Nearly half of London 2020 roads ‘to miss pollution limits’

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Respro® UK Ltd

Nearly half of London’s roads will still be over legal pollution limits in 2020, according to the Green Party.

London Green Party leader Jenny Jones said 45% of the main road network will have illegal and harmful levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) by 2020.

She said the predicted pollution levels used modelling techniques set out in the mayor’s 2010 Air Quality Strategy.

But the mayor’s office said NO2 levels had decreased by 20% since Boris Johnson took office in 2008.

‘London-wide measures’

Under European Union air quality laws, daily pollution levels must not be above the legal limit on more than 35 days in a calendar year.

Big fines can be levied if cities are found to have breached EU law.

Ms Jones said: “Boris Johnson and the government’s dithering on tackling air pollution meant we missed meeting legal limits on the harmful to human health emission nitrogen dioxide in 2010, and will still be over the limits a decade later.”

A spokeswoman for Mr Johnson said: “Since the mayor took office emissions of oxides of nitrogen are down by an estimated 20%.

“That is because of an ambitious package of London-wide measures including building Europe’s largest fleet of low emission hybrid buses, retiring the oldest taxis and introducing tighter emission standards for lorries and vans.

“Clearly there is still more to do, which is why the mayor has just allocated the first £5.4m of his new £20m Air Quality Fund to help boroughs tackle local air pollution.”

via BBC News – Nearly half of London 2020 roads ‘to miss pollution limits’.

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Air quality alert California

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Respro® UK Ltd

Air quality officials are warning San Joaquin Valley residents of potential health hazards due to increasing ozone levels and smoke from lingering wildfires.

It’s the second air quality alert the valley air pollution control district has issued this year.

Officials are advising residents to reduce extended exposure to outdoor air and strenuous activities.

However, some aren’t going to change their routines because of the warning.

“The air quality does not change what I have to do; I have to ride my bike to and from work. It’s not going to stop me from riding my bike because of the air quality,” said Josh Trivett.

Exposure to particle pollution can cause serious health problems, aggravate lung disease, cause asthma attacks and acute bronchitis. The bad air quality can increase risk of respiratory infections.

Air Alerts are declared when conditions that lead to ozone formation – increased emissions, high temperatures and stagnant air flow – materialize in the Valley. High ozone levels are harmful to health and also put the Valley at risk for exceeding the 1-hour federal ozone standard, which can trigger an annual $29 million federal penalty. This penalty is paid by Valley drivers in the form of a $12 addition to their DMV registration fee plus increased fees on Valley businesses.

The air basin is on the threshold of attaining this 1-hour standard if no exceedances are recorded through the end of September.

“We are at an extremely critical point in our journey to meet this standard,” said Seyed Sadredin, the Air District’s executive director and air pollution control officer. “As we get nearer to the end of ozone season, it becomes even more important to avoid an exceedance.”

Episodes of late-summer high ozone are correlated to back-to-school traffic and increased vehicle idling, in particular.

Steps residents can take to reduce ozone levels include refraining from idling when dropping off/picking up students, carpooling, vanpooling and using alternate transportation, and refraining from using drive-through services.

Businesses and municipalities can reduce emissions by shifting operations to early morning or late evening, when ozone levels are lower, offering flexible work schedules, promoting carpools and vanpools for employees, and becoming a Healthy Air Living partner.

The present alert began Monday, Sept. 9 and will continue through Wed., Sept. 11. The Air Alert is effective in San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare and the Valley portion of Kern counties.

To receive notification of an Air Alert, please call 1-800 SMOG INFO (766-4463), visit the Air District’s website at http://www.valleyair.org, or subscribe to the free automated Air Alert email list at http://www.valleyair.org/list.list.htm.

via 23ABC News – Air quality alert – Bakersfield News, Bakersfield, California News & Bakersfield News Local Headlines – KERO TurnTo23.

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Mobile air quality monitors to visit neighbourhoods soon

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Respro® UK Ltd

Now Chennaiites can dial the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) to bring a mobile air sampler to measure the quality of air.

The city’s air pollution status was based on samples collected from a four or five places in Chennai. But with mobile monitors, all neighbourhoods can know their pollution levels. The board has procured six movable high volume air samplers, producing accurate pollution data from anywhere in the city. TNPCB spent around 1 crore on the six pieces.

TNPCB chairman D Karthikeyan said the new air pollution monitors will be deployed in different locations on a rotational basis. “Communities who suspect higher pollution levels can approach us to check levels in their neighbourhoods,” he said.

Senior Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) officials said these monitors will help experts broadcast more accurate data. “Air pollution, intensity of surface dust and other pollutants of vehicular emission will be checked at regular intervals,” said a CPCB official. These monitors are designed to measure the respirable suspended particulate matter ( RSPM) in the atmosphere.

In high volume air samplers, glass fibre filter papers filter the air. Pollutants, both carbonic particles from vehicular emission and surface dust, leave marks on the papers. After eight hours, the weight of the paper filters increases due to pollutants. Accurate pollution intensity is assessed by the quantity of air passed through the paper and the weight difference of the glass filter paper before and after the test.

TNPCB monitors will be running eight hour shifts, and data from three shifts will decide the day’s average pollution data. A glass filter paper weighing less than three grams costs around 100. TNPCB currently monitors air pollution at five locations using fixed monitors.

via Mobile air quality monitors to visit neighbourhoods soon – The Times of India.

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Road traffic pollution increases risk of death for bronchiectasis patients

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Respro® UK Ltd

Living close to a busy road is associated with a higher risk of death in people with bronchiectasis.

A new study, presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Annual Congress in Barcelona today (8 September 2013), has added to the growing body of evidence demonstrating the damaging effects of road-side pollution.

Bronchiectasis is a condition in which the airways of the lungs become abnormally widened, leading to a build-up of excess mucus. It can be caused by cystic fibrosis (CF), and experts usually categorise the condition as cases either due to CF or not.

The study investigated the association between the residential distance to a main road and the number of deaths in a group of 189 people with non-CF bronchiectasis between June 2006 and October 2012.

The researchers used hazard ratios to estimate the risk of death. The findings showed that participants were less likely to die from bronchiectasis the further they lived from a major road (hazard ratio 0.36 for every tenfold increase in distance to a major road).

Lead author, Pieter Goeminne, said: “Our results are the first to link air pollution with the risk of death in people with bronchiectasis and adds to a number of other studies showing the dangers of living close to a busy road. The findings of this study should encourage policymakers to make air quality a key focus of transport policies and consider the proximity of main roads to residential areas.”

European Respiratory Society President, Professor Francesco Blasi, said: “This study has added crucial evidence to our understanding of how living close to a busy road can affect people with poor lung health. The European Lung White Book provides several key recommendations to help policymakers address this issue and I would call on EU Member States to make air quality an integral part of their transport policies.”

via Road traffic pollution increases risk of death for bronchiectasis patients.

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California – Fires Prompt Air Quality Warning

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Respro® UK Ltd

Air quality officials are warning San Joaquin Valley residents of potential health hazards because of increasing ozone levels and smoke from lingering wildfires. The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District issued an air alert, the second this year, on Monday for San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings and Tulare Counties and parts of Kern County. Officials have advised people in those counties to reduce prolonged exposure to the air and strenuous activities. High ozone levels also put the valley at risk for exceeding the one-hour federal ozone standard, which can trigger an annual $29 million penalty, paid by an assessment on businesses and through a $12 annual vehicle registration fee for drivers from Stockton to Bakersfield.

via California – Fires Prompt Air Quality Warning – NYTimes.com.

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Take a deep breath – and worry

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Respro® UK Ltd

Stand next to a busy road and a typical half litre breath can contain around a million tiny pollution particles, many with diameters smaller than the wavelength of light. Fortunately, most of these are breathed straight back out again but tens of thousands will deposit in our lungs and airways. Humans have evolved to deal with big dust particles but the sheer volume of particles from modern pollution sources might be putting strain on our respiratory and cardiac systems. A small number of studies (including one in London) have linked the number of particles in the air to heart rhythm problems and increases in deaths, ambulance calls and A&E admissions for heart attacks.

There has been little or no improvement in urban air pollution in the last ten years. However the number of particles has changed dramatically. Ultra low sulphur diesel, first sold in the UK in late 2007, decreased the particle number close to roads by around 60% almost overnight. Even away from busy roads, the number of particles outside our homes and schools also showed a large drop. The number of particles coming from the exhausts of new cars should decrease further with new EU regulations. However, if we want to manage particle numbers, we will also have to tackle other large sources including airports, where particle number emissions per kg of fuel burnt are ten times those from traffic. Large numbers of particles can also be found indoors from wood burners, cooking and cigarette smoke.

via Pollutionwatch: Take a deep breath – and worry | Environment | The Guardian.

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London school air pollution webpage launched

Posted on September 6, 2013 by Respro® UK Ltd

A webpage showing the proximity of schools in the capital to roads with high levels of traffic has been launched by London Assembly member Jenny Jones in a bid to increase public awareness of air quality.

The ‘how polluted is my school?’ webpage allows users to identify the 1,148 schools located within 150 metres of roads used by 10,000 or more vehicles per day and at substantial risk from air pollution.

According to the Greater London Authority (GLA), scientific research indicates that children exposed to higher levels of traffic-related air pollution this close to roads travelled by 10,000 vehicles could be responsible for around 15-30% of all new cases of childhood asthma.

And, based on the Mayor of London’s projections for pollution levels in 2020, there will still be 928 London schools within 150 metres of main roads exceeding national nitrogen dioxide limits.

Green Party member Ms Jones criticised London Mayor Boris Johnson for “dithering and delaying in introducing effective measures to tackle air pollution”.

She said: “Pupils who attend a school by a busy polluted road would be exposed to harmful levels of vehicle pollution during their school years. We need big ideas like reducing traffic by lowering fares, with improved public transport and cycling facilities.”

Furthermore, she called for additional measures to reduce the impact of air pollution at schools, such: as no engine idling campaigns outside schools; green roofs and plants to cut airbourne particulates; and low energy ventilation systems to ensure fresh air within school buildings.

She said: “The Mayor should at the very least boost his Clean Air Fund for worst affected schools, to enable them to take measures to reduce children’s exposure, within the school and through their travel.”

Legal limits

Additionally, Ms Jones criticised the Mayor after it emerged this week that 78% of main roads in London break the European legal limits for nitrogen dioxide, including all those in Camden, the City of London and Kensington and Chelsea.

In the borough of Bromley, meanwhile, 45% of main roads were in breach of nitrogen dioxide limits.

Commenting on this, Ms Jones said: “Anyone who is shopping, working, or regularly travelling along London’s main road network needs to be aware that this is a problem right across the capital. The Mayor needs to be tackling air pollution in the suburbs as well as inner London.”

The Green Party member also sits on the London Assembly’s Environment Committee, which in July urged the London Mayor to bring forward its plans for an Ultra Low Emission Zone in central London from its current planned date of 2020 (see airqualitynews.com story).

Ms Jones said of the Mayor: “His proposed Ultra Low Emission Zone won’t help much in outer London. He needs to focus on reducing traffic by lowering fares and improving public transport, walking and cycling.”

via London school air pollution webpage launched | AirQualityNews.

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How Polluted Is Your Air? 3 Easy Ways To Find Out

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Respro® UK Ltd

With the enormous Yosemite Rim fire still raging this week (and expected to burn for three more weeks) and four new wildfires now burning in Montana and Idaho, people in the western United States are understandably worried about how all this smoke is affecting their air.

And well they should be; the Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) came out with a new study last week showing that air pollution causes 200,000 early deaths a year.

Now this particular study was tracking emissions from transportation and power generation, since those are the pollutants that have continuous effects over long periods of time. Other studies have linked smog with artery and heart disease.

But smoky air poses similar health risks; according to a fact sheet from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), wildfire smoke is particularly dangerous for children, older adults, and can cause dangerous exacerbations of asthma, allergies, heart and lung conditions.

What Is It Really Like When Air Quality Reaches Unhealthy Levels?

Driving across Nevada last week on my way home from a summer road trip, I experienced first-hand the effect of the Yosemite Rim fire on the air quality in the Sierras and points east, and it was a shocker.

Halfway across Nevada and still hundreds of miles east of the fire, we started to smell it – it was like being trapped in the draft of a campfire made with wet wood. Our eyes stung, our throats felt gritty, and we all got splitting headaches within an hour, even with the car’s vents tightly closed.

In Reno, sidewalks were deserted and businesses kept their doors and windows tightly closed to protect their air. Some merchants even posted employees at the door to monitor entries and exits; they waited for you to knock, cracked the door as little as possible, then closed it behind you like you were entering a Speakeasy. Here’s how NBC news described the extreme conditions in Reno.

As of today, the Reno-Sparks area still has unhealthy air quality, and specific areas of the Sierra Nevada, such as the resort areas of Pinecrest and Markleeville, are dealing with air quality in the “red” zone.

How do I know this? Because our government offers a handy-dandy website that lets you monitor the air quality in pretty much any area of the U.S. In fact, a bit of obsessive sleuthing revealed several websites that offer an admirable amount of information that can help you protect your own lungs, and those of your family.

Here are three ways to analyze your air quality in real time.

1. Find Out How Bad – or Good – Your Air Is Right Now

A service of the U.S. government that’s received ridiculously little attention, the AirNow website allows you to see a map of air quality in the U.S. and search on your own zipcode or town to check the status of your air. The site also provides regularly updated wildfire smoke advisories and forecasts.

In the San Francisco Bay Area where I live, we have our very own Spare the Air website that provides 5-day air quality forecasts, and somewhat similar services are provided by the air quality management agencies of other regions, including Los Angeles, Maryland/Washington DC and New York.

continue reading How Polluted Is Your Air? 3 Easy Ways To Find Out – Forbes.

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