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June, 2008:

Hong Kong Plans Low-Sulphur Incentives

Jun 16th, 2008
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Keith Wallis, Hong Kong – Monday 16 June 2008

Ships could be asked to reduce speeds to 12 knots.

VESSEL operators could be given incentives to switch to low-sulphur fuels within 64 km of Hong Kong and Shenzhen ports and to reduce ship speeds to just 12 knots, as part of a package of initiatives to reduce maritime pollution.

The plans are among a raft of proposals set to be unveiled tomorrow in a report by Hong Kong public policy think tank Civic Exchange.

The 45-page study, Green Harbours: Hong Kong and Shenzhen — reducing marine and port related emissions, recommends 12 key measures to be implemented by both the private and public sectors.

The document is important because it was prepared with help from the Hong Kong Shipowners’ Association, the Marine Department, terminal companies including Hutchison Ports and other local organisations. As a result, many of the proposals could be speedily launched.

Chief among these are the implementation of what Civic Exchange said are “fast and easy wins, such as requiring vessels to slow down to reduce fuel consumption”.

Vessel operators would be given incentives to switch to a low-sulphur fuel within 64 km of Hong Kong and Shenzhen ports. Under the proposal, port operators would pay shipping companies the difference between the price of bunker fuel and the low-sulphur distillate fuel for vessels that make the fuel switch at least 32 km from the ports.

To qualify for the incentives, ships must also participate in the ports’ voluntary vessel-speed reduction programme, limiting speeds to 12 knots. In addition, ships must burn low-sulphur fuel in their auxiliary engine while at berth.

The report also calls for “the creation of a regional cross-industry body to manage port and marine related environmental issues” and says the Hong Kong government “is well-placed to convene this group”.

The report also calls for “a comprehensive green ports strategy and related policy measures” to be developed. This should include the use of “regulatory processes under international treaties such as emissions control areas to engage Hong Kong, the Pearl River delta and Beijing”.

Officials are urged to “consider imposing fees on high-sulphur fuels and lowering taxes and duties on ultra low sulphur diesel” while improving fuel distribution to decrease the actual cost of ultra-low-sulphur diesel for local craft.

The report also calls for a government-led detailed inventory of maritime-related pollutants, including greenhouse gases, to provide a strong technical foundation for both policy decisions and on-going research and monitoring in southern China. It says research should be carried out on the health effects of marine and port related emissions to determine subsequent policy measures to reduce the impact of maritime related pollution.

Civic Exchange praises several companies, including China Navigation, the privately-owned Swire shipping company, Shekou Container Terminal, and Yantian International Container Terminal for their environmental iniatives, including switching to low-sulphur diesel and electric-power port equipment.

But the group said: “There is a willingness among them to do better but they will need government regulation to create a level playing field so that laggards do not benefit from non-action. Thus, marine and port-related emissions in fact represent a low-hanging fruit for the authorities, which they must harvest sooner rather than later.”

Clean Environment Is Essential

Jun 13th, 2008
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Clean environment is essential for our long-term development

Updated on Jun 13, 2008 – SCMP

With the buoyant economy, more people are able to afford luxury cars which are major polluters. It is ironic to see that citizens are on the one hand enjoying the fruits of economic success but, on the other, ignoring the environment and exacerbating our pollution problems.

A society can only enjoy sustainable development if it has a good environment. A society depends upon profitable investments, but unless it has a clean environment it will not achieve its full potential.

Leading figures from the international business community have repeatedly urged the Hong Kong government to make cleaner air its priority if it wants to retain its status as an international financial centre. Many foreign bankers and their families and other businessmen, have been attracted to other cities in the region, because they have lower pollution levels. Our government must be aware of this growing trend and it should not be neglected.

World leaders have woken up to the fact that we must clean up our act. Studies have shown us the strong correlation between the quality of air we breathe in and the chance of us succumbing to respiratory-related illnesses. Some studies have suggested that air pollution costs our city about HK$21 billion a year in terms of medical expenses and lost productivity.

Health problems aside, Hong Kong’s slipping rank in quality-of-life surveys is also becoming an embarrassment for the government, with Hong Kong slipping down the table compiled by the ECA International Survey of the best locations to live in.

Our government should bear the responsibility to protect its citizens and ensure their health does not deteriorate. A workforce enjoying good mental and physical health performs better.

In Hong Kong, where the economy depends heavily on tourism, improving the air quality can benefit the territory by enticing more people to visit.

In the long term, we still need to aim for sustainable development. Through raising people’s living standards by keeping the environment clean, we can be assured of a rapid and sound development.

Borromeo Li Ka-kit, Kwun Tong

Hong Kong Faces

Jun 12th, 2008
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Fanny W. Y. Fung – Updated on Jun 12, 2008 – SCMP

In the mid-1980s, after taking his degree in England, Richard Au Yeung Sei-kwok took the unusual step of working on the mainland. After years of commercial success, the entrepreneur has taken another unorthodox step – pursuing the opportunities thrown up by emissions trading

Businessmen and environmental activists may often be in confrontation, but Richard Au Yeung Sei-kwok has decided to play both roles.

Having worked in the commercial arena for 24 years and run his own business for 12, the 48-year-old has now dedicated himself to the emissions trading project agreed under the Kyoto Protocol to fight climate change.

“Profit and conservation are not mutually exclusive – if there is a mechanism to commercialise environmental protection incentives,” says Mr Au Yeung, chairman and chief executive of carbon credit trading agent Enew, a company he set up in May last year.

He came across the business opportunity by chance, when he learned about the international convention and the idea of carbon trading in a conversation with a Japanese friend in 2003.

“At first I didn’t quite believe this idea. I thought: get cash for making less pollution? Is there really such a free lunch in the world?”

But after researching the topic and studying the protocol, the entrepreneur – who had run various kinds of businesses including property, recreation facilities and advertising – decided the environmental project was profitable.

With his extensive personal network on the mainland, he started lobbying municipal government officials, farm owners and industrialists to engage in the trade.

It was not an easy task. Although the nation had signed the protocol as early as 1998, many provincial and city officials knew nothing about the issue.

“They had never heard of carbon credit trading. When I approached one official in a northeastern province about the matter, he said: buy coal? You should go to Shanxi !” he recalls with a laugh.

He also visited farms and explained to owners how the straw of rice plants and pig faeces could be used for generating power, and he went to factories to teach industrialists how to cut emissions. It took him about 18 months to two years from the beginning of lobbying to the completion of a transaction.

“I didn’t know the production process was so wasteful until I really saw such a large volume of materials could be saved up for alternative uses.”

Even as a boss, Mr Au Yeung has to withstand tough working conditions. “It is very unpleasant. I need to go into all the dirty places with pig faeces, coal burners or, in the case of paper factories, scraps floating in the choking air.” Even though he has six employees, he insists on going to sites himself. “It is worthwhile going and I am used to harsh conditions.”

He says his adaptability to hardship comes from his early training on the mainland. Although educated overseas, in 1985 he opted to develop his career in the then backward mainland after graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering from Newcastle University in England, an unusual decision for graduates at that time.

“I joined a local printing firm after returning home from studying abroad in 1984. One year later I was given two choices: to stay at the company’s Hong Kong headquarters or to go to the mainland and help develop the China market,” he says.

He was sent to work in northeastern provinces and Shandong , and his career subsequently took him to Hubei , Hunan , Guangdong and Jiangxi .

“I visit the mainland frequently and I learn new things from there every year.”

Mr Au Yeung is also a standing committee member of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong and a delegate to the Heilongjiang provincial committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

He said he hoped measures recently announced by the Hong Kong government to cut emissions under the Kyoto Protocol would help clean the air. The city is included in the protocol as part of China.

Adoption Of WHO Standards Urged

Jun 12th, 2008
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Mary Ann Benitez – Updated on Jun 12, 2008 – SCMP

Hong Kong should quickly adopt World Health Organisation standards on air quality in light of its enormous impact on people’s health, a Civic Exchange study says.

Hospital bed-days, lost productivity and doctor visits associated with polluted air cost 1.8 billion yuan (HK$2.03 billion) a year in the Pearl River Delta, HK$1.1 billion in Hong Kong and HK$18 million in Macau, the study said.

Civic Exchange chief executive officer Christine Loh Kung-wai said: “One thing that the government does not do here is to link health and control of air pollution.

“You and I know that bad air pollution means it’s bad for our health, but what we are not able to do is to understand that in much greater depth,” she said. “By doing long-term health tracking and studies to track effectiveness of policies – that is the only real way to inform policymakers whether any of the initiatives that they roll out are having a beneficial impact on public health.”

She welcomed a review of the 20-year-old Air Quality Objectives that the government said would be completed by next year.

“The question is whether they will tighten [air quality standards] to WHO standards and then announce measures and a time frame … to reach them, or set looser standards,” she said.

Anthony Hedley, chair professor of the department of community medicine at the University of Hong Kong, said: “From the public health point of view, we regard the adoption of WHO guidelines an absolute imperative and priority.”

Ms Loh added: “The problem has been the government feels that if it’s a standard they set, they have to pass it. But they are forgetting that even other societies have not necessarily met the WHO guidelines, but they use it as a measure of public health risk and … therefore to come up with measures to reduce air pollution.”

Alexis Lau Kai-hon, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Science and Technology, said revising regional objectives in line with WHO guidelines “would provide powerful drivers to improve air quality and public health.”

Coming Clean

Jun 12th, 2008
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Updated on Jun 12, 2008 – SCMP

Extraordinarily, Hong Kong has yet to make an explicit policy link between air quality and public health. We all know that air pollution affects our health yet, in public policy terms, the weighting towards our well-being is missing. This must change, otherwise the government will never quite get its priorities right about environmental protection and its duty to improve air quality, so that it no longer poses a daily threat to people. The same can be said of Guangdong, one of the wealthiest parts of the country; health gains from social and economic development will otherwise be compromised.

Research released yesterday using data from 2006 shows that air pollution levels were attributable to 10,000 deaths in Hong Kong, Macau and the Pearl River Delta, with 94 per cent of these occurring across the border. Moreover, air pollution is responsible for some 440,000 annual hospital bed-days and 11 million outpatient visits annually throughout the whole region. Industrialised areas such as Guangzhou and Foshan suffer from very high levels of sulfur dioxide, which is associated with cardiovascular and respiratory disease, and death. These figures could be lowered with improved air quality; these premature deaths and illnesses are avoidable.

The cost of these hospital bed-days, lost productivity and doctor visits associated with the impact on people’s health amounts to 1.8 billion yuan (HK$2.03 billion) a year in the delta, HK$1.1 billion in Hong Kong and HK$18 million in Macau. Adjusted for differences in gross domestic product, the health-related monetary costs of air pollution in the delta are seven times higher than those in Hong Kong. These represent only the economic losses, and do not take into account pain and suffering, or put a value on life. Research also shows the lack of local studies in the delta, Hong Kong and Macau on air pollution and health. The public and government policymakers will still not fully understand the impact of poor air quality on health without long-term studies that measure the total years of life lost to air pollution. Conducting studies that provide feedback essential to evaluate the effectiveness of air pollution control measures will help governments shape policy. If public health was a policy priority, we would invest more in health-related research.

It is now indisputable that smoggy days have increased dramatically over the past two decades. Although some pollutant types and sources have decreased, others have remained steady or increased. This is particularly true in the delta’s industrial areas. Only with frequent reviews of air pollution data and an evaluation of policy measures will it be possible to devise appropriate strategies. The authorities need to review regional emissions data for last year, as satellite information indicates that conditions have worsened since 2003.

Authorities in the delta, Hong Kong and Macau can exercise leadership by tightening air quality standards. Replacing the existing piecemeal approach with a total air quality management framework focused on public health is the first step. It has proved successful in controlling emissions elsewhere in the world.

Taking collaborative action before Hong Kong and Guangzhou host the East Asian and Asian Games in 2009 and 2010, respectively, will allow the region to take advantage of lessons learned from Beijing’s attempts to improve air quality for the Olympics, and for the region to position itself as a leader in fighting air pollution. A powerful short-term measure would be to use cleaner fuels not only in vehicles and ships but also in factories using power generators. This won’t be easy at a time when energy prices are high, but policymakers must spell out the damage to people’s health if they are to rally support for change.

This is the right time for such a change. National policy is shifting towards environmental protection; Hong Kong and Guangdong, as the wealthiest parts of the country, should be the first to make an explicit health link.

Christine Loh Kung-wai is chief executive of the think-tank Civic Exchange. cloh@civic-exchange.org

Young And Old Pay High Price For Bad Delta Air

Jun 12th, 2008
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Mary Ann Benitez – Updated on Jun 12, 2008 – SCMP

Children and the elderly in the greater Pearl River Delta are paying a high price for worsening air pollution, researchers warn, following a study that puts the health impact of air pollution at 6.7 billion yuan a year.

Poor air quality is causing 10,000 premature deaths a year, 440,000 hospital bed days and 11 million doctors’ visits in Hong Kong, Macau and the Pearl River Delta, states the study, entitled “A Price Too High”, by Civic Exchange.

A first in terms of pinning down the health cost of bad air in the region, the study was conducted over nine months by leading health, science and public policy experts who analysed ambient air pollution from 2003-2006, before projecting its health impact.

This impact is steep: HK$1.1 billion a year in Hong Kong, HK$18 million in Macau and 1.8 billion yuan a year in the Pearl River Delta, the study says.

“If adjusted for differences in gross domestic product, the health-related monetary costs of air pollution in the PRD amounts to 6.7 billion yuan,” said Anthony Hedley, chair professor of the University of Hong Kong’s department of community medicine, who noted the estimates were “very conservative”.

The costs represent only the economic losses and do not take into account the pain and suffering or put a value on life.

The team said air pollution was hitting children and the elderly, the most vulnerable members of society, particularly hard.

“It will begin to erode progress in life expectancy, but more than that it will make people sick before they die,” Professor Hedley said.

The scientists said businesses were concerned about air pollution because they had difficulty recruiting people from overseas.

“My concern is lung health, growth and development of a child who is growing up in Mong Kok or Causeway Bay,” Professor Hedley said.

He spoke of a cumulative effect on children and adolescents who have been exposed to poor air quality in the past 10-15 years; and the aged, who might require more medical attention than expected.

The team urged the government to adopt an overall total air quality management framework, provide real-time data to the public, act to cut emissions from land and marine transport, adopt a clean-fuel initiative, regularly review policies and standards, and fund research.

Idling Promotion Vehicles

Jun 11th, 2008
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Should marketing vans be banned from parking on streets?

Updated on Jun 11, 2008 – SCMP

Your report (“Outrage at telecom ‘roving shops'”, June 9) neglected to mention the most serious complaint against promotion vehicles, that they operate with their engines running to provide a cool interior for staff while residents and pedestrians have to suffer the stifling air pollution and soaring temperatures they generate.

It is ridiculous that government officials say they cannot take any action against this menace. These vehicles are invariably illegally parked on drop-off areas, yellow boxes or at metered facilities where commercial activities are prohibited.

The fact is that when one makes a complaint to the police the driver is given a verbal warning only, drives around the block and then returns to the same spot. Few residents have the time and energy to hang around and repeat the exercise to ensure that eventually a ticket is issued.

Not only do these vehicles hinder legitimate loading activities on busy streets, they also represent a significant risk to public safety as the drivers are often absent and the windscreen and sides of the vehicles are covered in displays. That possible obstruction to the swift response of our emergency services is tolerated reflects very badly on our administration.

When our chief executive was elected, he promised he would “get the job done”. Pollution on our streets and obstruction of traffic flow are matters of major concern to pedestrians and drivers. These promotion vans would disappear in days if he ordered zero tolerance for parking violations. If there are not enough traffic wardens to handle this task, the government should contract out to the private sector.

At the same time, outdated hawking regulations should be urgently revised to reflect the reality that selling services is a commercial transaction no different than selling a T-shirt. The Transport Department should prohibit the modification of vehicles for this purpose.

It is high time that companies like Hutchison and PCCW displayed some corporate social responsibility. They can well afford to open shops and take temporary space in the MTR and shopping malls to provide “convenience for their customers”.

Mary Melville, Tsim Sha Tsui

SFBC Promotes Green Development

Jun 11th, 2008
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June 11, 2008 – China CSR

Many top textile companies, including Ace Style, Fountain Set (Holdings) Limited and Central Textiles (Hong Kong) LTD, have set up “Sustainable Fashion Business Consortium” in Hong Kong, to promote environmental certification, labeling and carbon emissions businesses.

“The formation of the SFBC marks the coming together of the textile and apparel industry to tackle together this complex issue of sustainability.” stated Pat-Nie Woo, chairman of Sustainable Fashion Business Consortium to local media. “The launching of SFBC is the beginning of an industry-wide transformation, not only benefiting our members, their customers and suppliers, but also for best practices to filter down to small and medium enterprises in Hong Kong and Chinese mainland, thus forming a role model on sustainability, to make the dream of low-impact clothing a reality.”

SFBC’s vision is to work together with not only companies in the textile and apparel industry, but also to hold cooperation and dialogue with other organizations such as retailers and NGOs. By joining hands with other groups such as the RITE Group and WWF Hong Kong, SFBC intends to develop a clear roadmap for sustainable textiles and garments.

SFBC is a group of Hong Kong based companies in the textile and apparel sector committed to promoting and increasing the use of sustainable practices across the supply chain. With the pressing issue of global warming, air and water pollution, and the ever increase of waste disposal pits, SFBC has a vision to create a platform to continuously improve textile and apparels manufacturing processes and procedures throughout the supply chain to minimize the industry’s impact on the environment.

Carbon Emissions Trading Platform

Jun 10th, 2008
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Pollution solution

Asia could benefit from having its own trading platform

Amanda Lee – Updated on Jun 10, 2008 – SCMP

As the global war on pollution intensifies, major corporations are paying greater attention to a multitrilliondollar business which aims to cut back on carbon emissions.

Several countries are signing emissions trading agreements with big polluters. These schemes place a limit on the amount of greenhouse gases companies can produce, forcing heavy polluters to buy credits from firms that pollute less – thereby creating financial incentives to fight global warming. Now, Hong Kong wants to get in on the act and, at the beginning of this year, the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) said it wanted to offer Certified Emission Reduction (CER) futures and options as a hedging tool. The announcement was met with enthusiasm by both environmentalists and businesses.

And how much could this be worth? In a workshop last month, held by Hong Kong-based think-tank Civic Exchange at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Ian Johnson, a speaker and chairman of research company IDEAcarbon, said the global carbon market could be worth €500billion (HK$6.15trillion) by the year 2020.

Mr Johnson said that the biggest player was the United States and the biggest emissions trading organisation was the Chicago Climate Exchange. The exchange comprises non-Kyoto signatories, corporations with a corporate social responsibility (CSR) perspective and individuals looking to cut their carbon footprint.

What’s more, investment banks, such as Goldman Sachs, are looking to profit from trading carbon futures in the same way as any other commodity.

The voluntary market, including contracts traded over the counter and on exchanges, was worth a total of US$331million last year. Mr Johnson also said the most common over-the-counter transacted projects include those that are related to renewable energy, energy efficiency, methane destruction, forestry land-based projects and CO2 emissions.

Roger Raufer, an independent consultant who is an adviser to the HKEx on carbon emissions trading, says: “It is very important for Asia to have its own platform.” However, he adds that there are many questions about whether China, one of the world’s biggest polluters, should be allowed to purchase credits from the United States. In short, if an exchange is to be established, Asia has to create its own demand.

Demand is strong in Europe, where carbon credits are traded on the Oslo-based Nord Pool and the European Climate Exchange.

A spokesman at the HKEx declined to comment on the results of the exchange’s consultation on the feasibility of establishing an emissions trading platform. The HKEx said in January, in addition to working on a platform for structured products and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), it would seek to partner with an overseas exchange to build a trading/clearing platform for trading in carbon, which would include greenhouse gas allowances and credits.

Research from the Civic Exchange notes that a large proportion of emission allowances are traded by private negotiation. More than half of all European Union Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme permits are traded over the counter, according to the think-tank.

Other than the Chicago Climate Exchange and European Climate Exchange, there is the Australian Climate Exchange and the Montreal Climate Exchange, which was formed when the Chicago Climate Exchange joined with the Montreal Exchange in order to create the first environmental-product market in Canada.

There seems to be some demand in Asia, particularly from airlines that want to fulfil CSR. Angus Barclay, general manager at Cathay Pacific’s international affairs department and a panellist in the Civic Exchange workshop, says the airline supports carbon emissions trading. Apart from buying credits globally, Cathay Pacific was one of the first airlines to launch a carbon offset scheme, available to all passengers who travel on Cathay Pacific and Dragonair flights.

The scheme, FLY Greener, which was launched at the end of last year, is voluntary for passengers who can either pay in cash or with their Asia Miles.

Cathay Pacific also matched passenger contributions for the first three months from when the scheme was launched. It only costs a fraction of the ticket price for passengers.

A spokeswoman at the airline says that the response is encouraging. “It would be too soon to mention the take-up rate at this stage. The response is reasonably positive for a newly launched scheme,” she says.

“Of course, our aim is to have as many passengers as possible take up the opportunity to participate in the programme. We will be promoting this through many channels to ensure that our passengers are aware of this programme, and our staff are available to assist them to understand how it works.”

HSBC is among the first global banks to buy carbon credits to cover the pollution it generates from its office buildings, and jetting its executives around the world.

A spokeswoman says that although the bank will consider buying credits in Asia, it has been purchasing these in Europe. Other than ETFs and structured products, fund managers, such as Schroders, have launched various funds that invest in companies which work in areas that respond to climate change. Schroders says climate change is going to be the biggest investment theme in the next 20 years.

Investment bank Barclays Capital launched a carbon emission index at the end of last year which tracks the performance of carbon credits associated with the world’s major greenhouse gas emissions trading schemes: the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU Allowances) and the Kyoto Clean Development Mechanism, a CER.

It’s no surprise that other investment banks have jumped on the bandwagon. Societe Generale has also launched its own version of carbon emission indices. Merrill Lynch and UBS say they are working on developing these indices.

Globally, policymakers have been encouraging the development of carbon exchanges. Europe has the European Union Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme and other exchanges to trade carbon.

The US has agreed to take part in emission trading and there are commitments from all presidential candidates. The same cannot be applied in Asia, according to Mr Raufer.

He says although China has established some domestic pilot emission schemes, so far these have not been entirely successful because the mainland initially focused on acid rain.

Trading carbon credits

The Chicago Climate Exchange has established its own reduction commitments. A total of six greenhouse gases are included. Each contract represents 100 tonnes of CO2 or the equivalent.

The contracts are exchange offsets and exchange allowances which are issued to members.

Methane destruction, soil-carbon sequestration, reforestation, renewable energy and CDM-eligible projects are examples of eligible offset projects. Source: Civic Exchange

Why Diesel Particulates Cause Cardiovascular Disease

Jun 9th, 2008
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ScienceDaily (June 9, 2008) — Håkan Törnqvist maps previously unknown mechanisms that may explain why air pollution in the form of particulates causes heart attacks, stroke, and increasing mortality in the dissertation he will be publicly defending at Umeå University on June 5.

Particulates in diesel exhaust are a substantial cause of the negative health effects traced to air pollution, above all in traffic environments. Diesel exhaust contains a number of extremely tiny particles about 1/10,000 mm in diameter, with chemical compounds bound to the surface that have been suggested to lie behind the ability of these particles to cause harmful health effects.

Individuals with lung or heart disease are especially vulnerable and are impacted most negatively during periods with high levels of air pollution. In his dissertation, Håkan Törnqvist studied the effects of diesel exhaust on healthy individuals and respective patient groups with chronic obstructive lung disease (COL) and coronary disease with atherosclerosis in the coronary artery.

The aim of the studies in the dissertation was to use controlled exposure studies to try to elucidate the mechanisms that explain why diesel exhaust particulates in polluted air cause increased morbidity in both lung and heart diseases. The studies were carried out in an exposure chamber, where the individuals were exposed for one hour to, respectively, diesel exhaust with a particulate concentration of about 300 µg/m3 and filtered air. The two exposures were in random order, so the individuals served as their own controls.

The dissertation work studied whether exposure to diesel exhaust would lead to a deterioration of the lung function and increased inflammation of the airways as measured by induced sputum (coughing samples) in patients with moderately severe but stable COL. Analysis of the cough samples could not reveal any increase in inflammation of the airways, not was there any deterioration of the lung function. Studies of the these same patients were also used to determine whether exposure to diesel exhaust can lead to increased general inflammation, can impact the capacity of the blood to coagulate, or can cause damage to the lung epithelia as measured in the blood. No general increase in blood coagulation or signs of increased inflammation in the blood could be found.

The thesis also addressed the question of whether exposure to diesel exhaust can affect the vascular function in a group of healthy individuals 2 and 6 hours after exposure. In this group exposure to diesel exhaust decreased two important and complementary blood-vessel functions: the regulation of the width of the blood vessels and the body’s own ability to dissolve blood clots (fibrinolysis). What’s more, the study illuminated the late course of events involved in the blood-vessel effects triggered by diesel exhaust in healthy individuals in the test. As much as 24 hours after their exposure to exhaust, the capacity of their blood vessels to expand was disturbed. Moreover there were signs of systemic inflammation, measured as an increase in inflammatory markers in the blood.

The final study in the dissertation targeted individuals with clinically fully stable coronary artery disease. The issue was whether exposure to diesel exhaust can affect the heart, decrease vessel mobility, and hamper the capacity to dissolve blood clots. A lowered capacity to dissolve blood clots was observed, together with an impaired ability of blood vessels to expand. The most important finding, however, was that after exposure to diesel exhaust patients evinced EKG signs that were consistent with a shortage of oxygen in the heart muscle. This effect was general, that is, not limited to any particular blood vessel in the heart, and it was observed despite the fact that the patients were fully stable in their coronary artery disease and were under optimal medical treatment.

The dissertation clarifies previously unknown mechanisms that can explain why air pollution in particulate form causes heart attacks, stroke, and increased mortality. It shows that diesel exhaust cause a rapid deterioration of the function of blood vessels that persists as long as 24 hours after exposure. The EKG findings in heart patients indicate acute heart effects that are consistent with increased risk of heart attack in connection with exposure to traffic.

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