Clear The Air News Blog Rotating Header Image

Treat bad air problems as a crisis

Jan 25th, 2012
by Editor.
No comments yet

South China Morning Post Letters

In respect of air quality, the people of Hong Kong want two things.

They want the truth about air quality where they and their children live, work, study and play so that they can make informed decisions as to how best to protect their health and take concerted and urgent action to improve it. They are not interested in targets.

Also, they want to be warned when the air is dangerous to their health and they want the government to start doing something meaningful about it without more years of dithering.

I was impressed and relieved when the administration got rid of all the diesel taxis and some of the diesel minibuses, which had a hugely beneficial effect on air quality back in 2003.

What has it achieved since then? We are still plagued with dirty old buses, minibuses, goods vehicles, ferries and ships, and the power companies have still not cleaned up their act.

The government has a pretty good record when it comes to managing crises. I am sure that the Hospital Authority would say that the steadily increasing cases of respiratory disease amount to a continuing and worsening crisis, so can we please start treating it as such?

Guy Shirra, chairman, Friends of Sai Kung

Posted in: Air Pollution, Health.

IcelandReview

Jan 22nd, 2012
by Editor.
No comments yet

http://icelandreview.com/icelandreview/search/news/Default.asp?ew_0_a_id=373796

The news this week is making my head spin. As it turns out the dioxin emissions from Funi in Ísafjördur was nothing compared to the emissions in the Westman Islands and Kirkjubaejarklaustur, which measured 84 and 95 times over the authorized limit in 2007, respectively.

As if that wasn’t outrageous enough, the waste burning station in Kirkjubaejarklaustur is located in the same building as the town’s elementary school.

Is the potential hazard of dioxin pollution being downplayed—apparently, not much is known about the effects of such pollution—or are we looking at an Erin Brockovich scenario here?

Now medical examinations will be conducted on people living in these areas. Just to be on the safe side, they say. Dioxin in people is mostly caused by consumption of the chemical, not inhalation.

According to national broadcaster RÚV, possible consequences of dioxin pollution are cancer, liver damage, impotence and development problems in fetuses and children. Just minor ailments…

The worst part is that people already knew in 2007 that these waste burning stations were emitting far more dioxin than allowed, yet nothing was done. The public wasn’t even informed of the risks. Why? This environmental catastrophe could have been prevented.

In an interview on RÚV’s radio station Rás 2 on Wednesday, Environment Minister Svandís Svavarsdóttir (who took office in 2009), explained that she didn’t have the authority to shut down the polluting waste burning stations.

Apparently, this whole story has been an administrative blunder from the start.

As I’ve understood it, everyone but the municipalities who operate the waste burning stations and/or whose financial interests lie in their continued operation lack the authority to close them down and the local authorities prioritized the municipality’s financial interests above public health.

They were informed of the risks and given advice on how to avoid them but chose to turn a deaf ear, a decision which has blown up in their faces.

To quote Alanis Morissette: “It’s the good advice that you just didn’t take. Who would have thought… it figures. […] Isn’t it ironic?”

But Svavarsdóttir is set on vacuuming under the rug.

She has notified the municipalities in question of her wish that they shut down or at least significantly reduce the operations of the waste burning stations until further testing has been conducted.

There is also a bill pending, stating that those who cause damage to the environment take responsibility for it, an independent commission will investigate who was responsible in the dioxin pollution affair and the minister has called for a clause on the public’s right to information and a healthy environment be included in the Icelandic Constitution.

Our constitution is so obviously flawed… who said we didn’t need a new one?

Right now the Constitutional Assembly elects are fighting for their rightful authority to review the constitution. Fingers crossed.

Unlike many of her predecessors, Svavarsdóttir seems to actually care about the environment. Some of the previous environment ministers would think along the lines of: “Our country is so clean that it’s safe to pollute some more.”

I kid you not. This blunder can all be traced back to the time when Iceland asked for an exemption from a European directive adapted in 2003, one which includes strict guidelines on pollution and which Icelandic authorities took part in fighting for.

The irony of the ordeal would be hilarious if it hadn’t been so tragic.

I can only hope that Icelanders—all Icelanders—take this as a wakeup call and realize that if they want Iceland to remain pure and clean, they have to contribute. If it isn’t already too late.

Eygló Svala Arnarsdóttir – eyglo@icelandreview.com

Posted in: Pollution.

COURTS, ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY GUILTY OF ARSENIC IN WATER

Jan 22nd, 2012
by Editor.
No comments yet

22 January 2012

(AGI) Rome – The Consumers Association Codacons has reported that the Lazio Regional Administrative Court has sentenced the Health and Environment Ministries to pay compensation amounting to at least 100 euro per consumer for poisoned water in a number of regions (Lazio, Tuscany, Trentino Alto Adige, Lombardy and Umbria) where arsenic was found in the water.
Codacons has said “this sentence paves the way affirming that the public administration is held responsible for providing insufficient or defective or polluting services, which result in stress, damages and pose risks to citizens’ heath. This path will now be followed by those requesting compensation for polluted air and degradation present in Naples, in Rome and in other large cities where standards of living are seriously prejudiced by environmental degradation.”

http://www.agi.it/english-version/italy/elenco-notizie/201201221801-cro-ren1063-courts_environment_ministry_guilty_of_arsenic_in_water

Posted in: Government Policy, Health, Pollution.

Airline cost blow for ‘Boris island’

Jan 22nd, 2012
by Editor.
No comments yet

Download PDF : http___www.telegraph.co.uk_finance_newsbysector_transport_9029773_Airline-cost-blow-for-Boris-island

Posted in: Infrastructure & Town Planning.

Beijing releases data on fine particles

Jan 22nd, 2012
by Editor.
No comments yet

South China Morning Post – 22 Jan 2012

Authorities fulfil promise, under intense public pressure over PM2.5 – but only at one station

Beijing environmental authorities yesterday began releasing hourly air pollution readings for PM2.5 – health-threatening fine particles with a diameter less than 2.5 microns – fulfilling a promise of publicising them before the Lunar New Year, under intense public pressure.

The readings of one monitoring station at Chegongzhuang in Xicheng district were updated hourly with about three hours’ delay on the website of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Centre.

Releasing PM2.5 data was perceived as a move to appease residents angry about the government’s prolonged secrecy over the city’s deteriorating air quality. Beijing authorities have long measured PM10 levels, meaning particles with a diameter of 10-microns or less. But PM2.5 are considered more critical as these smaller bodies can embed themselves deep in the lungs and even enter the bloodstream.

They can cause cancer and extreme respiratory problems.

The US embassy conducts its own monitoring, in Chaoyang district, and publishes its PM2.5 readings on Twitter, winning praise from the public while giving Chinese authorities a headache.

Analysts applauded the move as a step forward in environmental-information disclosure because residents would be better informed about air quality. The government had fulfilled its commitment, they said, which helped restore its credibility.

However, the readings were obtained from only one of the city’s six monitoring stations equipped to take PM2.5 readings.

“The readings at one station cannot represent the whole city’s air conditions, but they still serve as an important reference for the public,” said Ma Jun , head of the non-government Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs. “I hope the government can disclose data from other stations soon.”

A Beijing official said the government had monitored PM2.5 levels since 2006, but the data was collected mainly for research.

The government said it hoped to install equipment for taking PM2.5 readings at all 27 monitoring stations and release real-time figures by the end of this year.

It was sunny with a blue sky and some wind yesterday. The official reading at 12pm yesterday showed 0.015mg per cubic metre while the US embassy reading was 0.018mg per cubic metre, or a measure of 57 on the Air Quality Index.

The US data fell into the category of moderate health concern, which means people with respiratory or heart disease, the elderly and children are groups most at risk, according to Air Now, a website designed to provide air-quality information.

Smog plagued the capital on Thursday as the United States embassy readings at 3am and 11pm exceeded 0.5mg per cubic metre, categorised as “hazardous for the entire population”.

Ma said that the rapid development of the city powered by coal-burning electrical plants, a growing number of cars, dust from construction sites and emissions from surrounding heavy-chemical industries had offset efforts taken by the authorities at improving air quality.

Professor Zhu Tong , head of Peking University’s centre for environment and health, said that it would take some time to see the results of efforts taken to improve air quality. “The air can be improved when the new sources of pollutants are fewer and government takes greater steps to counter their effects,” he said.

priscilla.jiao@scmp.com

Posted in: Air Pollution, China, Government Policy.

Outdated plant will blow poisonous cocktail over Hong Kong residents

Jan 22nd, 2012
by Editor.
No comments yet

SCMP – 22 Jan 2012

I refer to the excellent editorial (“Developing Lantau a delicate task”, January 15) saying how ill-conceived the Environmental Protection Department’s plan is to build a super-incinerator on Shek Kwu Chau off Lantau.

The department should be trying to reduce pollution, not increase it. Its reply that it won’t increase it by very much, is just not what we expect of the so-called world-class government of “Asia’s world city”.

The obsolescent technology which the department proposes to use will spew dioxins and heavy metals and damaging particulates into the atmosphere. The department claims the winds will only blow this back over Hong Kong 8 per cent of the time (“Neighbours mull legal bid to stop incinerator”, January 13). In fact the Hong Kong Observatory’s figures show winds will blow this poisonous cocktail over Hong Kong for 25 per cent of the time, not 8 per cent. And even for the rest of the time, where will this toxic brew go? It will of course land in the sea, and affect marine life.

Modern proven technology exists which will not generate pollutants, but the department will not admit that it is making a mistake by choosing an outdated system. It prefers poisoning the population to losing face. The department has been stalling on updating Hong Kong’s air quality objectives – if it did update them, this very project could not pass. So, it is cheating us.

Also, the reclamation at Shek Kwu Chau will cause the project to cost the taxpayer some HK$10 billion more than using alternative sites, and involve much higher ongoing running costs. So why has the department selected Shek Kwu Chau?

We taxpayers deserve better.

R. E. J. Bunker, Lantau


Posted in: EPD, Incineration - Solid Waste Disposal.

HKSARG congratulates Dr Margaret Chan on her nomination as WHO Director-General

Jan 21st, 2012
by Editor.
No comments yet

http://7thspace.com/headlines/403989/hksarg_congratulates_dr_margaret_chan_on_her_nomination_as_who_director_general.html

Hong Kong (HKSAR) – The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (HKSARG) extends its heartiest congratulations to Dr Margaret Chan on her nomination by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Executive Board today (January 18, Geneva time) for a second term as Director-General of the Organization

Posted in: WHO.

La pollution menace la capitale de la finance | Green et Vert

Jan 21st, 2012
by Editor.
No comments yet

http://www.greenetvert.fr/2012/01/21/la-pollution-menace-la-capitale-de-la-finance/44479

Hong-Kong : La pollution menace la capitale de la finance

Selon le département de protection de l’environnement, la pollution à Hong-Kong a été la pire de l’histoire pendant l’année 2011. Un véritable problème pour l’ancienne colonie britannique qui voit les cadres de la finance internationale partir pour Singapour à cause de cela. Un changement serait-il possible?

Description: http://www.greenetvert.fr/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/hon-kong.jpg

Le parc automobile, vieillissant, de Hong Kong pose des problèmes de qualité de l’air. ©Gaspard Mathé

Les trois stations principales de mesure de la pollution le long des routes ont indiqué un niveau supérieur à 100 pendant 20% de l’année 2011. Un tel niveau signifie qu’au moins un des principaux polluants mesurés dépasse la limite réglementaire maximale. La situation est 10 fois pire qu’en 2005, où le niveau 100 n’avait été atteint que pendant 2% de l’année.

Un parc automobile très polluant

Si les hongkongais ont l’habitude d’accuser les usines du voisin communiste chinois, force est de constater que la pollution est aussi une affaire locale. Les niveaux de pollution sur l’ensemble des stations de mesure, et non plus seulement sur les trois principales, sont stables. Or les stations de mesure des nouveaux territoires, les plus proches de la république populaire de Chine, sont beaucoup plus représentatives de la pollution héritée des usines de la province du Guangdong en république populaire.

Alors, à qui la faute? Selon le département de protection de l’environnement, c’est l’âge moyen des véhicules en circulation et l’augmentation de leur nombre qui est à l’origine du problème. Pour y remédier, le gouvernement va installer des pots catalytiques sur les bus les plus anciens. Une mesure assez anecdotique qui ne va pas réconcilier les ONG environnementales avec l’administration.

Une politique environnementale très permissive

En effet, selon plusieurs de ces ONG, le gouvernement a volontairement retardé l’introduction de nouveaux standards de qualité de l’air, afin de pouvoir tranquillement mener à bien ses grands travaux d’infrastructure. Au nombre desquels on compte une nouvelle piste pour l’aéroport (la troisième) et des usines d’incinération des déchets. Selon James Middleton, de l’ONG ‘Clear the Air’, cette politique permissive en matière de pollution vient de très haut:

les fonctionnaires du département de protection de l’environnement ont aussi des enfants qui partagent le même air que nous. Cette politique vient clairement de décisions prises au sommet de l’administration. C’est une forme de mépris et de manque d’égards à la population de la part d’une administration dont l’un des devoirs primordiaux est d’assurer la bonne santé des citoyens.

Toujours est-il que l’administration pourrait avoir à se pencher très rapidement sur le sujet de la pollution de l’air. Plusieurs multinationales de la finance ont déplacé leurs QG Asie de Hong-Kong vers Singapour, qui dispose des mêmes avantages pour les banquiers (économie ouverte, personnel qualifié et multilingue, …) que Hong-Kong sans ses inconvénients : la qualité de l’air y est bien meilleure. Pour une cité qui abrite les sièges de HSBC ou Standard Chartered, la finance est une industrie trop importante pour ignorer des facteurs qui pourrait la faire fuir. Si le maintien de son statut de capitale asiatique de la finance passe par la réduction de la pollution, il est fort à parier que la nouvelle administration de Hong-Kong qui sortira des urnes pendant cette année 2012 saura y apporter le soin nécessaire

Tags:

Hong Kong: The pollution threatens the finance capital

According to the department of environmental protection, pollution in Hong Kong was the worst in history during 2011. A real problem for the former British colony that sees executives from international finance to Singapore because of this. A change would be possible?

The fleet age, from Hong Kong poses problems of air quality. © Gaspard Mathé

The three main stations for measuring pollution along roads indicated a level higher than 100 for 20% of 2011. This level means that at least one of the main pollutants measured exceeds the statutory maximum. The situation is 10 times worse than in 2005, when the level had reached 100 for only 2% of the year.

A highly polluting fleet

If Hong Kong were used to accuse the Chinese Communist neighbor’s plants, it is clear that pollution is a local matter. Pollution levels on all stations, and not only on the three main stable. Now the measuring stations of the New Territories, closest to the People’s Republic of China, are much more representative of the inherited pollution plants in Guangdong Province People’s Republic.

So, whose fault? According to the department of environmental protection is the average age of vehicles on the road and increasing the number that is causing the problem. To remedy this, the government will install catalytic converters on older buses. A fairly anecdotal wrong reconcile environmental NGOs with the administration.

Environmental policy very permissive

According to many of these NGOs, the government deliberately delayed the introduction of new standards for air quality in order to quietly carry out its major infrastructure projects. Among which include a new runway to the airport (the third) and waste incineration plants. According to James Middleton, of the NGO ‘Clear the Air’, this permissive policy on pollution is very high:

officials of the department of environmental protection also have children who share the same air as us. This policy is clearly top-level decisions of the administration. It is a form of contempt and disrespect for the people from administration, one of whose primary duties is to ensure the health of citizens.

Still, the administration may have to look very quickly on the subject of air pollution. Several multinationals have moved their headquarters finance Asia Hong Kong to Singapore, which has the same benefits for bankers (open economy, skilled and multilingual, …) that Hong Kong without its drawbacks: the air quality is much better. For a city that houses the headquarters of HSBC and Standard Chartered, the finance industry is too important to ignore factors that could cause it to flee. While maintaining its status as capital of the Asian financial means reducing pollution, it is likely that the new administration in Hong Kong that exit polls during the year 2012 will make the necessary care.

topics.scmp.com

Posted in: Air Pollution.

Lord Norman Foster: We need Victorian spirit to build Thames airport

Jan 20th, 2012
by Editor.
No comments yet

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/9028857/Lord-Norman-Foster-We-need-Victorian-spirit-to-build-Thames-airport.html

Norman Foster says we need to think big again, and the big thing he wants to do is build a mega-airport in the Thames Estuary. To do this, we must rediscover the spirit of the Victorians.

Description: Options for airport expansion

An artist’s impression of the Thames Estuary airport Photo: PA

By Neil Tweedie

8:30AM GMT 21 Jan 2012

“The railways you ride on, the sewage system you depend on, were the result of someone a long time ago deciding that it was important to invest in the future,” he says. “We in Britain invented the concept of infrastructure.”

The master architect believes we have lost our mojo. He wants to give us a grand projet: the Thames Hub, a vast airport at the mouth of the river built partly on reclaimed land and forming the centre of a high-speed rail network bypassing London and linking the rest of the country with Europe.

Cost? He estimates £50 billion including a new Thames Barrier to provide tidal power for the airport, equipped with four runways and able to operate 24 hours a day, well away from London. But detractors think it could be nearer £70 billion.

“Can we afford not to afford it?” asks Lord Foster. “If we do not modernise our transport infrastructure we will slide down the international scale.”

Foster has a big ally in Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, who this week claimed No 10 backing for an estuary airport. Mr Johnson floated the idea of a man-made island airport, christened Boris Island. Lord Foster’s proposal uses Kent’s Isle of Grain and reclaimed land.

Britain, says the architect, risks losing its status as an aviation hub. Heathrow, approached over London, is at 95 per cent capacity, handling 68  million passengers a year. Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam have more runways and serve more destinations such as China and Brazil. A third runway for Heathrow and second runway for Gatwick have been ruled out.

Better to build a new airport for 150 million passengers a year, says Lord Foster. Planes will take off over the sea, reducing noise pollution. The only creatures affected will be birds, for which the RSPB will mount a fierce defence. The architect promises to build an eco-island off Essex. The £20 billion cost of the airport itself would be mitigated by selling Heathrow for £12 billion. The North will be connected by a “spine” incorporating high-speed rail and broadband.

But what of the glacial planning system? “Even if you take out five years for planning we still take three times to complete a major infrastructure initiative than they do in Asia,” he says, citing the rapid construction of his Chek Lap Kok airport in Hong Kong on reclaimed land.

And the money? “It is difficult in these times to find a good return on investment. This would be incredibly attractive to pension and sovereign wealth funds.”

But opponents argue that closing Heathrow would result in major economic disruption, with 76,000 people working at the airport and hundreds of businesses sited to take advantage of it. Mr Johnson’s backing appears to have backfired. He was accused of crude electioneering — many living under Heathrow’s flightpath vote in the mayoral election — and angered the Liberal Democrats.

Will this hub be built? Parliament has already passed an Act allowing the building of a Thames Estuary airport. That was in 1973 and we are still waiting.

Posted in: Infrastructure & Town Planning.

Swap dirty diesel trucks for cash

Jan 20th, 2012
by Editor.
No comments yet

South China Morning Post

How many more insults can this administration take over its proven failure to provide us (and itself) with such a basic human requirement as clean air?

Your editorials and correspondents have suggested taking filthy diesel trucks and buses off the streets without delay, even at taxpayers’ expense. It is argued that the benefits will far outweigh the costs.

This is my attempt to convince the government to act.

These cash-for-clunker programmes in some countries (where the government offers cash incentives to replace dirty vehicles) were a huge success during the last financial crisis. They can help the environment and the economy and have proved to be a very effective way to get old and dirty vehicles off the roads. Previous incentives were too small-scale to work.

The offers that are made must be substantial so that the pre-Euro IV vehicles are removed from our roads without further delay.

Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah has asked citizens to suggest the best use of taxpayers’ money ahead of next month’s budget. It would be a major breakthrough if he listened to us so we could all breathe more easily.

H. P. Kerner, Sai Kung

Posted in: Air Pollution, Government Policy, Vehicle.

← Earlier Posts