Respro® Bulletin Board

Air Quality Alert In Effect During Carnival’s Third Day

Posted on August 5, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

Air quality alerts have been issued in a swath of southern Connecticut, including Orange, on the third day of the Volunteer Firemen’s Carnival.

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is reporting elevated concentrations of ground-level ozone pollution Saturday in Fairfield, New Haven, Hartford and Tolland Counties, as well as southern Litchfield County, according to Fox News.

A combination of hot, humid air and surface winds over the area will elevate ozone levels and can aggravate respiratory conditions, such as asthma, in children and adults engaging in outdoor activity. Connecticut experienced 14 unhealthy air quality days in 2011.

via Air Quality Alert In Effect During Carnival’s Third Day – Orange, CT Patch.

Posted in Air Quality, USA & Canada | Tagged Air Quality, ground level ozone, Orange, Southern Connecticut, The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) | Leave a comment

Alarming levels of pollution around Gżira

Posted on August 5, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

Levels of a pollutant dust around Gżira primary school exceeded the EU limit 224 times, according to a report released yesterday.

Data revealed that nearby residents also suffered as air monitoring figures from a private home in Gżira showed the limit was exceeded by 241 times, while a residence in Sliema Road was 112 times above the EU limit.

EU air quality regulations allow for pollution benchmarks of particulate matter (a dangerous fine dust that remains trapped in the lungs) to be exceeded only 35 times a year.

The data was listed in a report commissioned by Transport Malta to look into the environmental impacts of a development application to upgrade the roundabout junction, which is in the centre of Regional Road and Sliema Road.

via Alarming levels of pollution around Gżira – timesofmalta.com.

Posted in Air Quality, Europe | Tagged Air Pollution, EU - European Union, Europe, Malta | Leave a comment

Chicago’s Air Pollution Action Day continues into Friday

Posted on August 4, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

At 3:00 p.m. on Thursday the Air Quality Index for Ozone reached 111 in Chicago. This triggered an orange alert, meaning the air quality was Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups. The AQI for ozone is expected to be over 100 again on Friday, prompting the Illinois Partners for Clean Air and the EPA to issue an Air Pollution Action Day Alert for the Chicago Metropolitan area.

Continue reading for details about ‘What is meant by ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups?’ and ‘What are the health effects of higher ozone levels?’

via Chicago’s Air Pollution Action Day continues into Friday – Chicago wellness | Examiner.com.

Posted in Air Quality, USA & Canada | Tagged Air Quality Index (AQI), Chicago, ground level ozone, Illinois, ozone levels, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), USA | Leave a comment

Traffic controls to cut Storrington pollution

Posted on August 3, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

Banning lorries or controlling traffic flow through a West Sussex village are among measures being considered to improve air quality.

Storrington failed an air quality test two years ago because traffic fumes led to a build-up of nitrogen dioxide.

via BBC News – Traffic controls to cut Storrington pollution.

Posted in Air Quality, UK | Tagged Air Quality, Nitrogen Dioxide NO2, Storrington, UK, West Sussex | Leave a comment

Hong Kong’s Dirty Air is Worst in Two Years

Posted on August 2, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

Roadside air-pollution levels hit a two-year high in some parts of Hong Kong this week, obscuring the city’s vistas in a sea of white haze and prompting the government to warn the young, the elderly and people with heart or respiratory illnesses to stay inside.

Hong Kong’s sky is typically bluer and cleaner in the summer months than in the rest of the year, as winds from the south blow in fewer pollutants and strong sea breezes offer relief, dispersing the dirty air. This week, though, the air was heavy with smog, as a nearby typhoon created a weather system that trapped pollutants and helped condense them, causing them to sink. At 7 a.m. on Thursday, roadside monitoring stations in the city’s Central district recorded air-pollution index readings of 212, an extreme not seen in the area since dust storms hit Hong Kong in March 2010, bringing with them a cloud of noxious air.

via Hong Kong’s Dirty Air is Worst in Two Years – China Real Time Report – WSJ.

Posted in Air Quality, Asia, China | Tagged Air Pollution, Air Pollution Index (API), China, Clean Air Network, Hong Kong | Leave a comment

World’s air pollution could be as bad as China’s by 2050 without urgent action from governments

Posted on August 1, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

Increased levels of air pollution can be expected around the world unless urgent action is taken to cut man-made emissions, according to a new study.

Published in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, the study predicts that without new policies citizens 40 years from now will face similar air quality to that of East Asia today.

In 2008 a NASA satellite tracked the progress of a massive plume of pollution from China, caused by forest fires, urban exhausts, power and manufacturing plants – a result of China’s rapid industrialisation.

via Report: World’s air pollution could be as bad as China’s by 2050 without urgent action from governments | RTCC – Responding to Climate Change.

Posted in Air Quality, Asia, China, Europe, India, London, UK, USA & Canada, World News | Tagged Air Quality, China, India, World Heath Organization (WHO) | Leave a comment

Beijing pushes to reduce air pollution

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

Every night an old coal train chugs in to central Beijing to deliver its load to the Guohua power plant, one of the city’s oldest power stations now surrounded by glitzy malls and towering apartment blocks.

Soon, the trains will no longer be running. In a multibillion dollar effort to reduce air pollution, Beijing is shutting down its coal-fired plants and replacing them with natural gas-fuelled power stations by the end of next year.

via Beijing pushes to reduce air pollution – FT.com.

Posted in Air Quality, Asia, China | Tagged Air Pollution, Beijing, China, PM2.5 | Leave a comment

Auckland Pollution Causes Deaths

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Respro® UK Ltd

Air pollution causes hundreds of deaths in Auckland per year and causes more than $200 million worth of social damage, a new report claims.

Auckland’s air quality is so bad that in the past two months it exceeded the Government’s National Environmental Standard once and on five other occasions exceeded Auckland’s Regional Air Quality targets.

These adversely high-level readings occurred on June 14, 15 and on July 9 and 10.

A report given to Auckland Council last month said air pollution was responsible for 200 premature deaths a year and exposure to transport emissions had a social cost of $273m. In July last year a council report estimated that air pollution killed 700 Aucklanders annually.

Councillor Wayne Walker, chairman of Auckland Council’s Environment and Sustainability Forum, believes that too many old cars and the lack of a mandatory emissions testing procedure for vehicles has accelerated health problems in the city.

There are an estimated 750,000 vehicles in Auckland, a number that increases by five per cent annually.

via Auckland Pollution Causes Deaths | Stuff.co.nz.