‘Up to 9% of deaths in London caused by air pollution’

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

Europe

Up to 9% of deaths in the capital’s most polluted areas are down to air pollution, a new London Assembly paper has reported.

The paper highlights the percentage of deaths attributable to man-made airborne particles is highest in the City of London.

Research has shown air pollution contributes to problems including lung and heart conditions.

The Mayor’s office said the report was overly simplistic and alarmist.

London is among the worst in Europe for air pollution.

The paper, Air Pollution in London, produced by the Assembly’s Health and Environment Committee, reports 8.3% of deaths in Westminster are attributable to man-made airborne particles.

In Kensington and Chelsea it is 8.3% and in Tower Hamlets 8.1%.

Bromley and Havering have the lowest proportion of pollution-related deaths in London, both 6.3%, but are still above the England average of 5.6%.

The Department of Health figures relate to research in 2010 and are based on estimates.

A 2008 study estimated there are over 4,267 extra deaths each year in London from particulates in the air.

Breast cancer and diabetes have been attributed to air pollution as well as respiratory problems.

via BBC News – ‘Up to 9% of deaths in London caused by air pollution’.

Posted in Air Quality, Health Effects of Air Pollution, London | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Clean Air Act in 1956 cleared London smogs

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

On 10 December 1952 life in London was starting to return to normal; trains and buses were running again and theatres and cinemas could reopen. The fog that had shrouded the capital between the 4th and 9th had dispersed, leaving around 4,500 deaths in its wake and another 15,000 Londoners ill and off work. High death rates continued until the following February: they were initially attributed to flu, but modern re-analysis suggests that 7,000 more people died from smog effects in subsequent months. This was neither the first nor the last smog to kill people. Warning signs included two smogs in industrial towns: in 1930 in the Meuse Valley, Belgium where 60 people died and, in 1948, Donora, Pennsylvania in the US where a two-day smog killed 20 people and left 6,000 ill – over 40% of the town’s population.

The 1956 Clean Air Act with its smokeless zones brought about great improvements in London’s air but not before smogs in 1956, 1957 and 1962 claimed around 1,500 more lives. With the widespread availability of natural gas, and closure of much of London’s industry and riverside power stations, the air in the capital is now very different. But the hazard from solid fuel burning has been replaced by new urban pollutants, mainly from diesel traffic. Today, London’s air pollution represents a health burden of around 4,300 deaths per year, a similar figure to those killed in the first days of the 1952 smog.

via Pollutionwatch: Clean Air Act in 1956 cleared London smogs | Environment | The Guardian.

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Answer to Mongolia pollution is blowing in the wind

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

Mongolia’s economic boom has been built on the vast coal reserves that lie under its seemingly endless steppes, but it is turning to wind to power itself and fight the pollution that chokes Ulan Bator.

The Mongolian capital is ranked the planet’s second most polluted city by the World Health Organization, largely due to its coal-fired power stations and residents burning the substance to keep warm in winter, when temperatures can plummet to a punishing minus 30 degrees Celsius (minus 4 Fahrenheit).

But in Salkhit, around 70 kilometres to the southeast, 10 pylons rise from the ground, the first stage of a 31-turbine, 50 megawatt wind farm its backers hope will start a national drive to harness cleaner energy.

via Answer to Mongolia pollution is blowing in the wind | My Sinchew.

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No idle threat – polluting motorists warned

Posted on December 9, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

MOTORISTS are being encouraged to ‘kill the fumes’ and stop engine idling in an intensive public information blitz across East Dunbartonshire.

The campaign aims to highlight the detrimental effect that poor air quality has on the health of our children and that motorists can be fined for failing to switch off their engines when stopped at the roadside.

Bus stop and bill board messages have been put up to get the message across and council environmental health officers are conducting patrols – particularly outside schools where parents often wait for their children in cars with their engines running.

Earlier this year, ‘No Vehicle Idling’ signs were erected outside local primary schools and during this campaign more signs will be put up outside secondary schools.

Regular vehicle emission testing is also carried out to help improve air quality and is funded by the Scottish Government.

Testing sites are moved around the area and vehicles which fail the test are subject to a £60 fine, which will be waived if the fault is rectified within 14 days and a new MOT certificate produced.

via No idle threat – polluting motorists warned – Local Headlines – Milngavie Herald.

Posted in Air Quality, UK | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Wood stoves, extreme cold blight air at Alaska’s North Pole

Posted on December 8, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

Santa may need more than Rudolph’s bright nose to get through the grimy North Pole atmosphere.

North Pole, Alaska – the Fairbanks suburb, not the spot at the top of the globe – has posted some of the nation’s worst air-quality readings in recent days, thanks to high levels of wood smoke streaming into stagnant cold air.

Concentrations of particulates have made North Pole’s air “very unhealthy,” meaning children, the elderly and other vulnerable people should stay indoors and all residents should refrain from prolonged exercise, according to local government officials.

The “very unhealthy” classification was given in the past few days. A search of airnow.gov – the government portal which monitors air quality – did not reveal any other U.S. community currently with such poor quality air.

The problem stems from residents’ dependence on wood-burning stoves for heat in an extremely cold region prone to pollution-trapping temperature inversions, said officials with the Fairbanks North Star Borough, the regional government.

“As long as it’s cold and the air is still, we have a particulate problem,” said Jim McCormick, a technician with the borough’s Air Quality Division.

With temperatures in some spots below minus-30 degrees Fahrenheit (-34.4 C) and no relief forecast until next week, the air is expected to stay dirty, McCormick said.

via Wood stoves, extreme cold blight air at Alaska’s North Pole | Reuters.

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FAQ: I need the protection of the City™ mask, but would like the added comfort of the Sportsta™, is this possible?

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

I need the protection of the City™ mask, but would like the added comfort of the Sportsta™, is this possible?

Yes! The filters and valves used in both the City™ and the Sportsta™ masks are totally interchangeable.

For more FAQ,  see Respro® Mask FAQ

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City criticized for poor air quality control

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

Environmentalists have expressed their disappointment over the city’s poor air quality, saying that the city administration has been dragging its feet in issuing additional policies and enforcing existing laws.

“The air quality has slightly increased, but the law enforcement to maintain it is still very poor,” said the regional director for the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) in Jakarta, Ubaidillah, on Wednesday. “The Jakarta administration needs to do more.”

He added the city administration was lax in enforcing the laws, such as on vehicle emissions control, which according to the regional regulation, is a must every six months.

“Emissions from motor vehicles contribute 70 percent to air quality degradation,” he said. “But Walhi now sees that the enforcement of this no longer exists.”

Ubaidillah said that the regional regulation obligated the city administration to enforce car-free days, which he said were working well, as well as checking vehicle emissions control every six months and providing 30 percent of the city’s area for open green spaces.

“Plantations are the best emission absorber,” he said.

According to a report by the Community for Leaded Gasoline Eradication (KPBB) in July, research has shown that air pollution in Jakarta is relatively high in certain parameters.

Although admitting that the air quality in some areas was below the central government’s parameters, the community says that those numbers still exceed the standards issued by the World Health Organization (WHO).

According to the WHO’s air quality guidelines released in 2006, quality air should not exceed 50 ug/m3 in 24 hours for the particulate matter (PM10) parameter and remain below 100 ug/m3 in eight-hours for the Ozone (O3) parameter.

via City criticized for poor air quality control | The Jakarta Post.

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China pledges $56bn for air pollution crackdown

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

China’s notoriously polluted cities could soon be forced to take steps to tackle air pollution, after the government announced plans to spend 350bn yuan ($56bn) on tackling the issue.

According to local media reports, the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) yesterday issued a statement confirming plans to cut levels of harmful PM2.5 particulates in 117 cities by five per cent between 2011 and 2015.

It also committed to cutting levels of PM10 particulates by 10 per cent, sulphur dioxide (SO2) by 10 per cent and nitrogen dioxide (NOX) by seven per cent over the same period.

In addition, there will be more demanding targets for some of the most polluted metropolises, with the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta region and the Pearl River Delta region committing to reduce PM2.5 particulates by six per cent.

The new targets follow the adoption earlier this year of new air quality standards for ozone and PM2.5, which are due to be met by 2016.

However, according to government officials, currently 70 per cent of cities fail to meet the standards and there is widespread public scepticism about the accuracy of government pollution monitors.

via China pledges $56bn for air pollution crackdown – 06 Dec 2012 – News from BusinessGreen.

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