulations and, unlike the DEC, has the power to enforce its air pollution regulations through fines or citations.

Many assembly members were critical of the state’s regulations, saying they didn’t do enough to clean up the air. But they grudgingly supported the regulations.

via Alaska officials aim to submit air quality regulations by end of year – Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Local News.

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