News Archive
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Could Paint Particles Protect the Planet? New Geoengineering Concept for a Climate Change ‘Insurance Policy’
Dispersing fine (sub-micron) light-scattering particles into the upper atmosphere could help to combat climate change, suggests a former UK government advisor and chemical engineer. The technology concept developed in the UK and first revealed in this month’s tce magazine, advocates dispersing benign titanium dioxide particles as used in paint, inks and sunscreens into the stratosphere to deflect the sun’s rays. In a tce webinar on 15 May, Peter Davidson, a Chartered Chemical Engineer, Fellow of...
EU sets 'ambitious targets' to reduce trans-boundary air pollution
The European Union has announced that it is to update the Gothenburg Protocol, setting more ambitious targets to reduce trans-boundary air pollution. According to a recent statement, the EU is looking to revise the Gothenburg Protocol with a goal of reducing emissions by around 60 per cent for sulphur, 40 per cent for nitrogen oxides, 30 per cent for volatile organic compounds, six per cent ammonia and 20 per cent for particulate matter compared to 2005 levels. European Commissioner for the En...
Human Sniffers Keep a Check on Odour Nuisance
Environmental monitoring specialist enitial (UK) has been appointed to take odour samples at composting sites which will be tested using the latest sensory testing techniques – human noses. The technique, known as olfactometry, will check the efficiency of biofilters – used to reduce odour concentrations at composting sites. Human noses are used as sensors rather than chemicals because a human nose can detect odour at concentrations well below the sensitivity levels of chemical analytical method...
UK not doing enough to tackle second biggest public health challenge
Ministers have been accused of not doing enough to tackle air quality in the UK, with senior officials from the Labour party attacking the government for failing to deal with the UK’s second biggest public health challenge. Labour MP for East Lothian, Fiona O’Donnell, said: “This is the second biggest public health challenge that the country faces, but all we have are excuses." She added: “We are talking about premature deaths, so I think that government members should quieten down. With an esti...
Advanced air pollution monitoring system to be trialled during London Olympics
An advanced air monitoring system is to be trialled during the 2012 London Olympics, scanning the capital's air quality throughout the Games. The new technology varies from conventional ‘hotspot’ systems in that it provides a wide-ranging ‘map’ that can show air quality at every point in a city. This means that pollution can be measured anywhere, allowing researchers to focus on areas such as schools or road junctions. It achieves this by using sensors that instead of testing individual air sam...
City centre residents ‘twice as likely to suffer from coronary artery calcification’
A recent study has found that city centre residents are almost twice as likely to suffer from coronary artery calcification (CAC), which is known to lead to heart disease, than people who live around less pollution. The research has been published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, and revealed that out of the 1,225 men and women aged 50 to 60 that they spoke to, there was a significant difference in the level of CAC between those living in polluted cities and those living in less polluted ru...
American Lung Association release ‘state of the Air 2012’
The American Lung Association has released its findings on air quality in its State of the Air 2012 report, finding that air quality has improved, but there are still many worrying signs. Vice president for health promotion and public policy at the American Lung Association Ed Miller said that improvements in air quality pertain to ozone levels, but particle pollution is still a major concern. This suggests that health impacts are still at worrying levels in the country, with little being done t...
Plate Catalysts Ensure Safe Nitrogen Oxide Reduction
DONG Energy has set itself ambitious objectives not only for its further business development but also in the area of climate and environmental protection. DONG intends to significantly reduce the emission of nitrogen oxide in its power stations for each generated kilowatt-hour. In order to meet DONG’s environmental objectives, the company has cooperated with Johnson Matthey Catalysts (Germany) GmbH producer of technical ceramics since 2009. Johnson Matthey provide SINOx® plate catalyst for the...
Air pollution 'leads to 13,000 premature deaths in Britain'
Air quality in Britain could be the cause of 13,000 premature deaths, according to a MIT report, which also casts doubt over the claim that most of the country's air pollution comes from continental Europe. A major study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has found that air pollution is prematurely killing 13,000 people a year in Britain. The major causes of these deaths are thought to be pollution from cars and lorries, which are responsible for 7,000 deaths. The Aviation industry...
Obama administration take first steps on controlling air pollution caused by fracking
The Obama administration has made its first steps towards controlling air pollution caused by fracking, setting national standards over air quality in relation to the controversial drilling method. However, Shrevenport Times noted that these modifications have not come without making concessions to the oil and gas industry, emphasising that piecemeal legislation may need to be relied on in the future by environmentalists concerned over air quality issues. Obama came under criticism when he call...
Scientists link quarry pollution with respiratory problems and cancer
Scientists in the United Arab Emirates have linked local quarry pollution with respiratory problems as well as some cancers and psychological disorders, according to The National. The poor air quality has been caused by white dust particles which fill the heavy air created by a cement quarry. The quarry is located only two kilometres from the northern coastal village of Khor Khwair, and has been found to increase health risks in local residents. Members of the Federal National Council raised fre...
Air quality concerns take to the streets
Air quality concerns are taking to the streets in Cumbria, UK, with new paving slabs that suck pollution from the air installed for the first time in the country. Noxer blocks, pioneered for the traffic-heavy city of Tokyo, has been installed in the much quieter area of Kendal, Cumbria, the Daily Mail have reported. The blocks work by absorbing nitrogen oxide from traffic, using sunlight and a titanium layer to trap fumes. It has been installed as part of Kendal Regeneration Partnership’s £345,0...
Researchers to monitor air quality at London Olympics
Researchers from Leicester are set to monitor air quality at the London Olympics in an effort to spark local councils into action over air pollution. Using monitors set high above the streets, the City Scan project will monitor air quality using radar equipment that will sweep the capital. The increase in traffic during the event will provide the perfect opportunity to provide damaging statistics to local governance authorities, which is hoped to prompt them into action to tackle pollution in t...
Rooftop greenery used for air cleanup in Beijing
Citizens in Beijing have taken the city’s air quality into their own hands by planting more greenery on their rooftops. The government is also getting in on the air cleanup action, announcing recently that it plans to cover 100,000 square metres of roof with greenery by the end of this year. The horticultural plans come after the city recently started to record their PM2.5 levels, administering significant plans to try and degrade and dilute the particules. Tan Tianying, president of Beijing Gre...
Air quality 'unsafe' in industrial Sheffield
Air quality in some Sheffield neighbourhoods has been found to be more than six times over the world-recommended safe limit, it has been reported by the Star. Air pollution has been monitored in locations around the industrial city, finding that pollution levels reached 125 on the edge of the city centre, which is over six times the recommended 20 set by the World Health Organization. Much of the pollution is visible in the area, with a haze hanging over the city in calm, still air. This is pr...
Commercialisation of the Arctic posing significant climate change challenge
The increasing commercialisation of the Arctic is posing significant risks to climate change, with more trade opportunities rising as the frozen planet begins to melt. The Guardian has recently reported that there are two main areas of commercialisation, the first of which is transport. Making a sea journey from Western Europe to China and the Far East is currently a 15 day trip through the Suez Canal, which is faced with dangers along the way such as pirates operating off the Horn of Africa. Th...
Cape Grim station hailed 'world leader' for air monitoring
The Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station snuggled into Tasmania's northwestern tip in Australia has been hailed as being a 'world leading' air monitoring facility by the Bureau of Meteorology. The location of the pollution station and its access to constant wind makes it a perfect spot for researchers to observe and analyse air quality in the region. The site was first set up by a band of young CSIRO scientists who set up a caravan full of instruments there in 1976. Since then, it has becom...
Odour Control Project in Qatar
BioAir Solutions (USA), provider of biological odour and emission control solutions, has been selected by Ashghal—the government agency that controls the sewerage network servicing Doha, Qatar—to install a demonstration unit of the company’s innovative new technology for wastewater treatment plant and pumping stations. Ashghal is responsible for operating more than 150 pumping stations that handle the transport of sewage to the city’s wastewater treatment facilities in the capital city of Doha....
State Secretary Atsma Inaugurates World-Scale Hydrogen Plant in Rotterdam Botlek
Air Products (Netherlands) and ExxonMobil celebrated the start-up of a new world-scale hydrogen production plant in Rotterdam. Joop Atsma, State Secretary for Infrastructure and the Environment, Mayor Aboutaleb of Rotterdam and Hans Smits, CEO Port of Rotterdam, participated in the official ceremony. Integrating ExxonMobil’s refinery with Air Products new hydrogen plant will lead to a 15% improvement in energy efficiency and reduce related CO2 emissions by 200.000 tons per year. The Air Product...
UK suffering from eastern Europe pollution
Recent air monitoring records have shown that polluted air spread eastwards across the UK at the end of January, and stayed for the first half of February, according to the Guardian. Poor domestic air quality was also exacerbated by cold, frosty nights, which allowed traffic pollution to build up in our cities, spreading out from roads to residential areas. This led to a densely polluted month for major cities, with London, Leeds, Manchester and Glasgow bearing the brunt, as well as coastal town...
The Swing Check Valve
Val-Matic Valve & Mfg. (USA) has introduced the AWWA Swing Check Valve. The Swing Check Valve incorporates many features and characteristics that will provide energy savings, ease of maintenance and extended valve life for municipal and industrial water and wastewater applications. The Swing Check Valve features a 100% unrestricted flow area, a full-access domed cover for easy maintenance, heavy duty stainless steel shafts and replaceable body seats, replaceable resilient seats with integral O-r...
Air Pollution Control Available in any Colour You Like…..as Long as it’s Green
Unlike the Model T Ford, which Henry Ford famously said was, ‘available in any colour so long as it is black’, environmental equipment from Spooner Anguil (UK) really is available in a variety of different colours. Whether to blend with surroundings, meet a corporate colour or simply to be in vogue, the only essential requirement of any environmental installation is that it must be ‘green’. Yorkshire based specialist paper makers, Weidmann Whiteley used to ship their paper to the USA to be print...
US environmental figures show decrease in CO2 emissions
The annual air monitoring report from the US Environmental Protection Agency has revealed that fuel efficiency in new cars and light duty trucks has increased, which complemented decreasing figures in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. This decrease is the seventh annual reduction to be reported in the annual report Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 Through 2011. Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, sai...
Hong Kong begin monitoring PM2.5
The Hong Kong government has bowed to environmentalist pressure for greater transparency on air quality as it prepares to start releasing hourly reading of PM2.5. The Environmental Protection Department has started to release real time updates of fine suspended particulates on its website, as measured at 14 locations around the southern trade hub. A spokesman said that the department had been monitoring the particles since 1999, but the results have not being publically released until this week...
China removes air quality figures within a week
Shanghai's air quality watchdog removed the data from its website at noon yesterday, only days after it began reporting the amount of PM2.5 particles in the air on Monday. Air monitoring systems for PM2.5 particles were placed in the Shanghai districts of Putuo District and the Pudong New Area, both of which failed to meet the new standard. Some readings were more than two and a half times higher than the country's target. Fu Qingyan, chief engineer at the center, said that the release of PM2....
UK air quality debate intensifies
A new report by the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) which accused the British government of failing to adequately tackle air pollution has been dismissed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), sparking a big row over EU commitments. The row broke out between environment secretary Caroline Spelman and the chairwoman of EA Joan Walley MP, after the government refused to accept a report accusing Defra of failing to adequately tackle air pollution. Defra formally dis...
Chinese authorities combat air quality issues
The Chinese government has announced that it will combat air quality problems by setting tougher rules on air monitoring of PM2.5. The move has come in response to online environmental activists, which is surprising given China's strict control of the internet. The environmental legislation rules were agreed at an executive meeting of the state council presided over by the premier, Wen Jiabao. News on China's pollution problems have been rife of late, and a new report released by the Washingto...
Shanghai to invest $1.6 billion to tackle air pollution
Shanghai, China's most populated city, is to spend 10.3 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) on reducing air pollution in the city, according to local environmental protection authorities. This is a 40 per cent increase on the amount spent over the last three years combined, the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Environmental Protection said in a statement. The city will also adopt the new PM2.5 air quality standard in June, which is a welcomed introduction after recent pressure over the less accurate PM10 s...
Time for a ‘Plan B’ on Climate Change, Say Leading Environmental Economists
Governments have done so little to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, they should consider investing into the Rand D of large scale geo-engineering projects and their governance, according to 26 of the world’s leading environmental economists. Examples could include firing sulphates into the atmosphere, Iron fertilisation of the oceans or oceanic ‘heat pipes’. A ten point consensus, published this month in a book edited by two top environmental economists at The University of Manchester, argues th...
UK MP snuffs EU regulation as 'too costly'
The UK's environment secretary Caroline Spelman has admitted that the costs of meeting EU pollution targets may not match the benefits, after a key report on air pollution by a committee of MPs was deemed too costly. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) responded to the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) saying: "The government … supports further EU ambitions to reduce health and environmental impacts of air pollution … However, there was never an intention for any of...
Bio-based contraption absorbs harmful air pollutants
Graduates of Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) in India have created a device that promises to reduce air pollution at traffic signals. Shailee Jain and Palvi Raikar’s device MossThatch has been showcased at the Car Cycle and Bike Expo, and has been found to efficiently absorb harmful air pollutants such as heavy metals and remove oxides of sulphur and nitrogen. The device has both absorption and adsorption features, which facilitate physical and biochemical absorption. Jain sai...
Space readings show 'worrying pollution levels in China'
Researchers from Yale and Columbia Universities, along with Battelle Memorial Institute, have used satellite readings to produce data on pollution levels in China. The satellite provided the first estimates of ground-level annual average concentrations of the pollutant PM 2.5 for all of China over the last decade. This news will be welcomed among environmental groups and environmental organisations, which have been pushing China to record levels of PM2.5 in cities, rather than the less harmful...
Tar sands to be labelled 'highly polluting'
Canada has threatened that European Union moves to label tar sands as 'highly polluting' could spark a trade war across the Atlantic, it has been reported by the Guardian. Canada fears that the EU plans would set a global precedent, making it difficult for the country to export its tar sands, which are the biggest fossil fuel reserve in the world after Saudi Arabia. However, environmental groups maintain that the 'oil sands' could be catastrophic for the global climate, and could have adverse e...
Better computer models required to tackle pollution
University of Iowa engineering professor Gregory Carmichael has called for better computer models and increased research to tackle pollution, particularly in atmospheric brown cloud (ABC). The professor recently made the claims at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Vancouver, where he said that scientific data on ABC pollution is lacking. Asia was put into the spotlight, with the professor claiming that pollutants from the region are getting i...
Emerson helps Tata Steel improve safety, emissions, and energy self-sufficiency
Tata Steel’s Port Talbot facility in Wales has upgraded control of its largest steam boiler using energy management technologies and services from Emerson Process Management. The new controls enable Tata to increase energy efficiency and maximise use of waste fuels, reducing emissions as well as reliance on purchased fuels. The Port Talbot facility is Britain’s largest integrated steel mill, maki ng over four and a half million tonnes per year of high-quality sheet steel for the automotive, cons...
Ehovoc provides VOC treatment plant to Taiwan
Ehovoc is making a breakthrough into the Asian markets with the biggest sale in the history of the company. Finland-based Ehovoc will deliver a VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) treatment plant to a Taiwanese flexo print concern in January 2012, with an option for the delivery of another incineration plant later on. Ehovoc’s catalytic incineration plants purify polluting VOC gas emissions that are dangerous to health and the environment. The gases are usually organic solvents that occur as a by-p...
Pollution could lead to cognitive decline
A recent study has revealed that long term exposure to air pollution could lead to cognitive decline in older adults. The study, published in Archives of Internal Medicine, accompanies three other pollution-related tests recently conducted around the world that have linked exposure to pollution to health impacts. Two studies have linked pollution with cardiovascular risks, with PM 2.5 particles indicated to be the most detrimental in all the studies. Higher exposure to both PM 2.5 to 10 and PM...
Short-term air pollution expose 'can be harmful'
A new study by researchers in France has revealed that being exposed to air pollution for only a short time can increase the risk of cardiovascular events, such as a heart attack. The Paris Cardiovascular Research Centre compared the risk of suffering a heart attack at various levels of industrial and traffic-related air pollutants including carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and very small soot-like particles. The researchers found that even small effects of pollution can add up, with small part...
Car pollution can 'increase the risk of a stroke' for pensioners
A new study has revealed that moderate levels of car pollution in the city can increase the risk of a stroke in pensioners by a third. The study, which has been published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that the chances of women living in Boston, US, with an average age of 71 were 34 per cent more likely to have a stroke when pollution was 'moderate' than when it was 'good'. Lead author Gregory Wellenius of the Centre for Environmental Health and Technology at Brown University, wro...
New study reveals cost of pollution in China
A new study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has revealed that air pollution cost the Chinese economy $112 billion in 2005, compared with $22 billion in 1975. The study, by researchers at the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, takes into account costs associated with health impacts from ozone and particulate matter, which can lead to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Researchers addressed the long term impacts as well as the immediate costs ai...
Smoky coal raising pollution level in Northern Ireland
The level of cancerous pollutants in the air over urban centres in Northern Ireland exceeds European targets, according to a report. The Department of the Environment said the pollutants are fuelled by households in Northern Ireland burning smoky coal. The report indicates that current levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) could lead to 12 cases of lung cancer in Northern Ireland over a 70-year period. PAHs are highly carcinogenic compounds, which most commonly arise as a result o...
Beijing takes action to cut pollution
China's capital Beijing has released plans to reduce air pollution levels by 15 per cent by 2015 and 30 per cent by 2020, according to state media. The plans will look to phase out old cars, relocate factories and plant new forests in an attempt to bring air levels down to a safer level. In recent months the smokestack emissions, vehicle exhausts, dust and aerosols have covered the city in a pungent cloud of smog which caused flight cancellations and forced many residents to stay in their homes....
First Emissions Management Programme for Ports Launched Amid Growing Calls to Implement CSR Policy
The growing emphasis on port-led CSR has prompted Carbon Positive, the carbon management consultancy for the maritime sector, to launch the first emissions management programme specifically to help ports to adopt a single, long-term strategy to manage their energy and natural resource requirements and reducing their carbon footprint, ultimately contributing to carbon emissions reduction targets for the shipping industry as a whole. Environmental CSR is becoming increasingly significant for ports...
Mayoral candidates asked to address public health crisis
A campaign group called Clean Air in London has called upon mayoral candidates to address the 'biggest public health crisis for decades'. Clean air is set to be a dominant theme in the run up to the 2012 election for the next mayor of London, with a new manifesto been launched for Clean Air in London. The manifesto highlights several priorities that should be included in the candidate's campaign, including championing the case for air quality with the UK and European governments, cutting traffi...
India revealed to have 'worst air pollution in the world'
The annual Environmental Performance Index has been revealed at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, finding that India has overtaken China as having the worst air pollution in the world. China dropped to 125th place out of the 132 countries surveyed, leaving India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh at the back as having the worse air effects on human health. The data is compiled using satellite data from environmental research centres at Yale and Columbia Universities. A New York Times...
Increased pollution effort and open awareness in Scotland
The Scottish parliament will require extra efforts in order to achieve emission goals; it has been reported by the Press Association, as the government attempts to improve awareness over air pollution in the area. Legislation passed by Holyrood targeted a 42 per cent drop in emissions from 1990 levels by 2020. However, the ambitious targets will require extra actions, after the independent advisory body the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) declared action on pollution and a tightening up of the...
Intercontinental crop losses caused by pollution
Ozone pollution generated in North America caused Europe to lose 1.2 million tonnes of wheat a year, according to a new study. The research, conducted by the University of Leeds in the UK, found that fossil fuels are damaging crop growths of wheat, maize, soybean, cotton, potato and rice not only locally, but also travelling thousands of miles downwind. The new research reflects the importance of international strategies to curb carbon emissions. The 2009 Copenhagen summit, which fell apart with...
Scotland first UK nation to launch pollution alert system
A pollution alert system has been launched in Scotland in a bid to make information more accessible and improve public health. It is the first UK nation to offer pollution alerts. A report last year found Scotland's major cities are being exposed to "dangerous levels" of air pollution. Know & Respond alerts those who sign up to the system when poor air quality is forecast for the day ahead. Users get alerts via text message or email. Poor air quality can particularly affect people with heart con...
Pollution control products boost in demand
Increased production of vehicles alongside the tightening of global air pollution regulations has led to a significant increase in demand for diesel-engine pollution control products. Corning Inc, a major supplier of the pollution control products, has reported a drastic increase in sales as companies invest more in complying with international pollution law, it has been reported by Democrat and Chronicle. Heavy duty sales are expected to grow from 125,000 in 2010 to about 225,000 this year in t...
Severe health warnings in Delhi
Gastrointestinal diseases, asthma, bronchitis and vitamin D deficiency are all being linked with severe weather conditions and pollution in Delhi, according to the Times of India. The North Indian city is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16.7 million inhabitants in the territory at the 2011 Census. The cramped environment and the excessive air pollution has made life difficult in the city, with 7,525 deaths in 2010 from complications from respiratory diseases, a 41 p...