£150,000 to Improve Air Quality in York

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Respro® UK Ltd

City of York Council has gained funding from government worth £150,000 for five schemes aimed at improving air quality in the city.

The funding, which comes from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Defra puts York at the top of the funding ladder for a single local authority.

The grants see York receive £94,490 which is to be put towards the implementation of Low Emission Strategy measures and £54,490 for assessing the impact of these and other transport measures.

The funding aims to help create guidance and tools for local authorities who want to reduce emissions. Money was also given to authorities who want to develop the way they communicate air quality messages to their local communities.

The grant will allow the city to engage in a public information campaign to raise awareness of the effects of air pollution on health and will also see the promotion of low emission vehicles and taxis. This will include vehicle demonstration days, purchase / lease of a high profile low emission vehicle for use on promotional work and for development of a Low Emission Taxi Incentive Scheme. A study will also take place to ascertain the likely real-life emission reduction of the I-Travel York campaign, using the best available modelling techniques.

A Compressed Natural Gas CNG refuelling feasibility study for York will also take place alongside a Tackling Idling Vehicle Strategy Feasibility study – which will help the council develop an evidence base to demonstrate the reduction in vehicle emissions achievable through the introduction of anti-idling policies, which encourage drivers to switch off their engines when parked for some time.

via 104.7 Minster FM – News – £150,000 to Improve Air Quality in York.

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Air Pollution on the Rise in Athens

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Respro® UK Ltd

Air pollution in Athens has surged in recent days because of people choosing wood over more expensive fuels to heat their homes in the grips of a continuing economic crisis, the environment ministry said Friday.

Particulate matter has been measured at 150 milligrammes per cubic metre, or three times the danger level, especially in the northern and western suburbs of the Greek capital, the ministry said.

The visible smog is reminiscent of that which cloaked the mountain-ringed city before it modernised its cars and buses.

via Air Pollution on the Rise in Athens – Reason 24/7 : Reason.com.

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Defra awards £2m funding to tackle air pollution

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Respro® UK Ltd

Funding has been given to 36 local authorities for 42 projects in the UK to raise awareness about air pollution and provide support for the implementation of low emission zones (LEZs), writes Michael Holder

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced £2 million of grants to help local authorities tackle nitrogen dioxide air pollution in their regions.

Funding has been given to 36 local authorities for 42 projects across the UK to investigate the possible implementation of low emission zones (LEZs) and to raise awareness about air pollution in the community.

Pupils inspecting lichen to measure air pollution as part of the Cleaner Air 4 Schools scheme – Defra has awarded funding to several London council’s to roll out the scheme in local schools

Among the biggest recipients of funding were Birmingham city council, which was given £150,000 for the ‘continuation of emission strategies and low emission zones feasibility work in West Midlands’, and Mid Devon district council, which received £150,000 towards its low emissions strategies project.

Bradford metropolitan district council also received £150,000 towards low emissions strategies and zones in West Yorkshire.

St Albans district council, meanwhile, had two separate bids accepted – £50,000 towards traffic emissions modelling and £25,800 to help fund a freight management plan.

via Defra awards £2m funding to tackle air pollution | AirQualityNews.

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Air pollution closes Tehran elementary schools

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Respro® UK Ltd

Once again heavy air pollution has clouded Tehran and other Iranian major cities; Officials say most of the pollution comes from vehicles on the congested roads of the rapidly growing metropolis of more than 13.5 million people, with a level of pollutants far exceeding World Health Organization standards. Each year, the 5.5 million vehicles in the city pump an estimated 5 million tons of CO2 into the air.

Among steps to try to reduce the pollution, Iran is converting heating systems in residential and commercial buildings to natural gas. Authorities are also expanding public transport, requiring vehicle emission inspections and developing more green spaces. But still air pollution is here;

via PressTV – Air pollution closes Tehran elementary schools.

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China to release pollution data in 74 cities

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Respro® UK Ltd

Air pollution is a serious concern in many of China’s cities, but the authorities have obfuscated or manipulated pollution data for years.

However, the Chinese state media said on Sunday that 496 monitoring stations would release data in real time on six types of pollutants, including sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide and on PM2.5, particles that are so small they can only be detected by an electron microscope, but which can cause respiratory and heart disease.

Around 8,600 people in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xi’an died prematurely this year because of PM2.5 pollution, according to a recent study by Peking University and Greenpeace.

The pollution data will be available on the internet and through smartphone apps, said the Ministry of Environmental Pollution. There will also be daily readings on television and radio bulletins.

The Chinese government has been under pressure to improve transparency on air pollution after the US Embassy in Beijing, and then the US Consulate in Shanghai, began broadcasting pollution readings collected on the roofs of its buildings.

via China to release pollution data in 74 cities – Telegraph.

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Air Quality At Risk From Stagnant Weather

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

Residents Asked to Reduce Burning. While a bit of sun and lack of rain later this week presents a nice end of the year surprise, it also could mean degraded air quality. Heading into New Years Weekend, temperatures are expected to be chilly, with little wind to clear the air. Cold nights and quiet, foggy mornings tend to prompt more use of woodstoves and fireplaces. Unfortunately, in these conditions any smoke we put into the air around us, stays in the air around us. The result could be rising levels of air pollution.

In the interest of public health and safety, the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA) asks that all residents VOLUNTARILY refrain from burning unless absolutely necessary.

Burning wood creates smoke composed of fine and very fine particulate matter (PM2.5). These tiny particles are too small to be filtered by the nose and the body’s other natural defense mechanisms, so they may end up being inhaled deep into the lungs. That means that exposure to wood smoke may, at the very least, cause breathing problems and can increase – sometimes substantially increase – the severity of existing lung disease, such as asthma. Smoke also has been shown to aggravate heart and vascular disease.

via Air Quality At Risk From Stagnant Weather.

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Air Balloon roundabout plans ‘will not improve traffic flow or pollution’

Posted on December 29, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

CONTROVERSIAL plans to change the traffic flow at the Air Balloon roundabout will make no difference to the amount of congestion and air pollution, a community leader has said.

Gloucestershire Highways Agency is considering introducing a no-right-turn rule at the roundabout when coming down the A417 from Cirencester, heading towards Cheltenham.

The scheme aims to reduce traffic congestion and improve poor air quality caused by stagnant exhaust fumes at the notorious bottleneck.

It would mean those travelling towards Cheltenham along the route would either have to continue all the way down the A417 until turning off at the Shurdington Road – or alternatively cut through village ‘rat runs’ in the area.

The scheme could be piloted next year for a period of up to 18 months.

via Air Balloon roundabout plans ‘will not improve traffic flow or pollution’ | This is Gloucestershire.

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Indian city overwhelmed by air pollution

Posted on December 28, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

When an acrid blanket of gray smog settled over India’s capital last month, environmentalists warned of health hazards, India’s Supreme Court promised action and state officials struggled to understand why the air had suddenly gone so bad.

The heavy smog has dissipated for the moment, but it has left behind a troubling reality for one of India’s most important city: Despite measures to improve air quality, pollution is steadily worsening here, without any simple solutions in sight.

“This is like a ding-dong battle,” said Sheila Dikshit, the chief minister of Delhi, moving her fingers like the flippers of a pinball machine. “We catch up with something; the pressures catch up more than that.”

Delhi, a growing metropolis of nearly 20 million people, has struggled to reconcile its rapid economic growth with environmental safeguards. Over a decade ago, the city introduced a host of policies that raised emission standards, closed polluting industries and expanded green spaces. It made a costly investment to convert the city’s buses and auto rickshaws to compressed natural gas. For a time, air quality visibly improved.

But those gains have been overwhelmed in recent years. “We have already plucked the low-hanging fruits, so to speak,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, the executive director of the Center for Science and Environment. “Now it’s time for aggressive, second-generation reforms.”

Roychowdhury and other environmentalists say the government must now concentrate on slowing the rising number of vehicles on New Delhi’s roads. Each day, some 1,400 new vehicles hit the roads of the city, already home to over 7 million registered vehicles, a 65-percent jump from 2003. As a result, fine-particle pollution has risen by 47 percent in the last decade. Nitrogen dioxide levels have increased by 57 percent.

via Indian city overwhelmed by air pollution | NDTV.com.

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