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December 19th, 2011:

Air Pollution in Hong Kong and PRD-the state of science

Dec 19th, 2011
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Chak K. Chan
Division of Environment,
Department of Chemical Engineering, and
Institute for the Environment
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Clear Water Bay, HONG KONG1

Chak K. ChanDivision of Environment,Department of Chemical Engineering, andInstitute for the EnvironmentHong Kong University of Science and TechnologyClear Water Bay, HONG KONG

Download PDF : presentation_S7_Prof_Chak_K_Chan

UK admits breach of EU pollution laws

Dec 19th, 2011
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http://www.euractiv.com/climate-environment/uk-admits-breach-eu-pollution-laws-news-509785

With seven months to go before the London Olympics, the British government has admitted in court that it violated European Union air quality laws by missing deadlines to address high levels of urban pollution.

Lawyers for the UK environment secretary, Caroline Spelman, acknowledged the failure to meet the EU Air Quality Directive’s requirements in a complaint brought by the environmental advocacy group ClientEarth.

Alan Andrews, a ClientEarth lawyer in the case, accused the government of breaching the 1 January 2010 deadline for enacting air quality plans for London and 16 other cities. He said the pollution-reduction obligations under EU law would unlikely be met for at least another decade.

However, a High Court judge dismissed the case against the government at a hearing in London on 13 December, saying that it was up to the European Commission – not a national court – to take corrective action.

Although no resounding victory for environmentalists, the case is a potential bellwether for grass-roots conservation groups to challenge national governments that violate their EU obligations – a role played almost exclusively by the Commission itself.

“These cases are very rare and they shouldn’t be,” said Andrews.

“The problem is that governments are happy to willfully ignore these rules,” Andrews told EurActiv. “There is a myopic focus on climate change whilst air quality doesn’t even register.”

UK already under pressure

A spokesman for Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik said the EU executive already has already filed infringement proceedings against Britain for violating some air quality provisions and that London was granted an extension to update its pollution statistics.

But worries about air quality have grown in the lead-up to the 2012 London Olympics that begin in July, with some environmentalists warning of a repeat of the stifling smog that threatened the Beijing Games in 2008.

Those concerns were reinforced in a damning British Parliament Environmental Audit Committee report accusing the government of “putting thousands of lives at risk by trying to water down EU air quality rules”.

Both the parliamentary report and ClientEarth contend that chronic pollution and air quality problems in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and other cities kill upwards of 30,000 people annually.

ClientEarth hailed its case before the High Court for leading the government to publicly admit its failures to comply with European law.

“We’re extremely pleased that our case has forced the government to admit that they are failing in their legal duty to protect the British people from the harmful effects of air pollution,” James Thornton, chief executive of ClientEarth, said in a statement.

The ClientEarth case, filed in July, dealt with Britain’s failure to produce plans that will bring nitrogen dioxide (NO2) within legal limits and to reduce particulate pollution, or PM10.

Next steps:

  • January to mid-2012: Consultation phase on revisions to the EU’s air quality directive.
  • Early 2013: Revised directive to European Parliament for consideration.
  • 2013: ‘Year of Air’ as declared by Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik.

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EU adopts stricter air quality rules

Dec 19th, 2011
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http://www.euractiv.com/climate-environment/eu-adopts-stricter-air-quality-rules-news-219762

The EU Council of Ministers has endorsed a new directive setting binding EU-wide limits for fine particle emissions, which cause respiratory diseases thought to reduce European life expectancy by up to three years.

The new EU air quality directive was approved on 14 April 2008, following an agreement reached by the Council and the Parliament at the end of 2007. The directive sets EU-wide limits on fine particle emissions (PM2.5) for the first time ever.

These microscopic particles, emitted mainly by cars and trucks, pose health risks due to their ability to pass unfiltered through the nose and mouth, penetrating deep into human lungs and bloodstreams, where they can cause potentially fatal respiratory and/or pulmonary diseases.

“Air pollution is serious,” said EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas’s spokesperson Barbara Helfferich, adding that, according to studies, an average European lives eight months less as a result of fine particle matter in the air. “In more polluted areas of the EU, the figure goes up to 36 months,” she said on 14 April 2008.

Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said the directive’s adoption was “a decisive step in tackling a major cause of environmental and health problems”. He added that the new directive provides “ambitious but realistic standards for fine particle PM2.5 pollution” in the EU.

The directive obliges member states to reduce exposure to PM2.5 in urban areas by an average of 20% by 2020 based on 2010 levels, bringing the exposure levels below 20 micrograms/m3 by 2015. In other areas, the member states will need to respect the PM2.5 limit value set at 25 micrograms/m3 by as early as 2010 if possible – and at the latest by 2015.

In a statement annexed to the directive, the Commission announces a number of new legislative proposals it plans to put forward in 2008 for ever improved air quality. These include further reduction of the member states’ permitted national emissions of key pollutants, reduction of emissions associated with refuelling of petrol cars at service stations, and addressing the sulphur content of fuels, including marine fuels.

The Commission also notes that it is currently studying the feasibility of improving the eco-design and reducing the emissions of domestic boilers and water heaters as well as reducing the solvent content of paints, varnishes and vehicle refinishing products.

Study finds link between air pollution and increase in DNA damage

Dec 19th, 2011
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http://www.clickgreen.org.uk/research/data/122968-study-finds-link-between-air-pollution-and-increase-in-dna-damage.html

DNA damage can trigger cancer in later life

A study in the Czech Republic has found a link between exposure to certain air pollutants and an increase in DNA damage for people exposed to high levels of the pollution.

They found that breathing small quantities of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), called benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), caused an increase in the number of certain ‘biomarkers’ in DNA associated with a higher risk of diseases, including cancer.

Air pollution is a major problem around the world, particularly in urban areas. In attempt to control regional air pollution levels, the EU has introduced legal limits for exposure to a variety of different airborne pollutants. For B[a]P , the EU air quality standard is 1 nanogram per metre3 (ng/m3) as an annual average that has to be attained where possible throughout the EU.

To measure the risk of DNA damage and risk to health caused by exposure to chemicals, such as PAHs, researchers sometimes use ‘biomarkers’ – these are biological features that can provide an indicative picture of risk and disease.

Previous studies have suggested that ‘DNA adducts’ can be used as biomarkers to measure exposure to PAHs. These are, in effect, small molecules, such as PAHs, bound to the DNA. Similarly, ‘chromosomal aberrations’ – structural changes to a stretch of DNA – can be used as biomarkers to demonstrate the effect of some pollutants on DNA.

To test whether there was a possible link between exposure to PAHs and the frequency of DNA adducts and chromosomal aberrations, the researchers, supported by the EU EnviRisk and INTARESE projects, examined DNA from 950 police officers and bus drivers in Prague.

The participants, drawn from three separate studies conducted over a five-year period, all worked outdoors for more than eight hours a day. Each carried a device to measure their personal exposure to PAHs and DNA was extracted from the participants’ white blood cells.

The researchers also tested a new technique for identifying chromosomal aberrations called ‘fluorescence in-situ hybridisation’, or FISH, which is much more sensitive than previous techniques.

The results revealed, for the first time, a significant relationship between exposure to PAHs, the number of DNA adducts and the number of chromosomal aberrations detected using FISH. In particular, PAH levels and the occurrence of the two biomarkers were higher in winter than in summer.

In one of the studies, average personal exposure to B[a]P and PAHs in January was measured as 1.58 ng/m3 and 9.07 ng/m3, respectively. In June, this dropped to 0.18 ng/m3 and 1.92 ng/m3.

The number of B[a]P-like DNA adducts and chromosomal aberrations were correspondingly much higher in January than in June. In fact, the number of DNA adducts strongly mirrored exposure to PAHs in the past 30 days.

These findings are of concern because exposure to more than 1 ng/m3 of B[a]P has been found to put people at higher risk of developing cancer later in life.

Previous studies have shown that DNA adducts can be an indicator for cancer several years after exposure and the findings of this study indicate that DNA adduct biomarkers and chromosomal aberrations measured using FISH could help health authorities identify individuals at higher risk of disease.

Lethal fine particulate matter emissions need urgent regulation – not prevarication

Dec 19th, 2011
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Download CTA letter to Legco Members : CTAPM2.5news

PM2 5 Allstns (2011) Middleton (2)

The characteristics of PM2.5 in Beijing, China

Dec 19th, 2011
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Abstract
Weekly PM2.5 samples were simultaneously collected at a residential (Tsinghua University) and a downtown
(Chegongzhuang) site in Beijing from July 1999 through September 2000. The ambient mass concentration and
chemical composition of the PM2.5 were determined. Analyses included elemental composition, water-soluble ions, and
organic and elemental carbon. Weekly PM2.5 mass concentrations ranged from 37 to 357 mg/m3, with little difference
found between the two sites. Seasonal variation of PM2.5 concentrations was significant, with the highest concentration
in the winter and the lowest in the summer. Spring dust storms had a strong impact on the PM2.5. Overall, organic
carbon was the most abundant species, constituting no less than 30% of the total PM2.5 mass at both sites.
Concentrations of organic and elemental carbon were 35% and 16% higher at Tsinghua University than at
Chegongzhuang. Ammonium, nitrate and sulfate were comparable at the sites, accounting for 25–30% of the PM2.5
mass. r 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

AbstractWeekly PM2.5 samples were simultaneously collected at a residential (Tsinghua University) and a downtown(Chegongzhuang) site in Beijing from July 1999 through September 2000. The ambient mass concentration andchemical composition of the PM2.5 were determined. Analyses included elemental composition, water-soluble ions, andorganic and elemental carbon. Weekly PM2.5 mass concentrations ranged from 37 to 357 mg/m3, with little differencefound between the two sites. Seasonal variation of PM2.5 concentrations was significant, with the highest concentrationin the winter and the lowest in the summer. Spring dust storms had a strong impact on the PM2.5. Overall, organiccarbon was the most abundant species, constituting no less than 30% of the total PM2.5 mass at both sites.Concentrations of organic and elemental carbon were 35% and 16% higher at Tsinghua University than atChegongzhuang. Ammonium, nitrate and sulfate were comparable at the sites, accounting for 25–30% of the PM2.5mass. r 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

download PDF : He 2001 PM25 in Beijing

Residents cry foul at city’s blue skies boast

Dec 19th, 2011
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South China Morning Post – 19 Dec. 2011

Microbloggers liken Beijing authorities’ claims of decreasing air pollution to an April fool’s day joke

Beijing’s environmental authorities said yesterday that air quality in the capital city in 2011 was better than during the Olympics year of 2008, and that they had already met their target of “blue sky” days for this year, despite growing public concern that officials are covering up worsening problems of air pollution.

“Beijing has seen an overall decline in the concentration of various pollutants in 2011,” said Zhuang Zhidong, the deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau.

The city had 274 days of “grade one or two” air quality, according to a statement posted on the Beijing government’s official news portal yesterday. China uses a five-grade classification system to rate its air quality, with one being the best and five the worst. Days graded one or two are considered “blue sky days”.

Overall air quality in Beijing was better than last year, and there were 22 more days of grade-one air quality than were recorded in 2010, and 11 more than in 2008, when Beijing hosted the Olympics, Zhuang said.

Zhuang admitted that the capital also saw “several days of poor air quality as a result of bad weather conditions”. Factors such as weaker winds and a rise in humidity can raise the presence of atmospheric pollutants, according to the bureau.

The environment ministry is under pressure to change the way it measures air quality after thick smog blanketed Beijing earlier this month, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights and triggering a surge in sales of face masks.

Public anger over heavy pollution has been compounded by official data showing air quality is good, or only slightly polluted, on days with obvious heavy smog that the US embassy rated as “very unhealthy”.

Beijing authorities use a method known as PM10, focusing on larger air particles. The bureau said that PM10, or particulate matter under 10 micrometres, decreased to 114 micrograms per cubic metre this year, the lowest in four years.

But there have been growing public calls for the government to adopt the tighter PM2.5 standard, which measures much smaller particles that are considered more hazardous to people’s health as they penetrate deeper into the lungs.

CCTV anchorwoman Zhang Quanling posted on Sina weibo, a popular microblog site, that it was “ridiculous” that [the Beijing environmental authorities] never changed their measurements on air pollution. “They’re indulged in self-praise,” she wrote.

Many internet users expressed doubt or anger over the authorities’ assessment of the city’s air quality.

The Beijing environmental bureau deserves to be described as “shameless’, said one weibo user.  Another post read: “A rubbish government without any credibility.”

“Is today April Fool’s Day?” asked another weibo user. “I suggest that Beijing’s environmental authorities wear sunglasses with a blue lens, so that every day is a blue sky day!”

fiona.tam@scmp.com