Protest highlighting pollution closes Oxford Circus

Posted on November 18, 2014 by Respro® UK Ltd

Protestors march through Oxford St and hold mass ‘die-in’ at Marble Arch to highlight air pollution and cyclist fatalities

Thousands of protestors brought Oxford Circus to a standstill on Saturday afternoon (November 15), with a horse-drawn hearse leading a march through Oxford Street to highlight air pollution and cyclist deaths in London.

Organised by campaign group Stop Killing Cyclists, the march began at Bedford Square before the horse-drawn hearse paused at Oxford Circus for a two-minute silence to remember those killed in London by road collisions, as well as the 50,000 UK patients estimated to have died as a result of transport pollution over the last decade.

The march later ended at Marble Arch, where protestors led by a bagpiper held a mass ‘die-in’ and placed the symbolic coffin on a Dutch-style catafalque.

The campaign group unveiled 10 demands at the protest, one of which urged authorities to ‘stop the killing from lung, heart and other diseases caused by vehicular pollutants’ and to ‘make it mandatory for particulate filters that meet the latest EU emission standards to be fitted to all existing buses, lorries and taxies’.

In addition, the group are seeking all transport fuels to be from environmentally-sustainable sources within 10 years.

According to Stop Killing Cyclists, the march is one of the first large-scale protests in the UK to raise the issue of traffic air pollution as one of its main concerns.

Another demand called for the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street – a policy also recently supported by London Assembly Member Stephen Knight, partly due to air pollution concerns (see airqualitynews.com story).

In his speech, Professor Delaney said: “This car culture is destroying our bodies through pollution and inactivity as much as it destroys lives through so called accidents and our environment through emissions.”Speakers included Professor Brendan Delaney, Kings College London; Tom Kearney, campaign group Safer Oxford Street; and Caroline Russell, Green Party transport spokesperson.

The Professor of primary care research added: “I spend my working life dealing with the end results of our collective blindness to the hidden killer. Diseases of inactivity will break our national health system in the coming decade. We have to stop.”

via Protest highlighting pollution closes Oxford Circus | AirQualityNews.

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Air pollution may up chronic kidney disease risk

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Respro® UK Ltd

Air pollution may raise the risk of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD), a new study indicates.

After taking into account patient risk factors including age, diabetes and hypertension, the investigators found a link between the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and the increasing level of particulate matter (PM) in some areas in the United States.

An elevated prevalence of CKD was observed when particulate matter levels were as low as 8.4 microgram per cubic metre – which is much lower than levels typically considered to be unhealthy for sensitive groups such as the elderly (40 microgram per cubic metre).

“If air pollution is a risk factor for CKD, the impact is likely to be even greater in countries where pollution levels are much higher than in the US,” said lead study author Jennifer L. Bragg-Gresham from the University of Michigan in the US.

In October, the US embassy’s pollution monitor in New Delhi labelled its air quality as “very unhealthy” – at 248 microgram per cubic metre.

“Future investigations should include lab-based diagnosis of CKD, longitudinal data, measures of multiple air pollutants and individual exposure,” Bragg-Gresham added.

The findings was presented at the “ASN Kidney Week 2014” at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.

via Air pollution may up chronic kidney disease risk | Business Standard News.

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European Court verdict on air pollution case due

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Respro® UK Ltd

This Wednesday 19th November 2014, the European Court of Justice ECJ will deliver its judgment in ClientEarth’s case against the UK Government over its failure to tackle air pollution.

ClientEarth, a member of the Healthy Air Campaign, took the UK Government to court for the illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide a harmful pollutant whose main source in our towns and cities is diesel vehicles. Last year, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the Government was breaking the law by failing to ensure that legal limits of this pollutant were met.

The ECJ’s ruling will determine what action the UK courts can take against the Government. It will also be binding for all EU countries. So it sets a precedent that will enable challenges against any EU countries failing to protect their citizens from air pollution.

The EU Air Quality Directive requires EU countries which have failed to meet air quality limits to prepare a plan to reduce air pollution in the “shortest time possible”. However, current UK Government plans will not meet nitrogen dioxide limits until after 2030 – 20 years after the original deadline. Is this the shortest time possible? The ECJ’s verdict will help make clear what needs to happen.

via European Court verdict on air pollution case due – HealthyAir.

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When will exhaust tests get real?

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Respro® UK Ltd

Drivers of new cars have been finding that their fuel economy does not meet the manufacturer’s claims, but larger doubts are being raised about the official exhaust tests. We cannot expect these tests to match our own driving styles and the hills and junctions that we encounter every day, but vehicles should not be designed to pass official tests and then work differently on the roads.

Official tests are conducted in laboratories over a simulated route. Alternatively cars can be equipped with complex instruments connected to their exhausts and tested on real roads. Results from 97 journeys in 15 of the most modern diesel cars have been gathered by the International Council on Clean Transport. These cars met the latest European and US standards in lab tests but on the road they emitted, on average, seven times the nitrogen oxides compared with official tests; one car emitted 25 times. On the positive side, other exhaust gases have been well controlled, as have pollutants from petrol cars, but nitrogen oxides from diesels contribute to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) that is more than twice the EU and World Health Organisation limits in some UK cities. Nitrogen oxides also mix with other pollutants to form harmful airborne particulates and summer-time smog.

By relying on exhaust emissions controls to control urban NO2 our policy makers put all their eggs in one basket rather than controlling the growth in diesel vehicles or promoting walking and cycling. The proposed solution is not tighter limits but better tests. In the meantime we will be waiting longer for clean air in our cities.

via Pollutionwatch: When will exhaust tests get real? | Environment | The Guardian.

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Macon’s air pollution surge caused by African desert

Posted on November 15, 2014 by Respro® UK Ltd

Georgia’s environmental regulators say a burst of air pollution found in Macon this summer came straight from Africa.

Unusual weather patterns forced a concentration of dust from the Sahara Desert into parts of Georgia, they say.

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division filed paperwork Wednesday saying it plans to contest the readings with federal regulators because of the unusual nature of the pollution, which is termed an “exceptional event.

”The heavy pollution was detected in Macon’s Allied Industrial Park as well as locations in Albany. On July 1, Macon’s concentration of fine air particles, called PM2.5, was at 24.5 micrograms per cubic meter, below the 24-hour limit of 35. By the next day, however, Macon’s readings had increased nearly 60 percent, to 39.6 micrograms per cubic meter.

The state says that number is “exceptional due to natural uncontrollable and unpreventable circumstances.” Tropical Storm Arthur and a high-pressure ridge of air helped bring along the Saharan dust from Africa, into the Gulf of Mexico and then into the Southeast, the EPD’s documentation suggests. Testing showed unusual concentrations of silicon, a common element of sand.

The high readings were enough to push up the annual average. In the last three years, the average has been about 11 micrograms per cubic meter, or less than a third of the daily allowed rate. Macon exceeded that daily limit once each in 2012, 2013 and 2014, according to state data.

via State: Macon’s air pollution surge caused by African desert | Politics | Macon.com.

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Boris Johnson admits London’s Oxford Street is one of world’s most polluted

Posted on November 14, 2014 by Respro® UK Ltd

Boris Johnson has been forced to accept that London’s Oxford Street has some of the worst air pollution in the world.

In an exchange of letters with the Environment Audit Committee (EAC) of MPs, the mayor said he now accepts scientific evidence from Britain’s leading air research group that the street has some of the world’s highest recorded levels of nitrogen dioxide.

The mayor of London had said in a Twitter exchange in July that it was a “ludicrous urban myth” that Britain’s premier shopping street was one of the world’s most polluted thoroughfares, saying that the capital’s air quality was “better than Paris and other European cities”.

This followed a presentation in June by King’s College London air researcher David Carslaw which questioned whether the hourly and annual average levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution – mainly caused by diesel traffic – were the highest in the world. Carslaw’s slide had read: “Highest annual mean concentration and most hourly NO2 exceedences in the World? Highest in the (long) history of air pollution?”

But Johnson backed down this week following a letter from EAC chair Joan Walley, who sought assurance that King’s College funding would not be threatened by its pollution research. “We are not disputing King’s college data, but rather only asking only that in future more rigour will be applied to public statements,” Johnson wrote.

He also denied that King’s funding was threatened. “There is absolutely no threat, veiled or otherwise, to King’s College funding. The only reference to a threat has been made by a single anonymous source close to King’s who spoke to the Times. Greater London authority funding decisions are not influenced by King’s research”.

Since the Twitter exchange Johnson and Transport for London, the local government body responsible for most of the transport system in Greater London, has proposed what it calls “the world’s first ultra-low-emission zone (ULEZ)” which would come into effect in September 2020. It will require all vehicles entering it to comply with new emission standards for nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM10) or pay a daily fine.

Transport for London, which has come under intense pressure from Europe, Westminster and campaigners to meet EU air pollution laws, expects the new zone to ensure that more than 80% of central London meets the nitrogen dioxide annual legal limits by 2020, as well as halve PM10 and NOx emissions. However, it has been criticised because EU legislation requires cities to meet NO2 limits by 2015.

A spokesperson for the mayor’s office said: “The mayor’s view has not changed. He has never disputed the King’s College data, but has always been clear that this data was taken out of context and misrepresented. The claim that Oxford Street is the most polluted in the world was erroneous and the mayor does not accept it. King’s College themselves agree that their data was misrepresented and reiterated this point to the London Assembly’s environment committee just last week.”

via Boris Johnson admits London’s Oxford Street is one of world’s most polluted | Environment | The Guardian.

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Review: Respro® Skins™

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Respro® UK Ltd

skins factor magRespro® has recently added a splash of colour to the cycling mask market with their new line of Skins™. You can either buy the Skin as a neoprene shell without valves and filter  and use it with your existing components, or alternatively you can buy the Skin fully assembled with neoprene shell, filter and Powa valves.

As a first-time wearer of a cycling mask, I found the experience generally a good one. My commute is about eight miles each way, and I generally switch between regular and faster speeds.

Although the mask does get sweaty, as to be expected with any mask, it fitted comfortably and didn’t affect my breathing.

In terms of the style of the Skin, it’s going to depend on your personal taste. If you’re already wearing a mask in a place such as London, where they are less commonly seen than in other parts of the world, then you think that the benefits are worth it.

In that case, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy sprucing it up with one of Respro®’s various colourful Skins™. And if you’re considering buying one for the first time and want something both practical and stylish, then Respro® Skins™ could be a great choice.

via Factor Magazine

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Air Pollution Set to Soar as Vehicle Population Grows Exponentially in Indian Cities

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Respro® UK Ltd

The vehicle population on Indian roads will increase air pollution three to five times over, says a report from The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

Under current trends of vehicle population, and existing fuel and emission standards, particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers will increase by a factor of three, while nitrous oxide emissions will rise by a factor of five.

The transport sector contributes about 15% to 50% of small particulates and is a dominant contributor to NOx emissions, says the report.

“In 1991, there were 20 million vehicles in India. The number had skyrocketed to 140 million in 2011, and by 2030, vehicle population is expected to reach a staggering 400 million. We need multiple strategies to bring regulatory agencies and the regulated communities together and provide incentives to reduce the pollution load,” said Mary Nichols, Chairman, CARB.

The new report titled ‘Options to reduce road transport pollution in India’ spells out ways for reducing emissions, the technologies available and governance issues that need to be urgently addressed to improve air quality in Indian cities.

These including upgrading fuel quality, tightening vehicle emission standards, shifting transport modes, promoting electric vehicles, etc.

Vehicular emissions contribute to particulate matter (PM 2.5) and to nitrogen oxides, NO and NO2 (NOx). These in turn react in the presence of sunlight to form ozone.

PM 2.5 is the dominant contributor to premature deaths and numerous other illnesses, followed by ozone and NOx, which also adversely impact crop yields, says the report.

Comparing the situation to California, which in the 60s had one of the highest air pollution levels in the world, the report notes how over the past 40-50 years, it has succeeded in reducing the levels of all air pollutions by 75% to 90% though a series of measures. In particular, it has significantly reduced black carbon and particulate pollutants from automobiles.

On the other hand, 80% of cities in India, which have comparatively fewer vehicles, have exceeded the ambient air quality standards prescribed by the Government of India.

The World Health Organization estimates that of the 67 risk factors studied in their Global Burden of Disease project, outdoor air pollution stood fifth in mortality and seventh in health burden in India, contributing to over 627,000 deaths and 17.7 million healthy years of life lost in 2010.

Transportation is also the fastest growing source of carbon emissions and accounted for about 2,300 megatons of CO2 in 2010. India’s transport emissions are predicted to go from about 70 megatons today to over 500 megatons by 2050.

An ITDP report had calculated that a shift from car-centric transport to one based on public transport, walking and cycling can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 1542 megatonnes (1700 megatons) by 2050.

via Air Pollution Set to Soar as Vehicle Population Grows Exponentially in Indian Cities.

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