Traffic Air Pollution Exposure During Infancy Harms The Lungs For Many Years

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

Babies who are exposed to ambient air traffic pollution are likely to have poorer lung function up to the age of eight, especially those who are sensitized to common allergens, researchers from the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, reported in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Researchers have known for many years that air pollution harms health and kills. In 2006, the World Health Organization estimated that globally, two million people died prematurely every year because of air pollution.

Researcher Göran Pershagen, MD, PhD, professor at the Karolinska Institutet, Institute of Environmental Medicine, said: “Earlier studies have shown that children are highly susceptible to the adverse effects of air pollution and suggest that exposure early in life may be particularly harmful.

In our prospective birth cohort study in a large population of Swedish children, exposure to traffic-related air pollution during infancy was associated with decreases in lung function at age eight, with stronger effects indicated in boys, children with asthma and particularly in children sensitized to allergens.”

via Traffic Air Pollution Exposure During Infancy Harms The Lungs For Many Years.

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Ottawa, provinces poised to agree on new deal to control air pollution

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

Federal and provincial environment ministers are poised to announce a new deal to better control industrial air pollution and reduce smog.

Officials from both levels of government have agreed in principle to the air-quality deal, and have the backing of almost all affected industries.

Ministers are meeting Thursday in Banff to sign the deal, barring last-minute objections, multiple sources say.

“This is the first comprehensive national environment scheme that I can recall,” said Stephen Hazell, an Ottawa-based environment lawyer who has been involved in smog-reduction since 2007. “This is extraordinary in itself.”

The deal would see the governments agree to higher standards on air quality, at first targeting fine particulate matter and ground-level ozone. Then they’ll move on limits to nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and volatile organic compounds.

via Ottawa, provinces poised to agree on new deal to control air pollution – The Globe and Mail.

Posted in Air Quality, USA & Canada | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Dryden Goodwin’s Breathe unveiled on side of St Thomas’ Hospital

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

A video screen animation by artist Dryden Goodwin was unveiled today on London’s St Thomas’ Hospital, which is big enough to be observed from Westminster Bridge and The Houses of Parliament.

The work, Breathe, has been designed to draw attention to the research of King’s College Professor Frank Kelly, an expert on lung health, and an advisor to the government on air pollutants.

For the work Goodwin has created an animation from over 1000 sketches of his son breathing.

via Dryden Goodwin’s Breathe unveiled on side of St Thomas’ Hospital | What’s On | Design Week.

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Carbon emissions target urged by business leaders

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

chimney

Ministers must set a specific target for restricting carbon emissions from power generation, businesses have said.

The plea is made in an open letter to Chancellor George Osborne signed by 50 businesses and organisations.

They want a target for how emissions should be curbed by 2030, arguing that a failure to show commitment to reducing carbon emissions may harm the economy and their commercial prospects.

Mr Osborne has outlined plans to get energy from gas beyond 2030.

Labour Leader Ed Miliband has backed a 2030 target for the power sector and the Liberal Democrats have supported a target under the Energy Bill, to be included in secondary legislation to allow flexibility.

The government’s climate advisers have warned support for future gas plants without technology fitted to cut emissions is not compatible with climate change legislation and is harming investment in low-carbon power such as renewables and nuclear.

Companies and investors have joined with trade unions, environmental groups and industry bodies to warn the chancellor that support for gas power into the 2030s is undermining investment in UK electricity infrastructure.

The introduction of a carbon intensity target for the energy sector would, they say, provide investors with the long term confidence needed to transform the electricity market and promote wider economic growth.

via BBC News – Carbon emissions target urged by business leaders.

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MEP warns action must be taken to cut Canterbury air pollution

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

Canterbury

TRAFFIC levels in Canterbury must be cut by 70 per cent to bring the city in line with air quality targets, according to a shock new report highlighted by South East MEP Keith Taylor.

Speaking at the European Parliament last Tuesday, he warned: “Air quality in Canterbury is above European and World Health Organisation levels of pollution.

via MEP warns action must be taken to cut Canterbury air pollution | This is Kent.

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Beijing to give clearer indication of air quality

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

Beijing authorities have completed a network of monitors that will more accurately measure air quality in the smog-ridden city after being pushed into it by public pressure and pollution reports from the U.S. embassy.

The Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center said on Oct. 6 that another 15 monitoring stations had begun releasing real-time data on small particulates known as PM2.5. The tiny pollution particles that may result from the burning of fuels in vehicles and power plants can penetrate deep into the lungs, so measuring them is considered a more accurate reflection of air quality than other methods.

Chinese citizens have prodded their government into publishing more detailed pollution data since the U.S. Embassy started publishing PM2.5 readings taken from its rooftop on Twitter.

Beijing started releasing PM2.5 data in January. It now has 35 monitoring stations set up in central Beijing and its suburbs, including near tourist favorites Tiananmen Square, the Temple of Heaven and the Beijing Botanical Garden.

The monitors will run for a three-month trial, and then the city’s environmental protection department will formally use PM2.5 to evaluate the city’s air quality, rather than relying on the larger particles it currently measures.

via Beijing to give clearer indication of air quality – AJW by The Asahi Shimbun.

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How Dirty Are China’s Skies? A Daily Photo Archive Shows The Truth

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

Anyone who’s been to Beijing lately would instantly recognize the photo left. It’s the glorious capital of China, rendered completely invisible by pollution. This was taken in August, four years after the Chinese government spent a reported US$19 billion to clean the air for the 2008 Olympics.

Air quality improved after the Olympics, and there have been good days since, but why August was this bad is something of a mystery. Trying to get to the bottom of the air-quality-in-China issue is the work of China Air Daily, a web site produced by the Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations. The site is produced by the journalist-programmer Michael Zhao. China Air Daily publishes near-hourly snapshots several times a day. You can see how blue it was for most of March 2011.

via How Dirty Are China’s Skies? A Daily Photo Archive Shows The Truth – Forbes.

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Air Pollution a Financial Strain for Jakarta

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

Experts have pegged the annual cost of air pollution in Jakarta at Rp 38 trillion, a figure they blame largely on the proliferation of cars and the use of low-quality subsidized fuel.

Ahmad Syarifuddin, chairman of the Committee to Phase Out Leaded Gasoline KPBB, claimed on Thursday that vehicle emissions accounted for almost all the air pollution in the capital.

He said data gathered by the KPBB showed that health costs and lost productivity as a result of air pollution amounted to Rp 38 trillion in 2010, and was believed to have increased since then with more vehicles hitting the city’s streets.

“The air pollution we’re dealing with includes dust particle, hydrocarbons, sulfur and so on, which can cause a range of illnesses such as asthma, respiratory tract infections, bronchitis, pneumonia and heart disease,” Ahmad said at a seminar in Jakarta with the theme of “Fuel Economy Initiative in Indonesia.”

He warned that the costs would only keep increasing as long as there were no fundamental changes in transportation policies, including phasing out the use of low-grade subsidized fuel and enforcing emissions restrictions.

via Air Pollution a Financial Strain for Jakarta | The Jakarta Globe.

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