Denmark calls for EU strategy to phase out diesel and petrol cars from 2030

Posted on October 7, 2019 by Respro® UK Ltd

Denmark, backed by 10 other European Union countries, on Friday called for a strategy to phase out diesel and petrol cars, including allowing the ban of sales at member state-level by 2030 to combat climate change.

Denmark made the proposal came during a meeting of EU environment ministers in Luxembourg.

The 2050 goals are part of Ursula van der Leyen’s plans, the new president of the European Commission, to make Europe the first climate neutral continent by 2050. The Danish delegation argued that to achieve this the transport sector needs to decrease their emissions, which is the only sector that currently are increasing its emissions.

The EU aims to cut carbon emissions in the bloc by 40 percent by 2030 while its executive, the Commission, plans to reduce them to zero by 2050 to help stop global warming.

“We need to acknowledge that we are in a bit of a hurry,” Danish Climate and Energy Minister Dan Jorgensen told Reuters after the meeting.

Denmark made headlines in October 2018 when its government announced that it would ban the sale of all new fossil fuel-powered cars by 2030 but it subsequently scrapped the idea because this would have breached EU rules.

Jorgensen said proposing to allow individual member states to ban sales on new diesel and petrol cars will hopefully put pressure on the Commission to propose a complete phasing out fossil fuel-powered vehicles in the bloc in the coming decades.

Jorgensen also said if the EU could not agree on a union-wide ban, it would be good if at least individual countries were allowed to implement such a measure.

“Plan A would be to make it a European ban,” he said.

Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia, Bulgaria and several other countries however suggested that more must be done to stop the “carbon leakage” of selling second-hand autos from western Europe to the eastern region.

Jorgensen said it was important to communicate the bloc’s long-term policy directions to carmakers. He said Denmark’s next step was to set up an alliance with the 10 member states that support its strategy to phase out diesel and petrol cars and the possibility to prohibit the sale of them in individual member states.

“Then I think others will follow,” he said.

via Denmark calls for EU strategy to phase out diesel and petrol cars from 2030 – Reuters

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Aspirin may halve air pollution harms

Posted on October 3, 2019 by Respro® UK Ltd

A new study is the first to report evidence that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like aspirin may lessen the adverse effects of air pollution exposure on lung function. The team of researchers from the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, Harvard Chan School of Public Health, Boston University School of Medicine published their findings in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

The researchers analyzed a subset of data collected from a cohort of 2,280 male veterans from the greater Boston area who were given tests to determine their lung function. The average age of participants was 73 years. The researchers examined the relationship between test results, self-reported NSAID use, and ambient particulate matter (PM) and black carbon in the month preceding the test, while accounting for a variety of factors, including the health status of the subject and whether or not he was a smoker. They found that the use of any NSAID nearly halved of the effect of PM on lung function, with the association consistent across all four weekly air pollution measurements from same-day to 28 days prior to the lung function test.

Because most of the people in the study cohort who took NSAIDs used aspirin, the researchers say the modifying effect they observed was mainly from aspirin, but add that effects of non-aspirin NSAIDs are worthy of further exploration. While the mechanism is unknown, the researchers speculate that NSAIDs mitigate inflammation brought about by air pollution.

“Our findings suggest that aspirin and other NSAIDs may protect the lungs from short-term spikes in air pollution,” says first and corresponding author Xu Gao, PhD, a post-doctoral research scientist in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the Columbia Mailman School. “Of course, it is still important to minimize our exposure to air pollution, which is linked to a host of adverse health effects, from cancer to cardiovascular disease.”

“While environmental policies have made considerable progress toward reducing our overall exposure to air pollution, even in places with low levels of air pollution, short-term spikes are still commonplace,” says senior author Andrea Baccarelli, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the Columbia Mailman School. “For this reason, it is important to identify means to minimize those harms.”

An earlier study by Baccarelli found that B vitamins may also play a role in reducing the health impact of air pollution.

Co-authors include Brent Coull, Xihong Lin, and Joel Schwartz at Harvard; and Pantel Vokonas at the Boston University School of Medicine.The current study was supported by grants from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (ES009089, ES021733, ES025225, ES027747). The VA Normative Aging Study is supported by the Cooperative Studies Program/Epidemiology Research and Information Center of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and is a component of the Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Center in Boston.

via Aspirin may halve air pollution harms — ScienceDaily

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Citing ‘unhealthy air’, Vietnam tells people to limit outdoor activities

Posted on October 2, 2019 by Respro® UK Ltd

Vietnam warned its people on Tuesday to limit outdoor activities because the air quality in the Southeast Asian country has persistently been at “unhealthy” levels for days.

The levels of hazardous small particles known as PM2.5 in the air at the country’s two largest cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, have been rising persistently since early last month, exceeding “Vietnamese standards”, the government said in a statement.

The government blamed the pollution on low rain and farmers burning rice crop remnants after the harvest to prepare for new plantings. Coal is also widely used for power generation in the country.

Air Visual – an independent online air quality index monitor – says Hanoi’s reading of PM2.5 has exceeded 300 micrograms per cubic metre at times, the worst in the world. On Tuesday, it showed PM2.5 levels at 180 in Hanoi and 86 in Ho Chi Minh.

The World Health Organization recommends an air quality standard for PM2.5 of no more than 10 micrograms per cubic metre.

Such pollution could become a political issue in Vietnam, where protests have been held in the past against the degradation of the environment. Communist-ruled Vietnam tolerates little dissent and protesters and activists are often prevented from gathering or charged with “causing public disorder”.

“Local people, especially children, the elderly, pregnant women and people with respiratory issues should refrain from traffic and outdoor activities,” the government said in the statement.

PM2.5 levels are forecast to stay high over the next days, particularly at night and early in the morning, it added.

“People should wear masks and goggles when going outdoor,” the government said in the statement.

Similar slash-and-burn farming practices have also led to forest fires in Indonesia that have created a choking haze across Malaysia and Singapore in recent weeks.

via Citing ‘unhealthy air’, Vietnam tells people to limit outdoor activities – Reuters

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Babies exposed to air pollution have greater risk of death – study

Posted on September 27, 2019 by Respro® UK Ltd

Infant mortality rate higher in babies exposed to pollutants such as sulphur dioxide

Babies living in areas with high levels of air pollution have a greater risk of death than those surrounded by cleaner air, a study has found.

It is not the first study to investigate the link between air pollution and infant mortality , but thestudy drew particular focus on different pollutants and its analysis at different points in babies’ lives.

Dr Sarah Kotecha , a researcher at Cardiff University, said the results were difficult for pregnant women and their families to do much about.

“You live where you live and you can’t avoid pollution day in day out,” she said, adding that it was down to policymakers to reduce pollution levels and for researchers to unpick how pollutants affect health. “If you can find out some of the mechanisms you can look at potential interventions,” she added.

A growing body of research has revealed links between different components of air pollution and health issues, including lung problems, heart disease, mental health problems, dementia and low birthweight.

The latest study, yet to be peer-reviewed or published, will be presented at the European Respiratory Society international congress in Madrid.

Kotecha said the research was based on data for almost 8 million live births in England and Wales between 2001 and 2012.

The team divided England and Wales into 35,000 areas, each containing approximately 1,500 residents, and looked at the annual death rates for babies up to one-year-old, together with the average annual levels for three pollutants. These were particulate matter known as PM10, which comes from sources including vehicles and waste incineration, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and sulphur dioxide (SO2), which is released through burning of fossil fuels in power stations and refineries as well as metal extraction.

For each pollutant the team compared the death rate for babies in the worst fifth of polluted areas with those in the best fifth.

Once factors such as maternal age, deprivation level for the area and birthweight were taken into account, the team said that babies aged up to one year had a greater chance of dying living in areas with the worst air pollution compared with areas with the cleanest air.

The results held across all three pollutants, with the odds of death 7% worse for NO2, 4% worse for PM10 and 19% worse for SO2. Further analysis suggested that of the three pollutants, only SO2 was associated with deaths within a baby’s first 28 days.

The study was unable to prove whether high levels of air pollution were to blame for the increased risk of death in those areas. It also did not take into account levels of indoor air pollution.

Prof Mireille Toledano, an expert in population child health at Imperial College London, said the study confirmed that air pollution is a major public health hazard, adding that current standards are failing to protect people.

She said the latest study had a number of limitations. It looked at average pollution levels over relatively large areas while in reality levels can vary greatly over a small distance – meaning the babies’ true exposure was not captured.

The study also did not take into account fluctuations in air pollution with the weather or over seasons, and did not take into account where the mother spent her pregnancy or factors such as maternal smoking. Toledano said it was also unclear how factors like birthweight were accounted for.

“It is showing there is some kind of additional risk from air pollution for infant death but the way that it has been set up is quite a crude analysis,” said Toledano.

Dr Penny Woods, the chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said action must be taken to tackle the public health crisis of air pollution – including introducing clean air zones in the most polluted cities.

“The evidence linking infant mortality and air pollution is still emerging but Dr Kotecha’s study, which suggests babies born in the UK’s most polluted areas see a significantly increased risk of death, should be a wake-up call to government,” she said.

A second study found that exposure to PM10 from traffic during pregnancy and children’s early life was linked to a slightly lower lung function of the children at eight years old – although the effect was no longer seen by the time the children were 15.

Wood said the study mirrored previous findings, adding that children cannot protect their own lungs.

“Both these studies concentrate on the damage done by air pollution to some of the most vulnerable members of our society – the very young,” she said.

via Babies exposed to air pollution have greater risk of death – study | UK news | The Guardian

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Anchors away: Cannes bans cruise ships over air quality concerns

Posted on September 26, 2019 by Respro® UK Ltd

The Mediterranean resort town of Cannes, France’s fourth-biggest cruise ship port, will ban the most polluting cruise ships from next year in a bid to boost air quality in the city.

The ban will target ships that do not respect a 0.1% cap on sulphur in their fuel and could stop some passengers from disembarking in the city famous for its film festival.

“It’s not about being against cruise ships. It’s about being against pollution,” Cannes Mayor David Lisnard told Reuters in an interview.

Under the European Union’s clean air policy, the cap is already enforced in Baltic, North Sea and Channel ports and it may be extended to the Mediterranean.

Cruise ships run on fuel oil which contains about 2,000 times more sulphur oxide than ordinary diesel, according to German pollution analyst Axel Friedrich.

“We will no longer accept cruise ship passengers coming from polluting cruise ships,” Lisnard said.

The exponential growth of the cruise ship industry is often criticised by residents of tourist towns but it is also increasingly considered a threat to the environment.

Endangered cities
Three months ago, Italy’s main conservation group said Venice should be put on the United Nations’ list of endangered cities and cruise ships should be banned from its fragile lagoon to prevent an ecological disaster.

According to figures from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the industry’s main trade association, 30 million passengers are expected to cruise on almost 300 ships this year, up from 17.8 million 10 years ago.

In July, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, which represents 40% of Cannes’ maritime traffic, signed a Cruise Charter agreement with the city of Cannes, promising to make its ships more environmentally friendly.

via Anchors away: Cannes bans cruise ships over air quality concerns | Euronews

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Cooler air blamed for PM2.5 rise

Posted on September 26, 2019 by Respro® UK Ltd

A cloud of ultra-fine dust particles known as PM2.5 has returned to Bangkok due to cooler temperatures, with air quality indicators across the capital registering unhealthy levels of the harmful micro pollutant.

According to the Pollution Control Department (PCD), the concentration of PM2.5 pollutants in Bang Phlat reached 53 microgrammes per cubic metre (µg/m³) yesterday — exceeding the PCD’s safe threshold of 50 µg/m³.

Air quality indicators in other areas in Bangkok and parts of Samut Prakan and Samut Sakhon also registered PM2.5 levels ranging between 40 µg/m³ on Charoen Nakhon Road in Khlong San district and 49 µg/m³ in Bang Sue district.

The PCD said PM2.5 levels are likely to increase in the next couple of days across the city, and warned residents about the health risks posed by the micro pollutant.

Officials said a high pressure system above China — which has lowered temperatures in the northern part of Thailand — is causing dust to accumulate as the air stagnates.

While Bangkok has not registered unhealthy levels of PM2.5 pollutants in the past several months, earlier in the year PM2.5 concentrations soared beyond unhealthy levels, prompting officials to adopt emergency measures — including spraying water from high-rise buildings.

A Palang Pracharath MP for Bangkok, Pada Vorakanon, on Wednesday urged the government to act before the situation turns critical.

“Why should we wait until that day comes — when masks and air filters become expensive because they are in such short supply that they’re next to impossible to get?” she said.

via Cooler air blamed for PM2.5 rise

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Indonesian forest fires putting 10 million children at risk, says Unicef

Posted on September 25, 2019 by Respro® UK Ltd

Millions aged under five are particularly at risk from the slash and burn fires due to undeveloped immune systems

Indonesian forest fires are putting nearly 10 million children at risk due to air pollution, the United Nations has warned.

The fires have been spewing toxic haze over south-east Asia in recent weeks, closing schools and airports, with people rushing to buy face masks and seek medical treatment for respiratory ailments.

Jakarta has deployed tens of thousands of personnel and water-bombing aircraft to tackle the slash-and-burn blazes that are set to clear agricultural land. The fires are an annual problem but this year is the worst since 2015 due to the dry weather.

On Tuesday, Greenpeace accused Indonesia of failing to impose serious penalties on pulpwood and palm oil firms that had large fires on their land between 2015 and 2018, with more fires on some of those farms also polluting the region’ this year.

“Many of the palm oil and pulp groups with the largest burned areas in their concessions have either not received any serious civil/administrative sanctions, or have had sanctions imposed that do not appear to fit with the level or frequency of burning,” the environmental action group said in its report.

Indonesia’s environment ministry said law enforcement had been “very strict” through administrative sanctions, including revoking licences and civil lawsuits.

Almost 10 million people under 18 – a quarter of them under five – live in the areas worst affected by fires on Indonesia’s Sumatra island and the country’s part of Borneo island, UN children’s agency Unicef said.

Small children are especially vulnerable due to undeveloped immune systems while babies born to mothers exposed to pollution during pregnancy may have problems such as low birth weight, the agency said.

“Poor air quality is a severe and growing challenge for Indonesia,” said Debora Comini from Unicef. “Every year, millions of children are breathing toxic air that threatens their health and causes them to miss school – resulting in lifelong physical and cognitive damage.”

Thousands of schools have been closed across Indonesia due to poor air quality, with millions of youngsters missing classes.

Pictures circulating on social media have shown the sky turning blood-red over hard-hit Jambi province, on Sumatra, in the middle of the day due to the haze.

Schools were forced to shut across Malaysia last week as smog from its neighbour clouded the skies, while Singapore was also shrouded in haze during the weekend’s Formula One motor race.

Air quality improved in Malaysia on Tuesday and was at “moderate” levels on an official index in most places with the skies looking largely clear, while the haze lifted from Singapore.

A regional forecasting centre said the number of “hotspots” – areas of intense heat detected by satellite which indicate a likely fire – had fallen sharply on Sumatra. Fires on the island are usually blamed for belching smog over Malaysia and Singapore.

There have been a series of wildfire outbreaks worldwide, from the Amazon to Australia, and scientists are increasingly worried about their impact on global warming.

via Indonesian forest fires putting 10 million children at risk, says Unicef | World news | The Guardian

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Ireland breaking WHO air quality directions

Posted on September 25, 2019 by Respro® UK Ltd

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has warned that Ireland needs to accelerate progress towards clean energy and environmentally-friendly transport options.

The agency made the recommendations in its Air Quality Report for 2018, which has been launched today to coincide with World Lung Day.

The report shows that while Ireland’s air quality complied with the legal minimums outlined by the European Union, the health-related guidelines outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO) were exceeded.

The WHO guidelines are the benchmark for global air quality globally and exceeding these is described as “a cause for concern” by the EPA.

The report was based on data gathered at 57 monitoring stations around Ireland. It showed that levels at the monitoring sites were below the EU legislative limit values in 2018.

However, Ireland was above WHO air quality guideline value levels at a number of monitoring sites for fine particulate matter, ozone and nitrogen dioxide, and was also above the European Environment Agency reference level for PAH, a toxic chemical, at three monitoring sites.

Transport emissions in urban areas and emissions from burning solid fuels for home heating are the primary issues when it comes to air quality in Ireland, according to the authors of the report.

Poor air quality can be a factor in a myriad of health issues, both short and long term.

These can range from issues like headaches and breathing difficulties to issues such as asthma, reduced liver function or cardiovascular disease. There are an estimated 1,180 premature deaths in Ireland per year due to air pollution.

The authors of the report raises particular concern regarding the levels of fine particles in our air. Levels of this pollutant are particularly high during the winter months due to the increased use of solid fuels, such as coal, peat and wood in-home heating. This is particularly acute in small towns and villages.

The EPA report notes that any movement along the spectrum of home heating choices and solid fuels towards cleaner modes will have a subsequent improvement on air quality.

The report also notes that, in urban areas, transport- related emissions of nitrogen dioxide are increasing and it looks probable that Ireland will exceed the EU annual legal limit value for nitrogen dioxide in the near future.

Launching the report, Micheál Lehane, director of the EPA’s office of Radiation Protection and Environmental Monitoring, said:

We all expect that the air we breathe is clean, but we cannot take this for granted. Air pollution is a major environmental risk to health, so it is now time to tackle the two key issues that impact negatively on air quality in Ireland: Transport emissions in large urban areas and emissions from burning of solid fuels.

“The choices we make affect the levels of pollution in the air we breathe. We need to decarbonise our public transport system and in general reduce our reliance on internal combustion vehicles. Moving to cleaner ways of heating our homes will also significantly improve air quality in our towns and cities.”

In its recommendations to improve air quality, the EPA said that people need to be encouraged “to move to using cleaner fuels, more efficient methods of using those fuels and with effective implementation and enforcement of the proposed nationwide ‘smoky’ coal ban can all help reduce air pollution”.

via Ireland breaking WHO air quality directions

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