Air Pollution Set to Rise Drastically in Indian Cities

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Respro® UK Ltd

A new report today warned against vehicular pollution in the country, saying if the trend continues it will cause alarming rise of deadly Particulate Matter (PM), which is believed to pose the greatest health risk in the air.

“If the current trends of vehicle population, fuel and emission standards persist, PM 2.5 (PM particles smaller than 2.5 micrometres) emissions will increase by a factor of three, and those of NOx (one of a group of highly reactive gasses) will increase by a factor of five,” according to the report.

The report was prepared by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

According to the report, titled ‘Options to Reduce Road Transport Pollution in India’,the transport sector contributes about 15 to 50 per cent of PM 2.5 emissions in cities, and is a dominant contributor to NOx emissions.

The World Health Organization estimates that, of the 67 risk factors studied in its Global Burden of Disease project, outdoor air pollution was ranked 5th in mortality and 7th in health burden in India, contributing to over 6,27,000 deaths and 17.7 million healthy years of life lost in 2010.

The report establishes the scientific basis for reducing emissions, the technologies available, and governance issues that need to be urgently addressed to improve air quality.

The report comes at a time when the transport sector is experiencing significant growth in the country and vehicle population has grown seven-fold in the past two decades. It also presented city-wise contribution in emissions from the transportation sector.

Within the transportation sector, heavy-duty trucks are the largest black carbon (BC) emitters followed by bus, which is followed by three-wheelers. As for PM 2.5, heavy-duty trucks emit most followed by two-wheelers and then three-wheelers.

“City wise, transportation also stands as the largest emitter of PM2.5 in Bangalore (followed by Diesel Generator sets), Pune (followed by secondary formation) and Kanpur (followed by domestic),” it says.

Heavy-duty trucks are large sources of BC and PM2.5 in states such as Maharashtra and Gujarat as well as cities such as Delhi and Chennai. Two wheelers are the largest source of PM2.5 emission in Delhi.

The report says that drastic reduction (more than 90 per cent) of Particulate Matter (PM) and Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) from the transportation sector, primarily diesel vehicles and buses, will have the largest and most immediate beneficial impact on human health and food supply.

“More than 75 per cent of PM 2.5 particles (also known as aerosols in the climate literature) from diesel vehicles is black carbon aerosols (or particles), a major contributor to global warming and melting of Himalayan glaciers,” says the report.

It is expected to grow from 140 million in 2011 to about 400 million during the next two decades. “Clearly, Indian citizens are on the move and are prospering from the growth,” it said.

“But this growth will worsen the air pollution problem in India and will come at a huge cost to public health and crop yields. It also has consequences to monsoon rainfall, Himalayan glaciers and regional climate,” it says.

PM 2.5 is the dominant contributor to premature deaths and numerous other illnesses, followed by Ozone and NOx, the other two major contributors to health impacts.

It says that drastic reductions in PM 2.5 and NOx emissions will also mitigate impacts of black carbon and nitrate aerosols (resulting from NOx) on precipitation and regional climate change. “It is a win-win action for all aspects of sustainability,” it added.

via Air Pollution Set to Rise Drastically in Indian Cities: Report.

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Meet the woman who is allergic to everything

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Respro® UK Ltd

EACH time mum-of-two Stephanie Thakrar leaves her house, she risks her life.

The 34-year-old has multiple allergies and suffers with severe anaphylaxis which means she can have an extreme reaction to an allergen being in the air rather than having to eat or touch it which means even a stroll to the shops could kill her.

She has gone into anaphylactic shock 10 times due to her allergies which are so sensitive that simply cutting pineapple, opening a packet of nuts or spraying beauty product in the same room as her could cause her airways to close.

It means she hates leaving her Southampton home which is tiled floor to ceiling and immaculately clean and she has to wear a mask and gloves to protect against her allergies which include fruit, dust, nuts, perfume, tanning of leather, rubber and latex.

Her husband and children have to wash before kissing her and she can no longer work to avoid symptoms which include heart palpitations, severe rashes and at worst being unable to breathe.

“I know for some people it’s a lot to take in: the woman who’s allergic to everything. There should be a bubble around me.

“Every day is a battle for me. It is like I have to fight to survive.

“When I do go out, I put myself at risk so now I don’t go out unless I have to. I am lucky I am not dead.

“Whether someone passes me wearing Lynx or perfume, I can’t breathe, or at friends’ houses a bit of Mr Muscle and you may as well phone the ambulance because I cannot breathe. I can’t control what’s in the air. I could die if my airways don’t open up again, I just hope they will.

“My house is my safe haven. It’s the safest place for me,” says Stephanie who has stayed in for the past three weeks on steroids after a severe reaction.

“How I describe it is that my daughter is into Toy Story and I am like the Woody doll with the pull string. When I have a reaction it’s like someone is sucking the life out of me. It is very frightening. You don’t know how a reaction will pan out.

“My allergies control my life.”

Stephanie’s allergic reactions have got progressively worse over the years – she has developed more allergies and now goes into anaphylactic shock more quickly.

But it wasn’t until 2007 she was diagnosed.

Previously medics put her severe symptoms down to eczema.

However she had a severe reaction to a nut and when she was rushed to hospital, she underwent a number of tests which revealed her numerous allergies.

“I don’t know how I survived child birth. I’ve been tested for everything and my hospital file is as big as an encyclopaedia. I’ve always used steroid creams because I used to get big boils on my hands but I didn’t realise I had so many allergies. It didn’t make sense all these years.

“I get it all – I feel like the Nutty Professor sometimes.”

Her allergies have become so extreme Stephanie was made redundant from her job as a family support worker for the NHS four months ago.

She says due to her allergies she was off sick 165 days out of 365 last year.

And now Stephanie who takes medication every day and constantly carries a medical kit and EpiPen to inject herself with adrenalin, fears she will never work again.

Even a trip to the supermarket where she has to religiously check each label on everything from toilet paper to kitchen cleaners is traumatic.

“I cry in the supermarket. Everyone stares at me and in the summer people point because I wear gloves and I have to wrap up. It makes me feel very self conscious.”

However for Stephanie it’s how her multiple allergies affect her personal relationships that gets her down the most.

If she is invited to a restaurant or social gathering, she has to call ahead to check the menus and ask if there will be any balloons or anything that may trigger an attack.

“I feel like I’m a burden to my family and I feel like I’m a burden to other people because your condition is affecting other people and how they want to live there life. Everything has to be checked.”

She cannot go into a hairdressers or beauty salon due to the products, has been forced to stand in the garden at friends when they have accidentally cooked food in the kitchen she is allergic to like green peppers and some restaurants have told her after she has supplied her list of allergies that she is too high risk to eat there.

“All the girly things, I can’t do any of it. It’s always feeling left out no matter what I’m doing.”

But for Stephanie it is how her allergies affect home life with her husband who is a self-employed tiler and two daughters aged 14 and eight which is devastating.

“There is no romance in this house. He comes in the house, has to brush his teeth, wash, strip off then it’s darling hi, kiss.

“That’s the thing nobody can come in and cuddle or kiss me, they might have eaten something or touched something I am allergic to and that could cause a reaction. I hate how I can’t kiss my husband and he can’t be impulsive.

“My husband has had to tie my hands when I have slept before because I’ve made myself bleed from scratching myself. He has to spray his deodorant outside, my daughters can’t paint their nails or spray anything.

“It’s not a life to have. I hate it. I hate how it controls everything.

“The hardest thing is I’ve had to tell my eight-year-old not to come near me at times, like when she has played with Loom bands or had a balloon, just so I can get home safely.

“My youngest watches Lego Ninjago and she said to me ‘I can get this special medicine that the ninja’s got mum and it will heal you and it could heal all the allergies’, I said ‘that would be amazing’ I feel like I am letting my family down.”

However Stephanie, who is supported by Allergy UK, is determined not to let her allergies ruin her life, and for her it’s important to laugh about it.

“I’ve started rollerbooting with my girlfriends because I can’t go to the gym and we do have a laugh. I’m there with my mask on and they say come on Hannibal Lecture, I can have a joke about it and I have to because otherwise I would be crying all the time.”

Now she hopes by telling her story more awareness is raised surrounding people with allergies.

She says latex alone “You should never judge a book by its cover. There’s a lack of understanding, lack of awareness and I hope by telling my story that changes. My life could be made a lot easier if attitudes changed.”

  • Allergy UK is the leading medical charity providing advice, information and support to those with allergies and food intolerances. For more information go to http://www.allergyuk.org or call 01322 619898.

via Meet the woman who is allergic to everything From Daily Echo.

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Apec: China blocks access to US air pollution data for Beijing

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Respro® UK Ltd

They banned the burning of funeral offerings, closed restaurants and factories, halted deliveries and took millions of cars off the roads. But Chinese leaders were unable to achieve blue skies for this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting in Beijing, with data from the US embassy showing air pollution at six times the World Health Organisation’s safe daily limit.

The one course of action left to officials? Denying access to the US data.

As global leaders tucked into their welcoming dinner, the US reading – still available on the embassy’s own website – was “very unhealthy”, with an air quality index reading of 203. It showed the concentration of PM2.5, the smallest particulate matter, at 153 micrograms per cubic metre. The WHO says the safe daily level is 25 micrograms.

But as the Washington Post reported, Smartphone apps and Chinese websites that normally included the US figures alongside official statistics, had the former removed, while the official Chinese feed crept up to 147 or “lightly polluted”.

An app that normally carries the US data showed steadily rising levels in the morning before switching abruptly at lunchtime to an implausible “0: excellent” reading.

On the beijing-air site a notice wished the Apec summit every success and read: “On the instructions of authorities, for this month’s air quality data, please refer to figures from the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau”.

Chinese officials argue that the US measure cannot be regarded as accurate because it is based on a reading from a single spot in Beijing.

Even the 203 measure is unremarkable by the capital’s standards. October saw unusually noxious levels of pollution, with many people blaming increased production by factories which knew they would have to shut before Apec. Runners in the Beijing marathon participated in facemasks as the US embassy PM2.5 reading reached 344 micrograms per cubic metre.

The vice-premier, Zhang Gaoli, recently said that ensuring the air was clean for Apec was the “priority of priorities”.

Among residents, “Apec blue” has become slang for something enjoyable but short-lived or unreal. Some have joked that Apec stands for “Air Pollution Eventually Controlled” while others say the air in Beijing is normally so bad that “even Bpec or Cpec blue would be better than nothing”.

Weather is a major factor affecting smog levels in the Chinese capital. But the fact that such extensive measures have failed to eradicate the problem is an indicator of just how tough a long-term battle China faces as it seeks to tackle pollution.

via Apec: China blocks access to US air pollution data for Beijing | World news | The Guardian.

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Qatar’s air pollution unacceptably high 44 percent of the year

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Respro® UK Ltd

Amid ongoing concern about air pollution in Qatar, a new environmental report shows harmful airborne particles exceeded recommended levels for 159 days of the year in 2012.

The Environment Statistics Annual Report 2013, recently issued by the Ministry of Development, Planning and Statistics, breaks down Qatar’s air quality levels from 2008 until its latest figures in 2012.

It follows data released by the World Health Organization earlier this year, which suggested Doha’s air is among the most polluted in the world.

Pollution

The WHO’s ambient (outdoor) air pollution in cities database 2014 examined air pollution levels in 1,600 cities in 91 countries.

It measures particulate matter, which are small and large droplets in the air. It concluded that Doha had the 12th highest average levels of small and fine particles, known as PM2.5, which can penetrate the respiratory tract and increase the risk of respiratory infections, lung cancer, heart disease and stroke.

According to the US Environment Protection Agency, these particles – which often cannot be seen with the naked eye – are made up of heavy metals and toxic organic compounds, and originate from vehicle exhaust, smelting plants and the burning of organic materials.

Larger particles – PM10 – are mostly caused by dust and smoke. In this category, Doha ranked just outside the top 30.

Standards

While the ministry’s recent report didn’t benchmark Qatar against other countries, it showed that local air pollution levels frequently exceed the WHO’s recommendations as well as Qatar’s own targets, which are more lax than the international standards.

For example, Qatar’s national air quality standards for PM10 are 150 ug/m3 for 24 hours average concentration and 50 ug/m3 for the annual average concentration.

By comparison, the WHO’s standards for PM10 are 50 ug/m3 for the 24-hour average – one third of Qatar’s target – and 20 ug/m3 for the annual average concentration, which is less than half of the national figure.

The MDPS report uses statistics from the Ministry of Environment, which measures air quality at three monitoring stations in Doha – at Qatar University, Aspire Zone and the Mövenpick Hotel on the Corniche.

Levels highest at QU

All three monitoring stations recorded pollution levels above the recommended national and global levels. However, concentration levels of the larger particulates (PM10) were highest at QU station in the north of Doha. That location also recorded the most days when air quality levels did not meet international standards.

Air Quality study - fig14In 2012, the national quality standards were breached on 159 days, or 44 percent of the year.

This is still an improvement from 2008, when the national standard of 150 µg/m3 for 24-hours average concentration was exceeded on 229 days – nearly two-thirds of the year.

The QU station also recorded the highest 24-hour average concentration of PM10 in March 2012, which was 2,214 µg/m3 – far above both the national and WHO recommended levels.

Air Quality study - fig 12

For the smaller and more harmful particles, figures recorded at the QU station show the annual average concentration was 119.19 µg/m3 – nearly 12 times the level recommended by the WHO.

The figures may be at least partly explained by Qatar University’s proximity to Lusail, where construction crews are undertaking massive infrastructure and development projects in preparation for the 2022 World Cup.

Previous government reports have said sand and dust generated by Qatar’s booming construction industry, as well as transportation emissions, are the primary causes of air pollution in Doha.

To tackle the issue, it recommended the development of strict guidelines “to manage discharge of greenhouses gases and air pollution, where all sects of the society should participate, including the private sector.”

via Report: Qatar’s air pollution unacceptably high 44 percent of the year – Doha News.

Posted in Air Quality, Middle East | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Respro® Masks FAQ: What is Air Pollution?

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Respro® UK Ltd

What is Air Pollution?

Air pollution is made up of two distinct categories:

1. Gases and Vapours

2. Particulates

Most types of pollution can be put into one or other category.

Gases & Vapours:

Nitrogen oxides

Sulphur Dioxide

Carbon Monoxide

Low level Ozone

Hydrocarbon Chemicals

These all require an activated carbon filter media to adsorb these pollutants.

(Techno™, City™, Bandit™, Cinqro™, Xtreme™ urban)

Particulates:

Asbestos dust from brake linings

Pollen

Road dust

Black smoke from diesel emissions

Any other material which is solid in nature

These all require a submicron Hepa-Type filter media to trap these pollutants.

(Techno™, Sportsta™, Cinqro™, Respro® Allergy Mask, Xtreme™ Sports)

Particulate Types:

Inhalable and Respirable.

Inhalable particulates: are the particles big enough to be trapped within the nasal hairs and the mucous membranes at the back of the throat. (Larger in size than 2.5 microns)

Respirable particulates: are the particles that pass beyond the nasal hairs and the mucous membranes of the throat and pass into the lung sacs and subsequent blood barrier.

These particulates can carry carcinogenic chemicals used in petrol (benzene, pyrene, etc) to the blood barrier. (Smaller in size than 2.5 microns)

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Study shows way in which air-polluting traffic increases risk of cardiovascular disease

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Respro® UK Ltd

Pollution from vehicles — and not only from factories — triggers the development of cardiovascular diseases, according to new research conducted at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center that will soon be published in the journal Toxicology and Industrial Health.

Urban living and personal transport is popular, but they come at a price, says Prof. Michael Aviram, head of the lipid research lab at Rambam and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology’s Rappaport Medical Faculty, along with Technion environmental engineering faculty lecturer, Dr. Lorraine Patrick.

It has been published in recent years that Haifa and its environs have the highest cancer rate in the country. Although no studies have pointed to the influence of pollution from the petroleum refineries and other factories, the connection is widely believed. Bur gasoline-powered vehicles are all over the country, and they have no less an effect on health, the researchers implied.

The new study demonstrates “for the first time” the way that air pollution from vehicles can become a trigger for the development of cardiac and vascular diseases. Carbon monoxide (CO) is a central factor in air pollution from vehicles. The researchers checked the effects of CO on the accumulation of fatty plaques on the endothelial tissue inside the arteries, leading to heart attack and strokes.

The exposure of microphages (which are small white cells that gobble up harmful materials and represent cells inside the blood vessels) to CO raised the level of triglyceride fats in the cells by 60 percent and reduced by 30% the ability of “good cholesterol” (high-density lipoprotein) to remove excess cholesterol from the microphages.

Aviram said the innovative research “stress the need to reduce the amount of air pollution to minimize morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases.”

via Study shows way in which air-polluting traffic increases risk of cardiovascular disease.

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Georgia establishes new system to measure air pollution

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Respro® UK Ltd

To protect and maintain fresh air in the country, Georgia’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection has installed a special automatic monitoring system to measure pollution levels in the country.

Specifically, the new monitoring system measured radioactive aerosols in the air. Stations have been installed in Tbilisi, Akhaltsikhe and Kobuleti.

The system automatically monitored the air and checked the pollution levels in the samples.

Special equipment allowed the stations to determine the volume of iodine, xenon, krypton and other pollutants in the air.

Minister of Environment Elguja Khokrishvili said the new monitoring system will improve the quality of radiation control mechanisms and contribute to the radiation hazard risk mitigation process.

Khokrishvili and head of National Environment Agency Vladimer Lazarishvili attended a special ceremony marking the new system installation.

via The Messenger – Georgia establishes new system to measure air pollution.

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EPA ramps up Latrobe Valley air quality monitoring

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Respro® UK Ltd

The Environment Protection Authority EPA has improved its air quality monitoring capabilities in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley.

The EPA was widely criticised during the Hazelwood mine fire this year for taking too long to make air pollution data available.

It now has monitoring stations for fine particles and carbon monoxide at Morwell South, Morwell East and Traralgon and it is installing stations at Moe and Churchill.

The EPA’s principal air quality expert, Dr Paul Torre, said the air in the Latrobe Valley was being more closely monitored.

“I think we learnt quite a lot in terms of how we can respond to areas of a lot of smoke,” he said.

“There’s quite a lot of work in the background trying to look at cheaper smart sensors that can give us alerts of smoke … there’s also quite a bit of research now being done through the CRC [cooperative research centre] for emerging incidents, where they’re looking at trying to better model some of these smoke impacts to provide adequate time for alerts.”

via EPA ramps up Latrobe Valley air quality monitoring – ABC News Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

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