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April 22nd, 2012:

Ministry sued for failing to provide pollution data

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-04/05/content_14978336.htm

A man is preparing to sue the Ministry of Environmental Protection for failing to provide information about the emissions from an incineration factory, which, he claimed, paralyzed his son’s brain.

Xie Yong, from Hai’an county, Nantong, in Jiangsu province, said he plans to sue the ministry to force it to disclose the information. He claimed that the pollution caused his 4-year-old son’s brain paralysis and epilepsy shortly after he was born.

Xie said he will formally sue the ministry at the High People’s Court of Jiangsu once materials are prepared.

Xie claimed that his son’s condition was caused by poisonous gas, flying ash, cinder and waste liquid released by the incineration plant, located 200 meters from his home.

In June 2010, Xie sued the factory at a county-level court, but lost the case because he had no evidence to support his accusation, he said.

He then asked the local environmental protection bureau to provide data about the plant’s emissions. The bureau rejected his request.

He then asked the Ministry of Environmental Protection for access to the emissions information, but that request was also turned down. The ministry said it was the environmental protection bureau’s duty to monitor and supervise an individual factory, according to Xie.

That prompted him to think of suing the ministry.

“Taking the ministry to court is my last choice,” said Xie. “It’s the only way I can get justice.”

The ministry did not comment. The case is seen by environmentalists and lawyers as signifying a rising awareness of environmental protection by the public. Very few people have sued the ministry for failing to provide pollution information.

“It’s the first time a victim of a waste incineration factory has stood up to fight for his rights,” said Liu Jinmei, a lawyer with the China University of Political Science and Law’s Postgraduate Legal Assistance Center. “His efforts indicate a growing awareness of safeguarding the rights of victims of pollutants.”

The center is helping Xie draft indictment documents.

The Hai’an bureau of environmental protection said it did not release much information about the plant because “we can only release some of the information for fear of leaking business secrets”.

“We are just acting according to regulations,” said Gu Shihe, director of the bureau.

Gu said the bureau asked the city and provincial environmental protection authorities for instructions, but they did not reply.

Xie said he has spent 80,000 yuan ($12,700) to treat his son, a huge amount for a family that earns about 3,000 yuan a month.

Green Beagle, a Beijing-based non-governmental environmental protection organization, has helped Xie raise 7,200 yuan in donations.

But the money raised so far is still far from enough to cover medical bills and further treatment for his son, said Chen Liwen, a researcher with Green Beagle.

Liu said she hoped Xie’s case could help enhance people’s awareness of the potential hazard of incineration plants, which are mushrooming across the country to deal with the growing amount of household garbage.

Incineration plants, which use less land than landfills, are generally safe, but strict supervision must be imposed to make sure they are operated in accordance with regulations, said Mao Da, an expert in solid-waste management at Beijing Normal University.

Dioxins, which may cause cancer, may be released if an incinerator fails under a high temperature, Mao said.

‘UK outsourcing pollution to China’, warn MPs

http://www.publicservice.co.uk/news_story.asp?id=19497

Description: Carbon emissions increase in manufacturing countries

Carbon emissions from goods imported and consumed in the UK are rising faster than the average fall in greenhouse gases, MPs have warned.

The Energy and Climate Change Committee noted that the UK’s official figures relating to the cutting of greenhouse gases may not have been accurate following the “outsourcing” of carbon emissions to countries like China.

Chairman of the committee Tim Yeo said that past governments had claimed to be cutting climate change emissions, but in fact a lot of “pollution had simply been outsourced.”

He added: “We get through more consumer goods than ever before in the UK and this is pushing up emissions in manufacturing countries like China.”

Yeo further added that ministers should take a more “honest approach” to Britain’s overall impact on the climate.

The committee urged that the government should attempt to consider “consumption-based emissions” when designing climate change policies and working out data on UK’s greenhouse gas emissions.

A spokesman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said: “We account for our emissions according to international rules that are followed by all countries that are signed up to the Kyoto Protocol, and that are the basis for international negotiations on climate change.

“Ultimately, the best way to reduce the UK’s consumption emissions is to persuade all countries to manage down their territorial emissions through a global deal on climate change.”

The committee of MPs has asked the government to take on board independent climate advisers to work out how the UK could incorporate emissions from imported goods in its policies.

Now, a flourescent fish to track pollution

Now, a flourescent fish to track pollution

‎Khaleej Times – 1 day ago

Scientists have created a green-glowing zebrafish to monitor ecological damage caused by pollution in real time. The flourescent fish makes it easier than 

Glow-in-the-dark fish help combat pollution‎ BBC News
Insight into Pollution’s Impacts with Glowing Fish‎ TheFishSite.com

UK pollution (is not as bad as Hong Kong’s)

Clear the Air says: your question for 10 points is to name an asian administration that lacks the political will to improve our air whilst paying themselves handsomely !

Air pollution is killing Londoners and Boris is ignoring it, warns Jenny Jones

Green candidate says mayor is ‘burying problem’ by using suppressant vehicles to glue particles near monitoring stations

Hélène Mulholland, political reporter

guardian.co.uk, Thursday 19 April 2012 18.06 BST

Jenny Jones, the Green mayoral candidate for London, has accused mainstream political parties oflacking the political courage to tackle air pollution – despite strong evidence that it represents a major public health risk.

Jones issued a broadside against the political mainstream as she battles to get London’s poor air quality a hearing at mayoral hustings between now and polling day, amid evidence that a problem invisible to the naked eye is now the second biggest public health risk in Britain after smoking, and is linked to around one in five deaths a year in London.

Jones sought to push the environmental agenda at city hall when she served as deputy mayor to Ken Livingstone between 2003-2004. She is urging supporters to give the Labour candidate their second preference vote in the election.

In her view Livingstone “did ignore” the problem until his second mayoral term, when he introduced the low emission zone, but she reserves her strongest criticisms for the incumbent Conservative mayorBoris Johnson, who she says “has been absolutely ignoring all the evidence” despite a report landing on his desk mid-term in his tenure that revealed 4,300 Londoners were dying prematurely because of pollution, with an average 11.5 years taken off their lives.

Jones has repeatedly criticised the incumbent mayor over his use of pollution suppressant vehicles near air quality monitoring stations to deal with the problem in the run up to the 2012 Olympic Games. The trucks spray adhesive to the road surface, effectively glueing pollution to the ground. Jones said this only serves to lower the pollution measured, rather than tackling the actual problem.

She added: “He’s burying the problem and pretending it doesn’t exist. How does he square that with his role as mayor, trying to protect Londoners and make their lives better. He’s actually making their lives worse.”

Other air quality campaigners have gone further, with Birkett describing the move as “public health fraud on an industrial scale”.

Jones has outlined some of the radical measures needed to reduce harmful pollutants by cutting traffic and getting people out of their cars. This includes raising the congestion charge from £10 to £15, slapping a £40 daily charge on “gas guzzlers”, an ultra-low emission zone in central London and replacing the central congestion charge zone with a region-wide road pricing scheme after three years.

Jones, whose pledges sometimes raise eyebrows at hustings, says the Greens are not prepared to shy away from radical policies that may be seen as “politically toxic” but are the only way to clean up the problem.

“Either politicians are not recognising how serious the problem is, or they are choosing not to see it, but you can’t argue against it. The facts are there.”

She added: “Greens are not frightened to tackle politically toxic things if they feel they are important.”

Airborne pollution in the form of fine particulate matter – such as PM2.5, particles of less than 2.5 micrometres – comes mostly from combustion sources, including transport, domestic and industrial sources, and aggravates respiratory and cardiovascular conditions.

Research shows these PM2.5s are likely to be inhaled deep into the respiratory tract and with other forms of air pollution can reduce the lung capacity of children. Air quality in the capital is the worst in the UK and also ranks among the worst in Europe, with research suggesting that up to 50,000 people die early in the UK every year as a result of air pollution.

Transport for London, which Johnson chairs, insists that trials in London and abroad have shown the effectiveness of dust suppressants in reducing particulate matter (PM10) levels .

Leon Daniels, the managing director of surface transport at TfL, said: “Transport for London has always been clear that the use of dust suppressants across London is in combination with other measures to reduce harmful PM10 levels at a range of locations where we know there are higher levels of this pollutant. This is in addition to a range of longer terms, sustainable measures aiming to reduce pollution levels at source across the capital.”

Britain is still facing fines of up to £300m over a repeated failure to meet key EU air quality directives since 2005, when Labour was in government and Livingstone was installed at city hall. Under the coalition government, however, there is little sign that concerted action os planned. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs recently claimed that the costs of meeting EU pollution targets may not match the benefits.

But Jones warns politicians need to introduce the radical measures needed amid signs that the problem is worsening. Last month, pollution in London hit record levels due to a mix of weather conditions and traffic fumes, in particular from diesel cars, vans and lorries.

Jones says part of the problem is that the public don’t realise the scale of the public health risks attached.

“It’s not like the smog of the 1950s that was really tangible. Now, the air looks quite clean but actually it’s not, but people aren’t seeing it. Though if you go to a high building, you can see an orange haze across the horizon and that’s the pollution.”

The Green party has made a six minute film to highlight the threat to people’s health from poor air quality, drawing on the expertise of air quality expert, Professor Frank Kelly, of King’s College London, and Simon Birkett, founder for the Campaign for Clean Air in London.

Jones believes if parents understand the damage to public health, the public will be more willing to accept that a change in behaviour is necessary.

Research by the Campaign for Clean Air in London has found that 1,148 schools in London are within 150 metres of roads carrying 10,000 or more vehicles per day, putting children going to these schools, and living near them, at increased risk of developing asthma, and their parents of developing heart problems.

The Green mayoral candidate, who polled just 2% in the latest survey of voting intention on May 3, wants more Green party members to be elected to the London assembly to pressure the next elected mayor to show political leadership on the issue. Jones, currently one of two Green assembly members, will also defend her assembly seat in May.

She says that one of the measures that needs to be considered by the next elected mayor is simply to close roads from traffic, but admits it is tough getting the message across.

“That’s why it’s incredibly important to have a strong assembly team because then we can speak much more loudly and get the mayor, even if it’s not me, to do the right thing.”

Jones is taking part in an event organised by eco-activist group Climate Rush on Thursday evening in protest at the capital’s dirty air.

The event will begin outside the offices of Defra and protesters will then take over a road, calling it London’s “first true clean air zone”, and holding a picnic and street party.

Contact the Environment editor
environment@guardian.co.uk

This article was published on guardian.co.uk at 18.06 BST on Thursday 19 April 2012. It was last modified at 19.33 BST on Thursday 19 April 2012.

Air pollution raises risk of repeat heart attack by 43 percent, new Israeli study finds

http://www.haaretz.com/misc/article-print-page/air-pollution-raises-risk-of-repeat-heart-attack-by-43-percent-new-israeli-study-finds-1.425161?trailingPath=2.169%2C2.216%2C2.218%2C

Research by the Tel Aviv University and the Technion found that cardiac patients living in polluted areas were 43 percent more likely to have another heart attack than those who lived in areas with cleaner air.

By Dan Even

Israelis who have suffered a heart attack are far more at risk of a repeat attack if they live in an area with high levels of air pollution, new research has found.

The study, by Tel Aviv University and the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, found that cardiac patients living in polluted areas were 43 percent more likely to have another heart attack than those who lived in areas with cleaner air. It also found they were 43 percent more likely to suffer congestive heart failure, and 46 percent more likely to have a stroke.

“Given that heart patients are already at least three times more likely than the general public to have another heart problem, they must be especially careful about air pollution,” said chief researcher Dr. Yariv Gerber, of the School of Public Health in Tel Aviv University’s medical department.

The researchers followed 1,120 heart patients aged up to 65 who had suffered heart attacks between 1992 and 1993 and were treated at eight hospitals in the central region. The research protocol neutralized the impact of age, sex and socioeconomic status. The patients were monitored through 2005.

Air quality was measured at 21 monitoring stations near the communities where the patients lived. The level of pollution exposure was determined by the number of pollutant particles up to 2.5 microns in size – small enough to penetrate a person’s airways – as well as by exposure to nitric oxide. Heavy vehicles and factories are primarily responsible for this type of pollution, making those who live in the center of the country particularly vulnerable.

A follow-up study conducted in 2011 found that the cardiac patients who were exposed to air pollution were 39 percent more likely to have died during the 19 years following their heart attack than those not so exposed.

“Arteriosclerosis is today considered to be a disease linked to inflammation, and air-polluting particles that irritate the cells lead to inflammation, in the same way smoking cigarettes does,” said Gerber, who noted that the findings supported the results of similar studies carried out in the United States and Europe.

Surprising result

The researchers were surprised by one result, however. In contrast to findings in the rest of the world, which link living in high-pollution areas to lower socioeconomic status, the dynamic in Israel’s central region means the opposite is true – that wealthier people were more likely to be living in areas with high levels of air pollution.

While the link between smoking and illness has been studied for decades, research on the relationship between air pollution and illness is relatively new. The first report of a link between air pollution and heart problems appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1993.

In 2010, scientists in the north of Israel found a link between air pollution in the Haifa Bay area and the rate of lung cancer among men who lived there. This new study provides further evidence of the cumulative damage that pollution can cause.

Prenatal Exposure to Air Pollution Linked to Childhood Obesity

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8101300485

TEHRAN (FNA)- Overall, 17% of children in the United States are obese, and in inner-city neighborhoods, the prevalence is as high as 25%. While poor diets and physical inactivity are the main culprits, there is new evidence that air pollution can play a role.

A study by researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health finds that pregnant women in New York City exposed to higher concentrations of chemicals called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, were more than twice as likely to have children who were obese by age 7 compared with women with lower levels of exposure. PAHs, a common urban pollutant, are released into the air from the burning of coal, diesel, oil and gas, or other organic substances such as tobacco.

Results are published online in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

“Obesity is a complex disease with multiple risk factors. It isn’t just the result of individual choices like diet and exercise,” says the study’s lead author Andrew G. Rundle, DrPH, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health. “For many people who don’t have the resources to buy healthy food or don’t have the time to exercise, prenatal exposure to air pollution may tip the scales, making them even more susceptible to obesity.”

Researchers recruited 702 non-smoking pregnant women through prenatal clinics at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Harlem Hospital. The women were 18-35 years old, identified themselves as either African-American or Dominican, and lived in areas in Northern Manhattan or the South Bronx that are predominantly low income. Over the course of two days during their third trimester, they wore a small backpack equipped to continually sample the surrounding air; at night they placed it near their bed.

Children of women exposed to high levels of PAHs during pregnancy were nearly twice as likely (1.79 times) to be obese at age 5, and more than twice as likely (2.26 times) to be obese at age 7, compared with children of mothers with lower levels of exposure. The 7-year-olds whose mothers were in the highest exposure group had, on average, 2.4 lbs. more fat mass than children of mothers with the least exposure.

“Not only was their body mass higher, but it was higher due to body fat rather than bone or muscle mass,” says Dr. Rundle.

These findings fit with evidence from animal studies and tissue sample experiments. Mouse studies have shown that exposure to PAHs causes gains in fat mass, while cell culture studies have shown that exposures to PAHs prevent normal lipolysis, the process by which fat cells shed lipids and shrink in size.

Previous research at the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health (CCCEH) at the Mailman School found that prenatal exposure to PAHs can negatively affect childhood IQs and is linked to anxiety, depression and attention problems in young children. PAHs also disrupt the body’s endocrine system and are known carcinogens.

Fortunately, there are ways to reduce exposure to PAHs. Certain fuels release more of the chemicals than others, explains Dr. Rundle, and efforts in New York City to take diesel buses off the streets and retrofit oil furnaces so they burn cleaner fuel is already starting to help.

Despite known linkages between socioeconomic status and obesity levels, the researchers found the impact of PAHs on risk of obesity was not influenced by household income or neighborhood poverty. They also ruled out the influence of cigarette smoke in the household and proximity to highly trafficked roads.

Robin Whyatt, DrPH, the paper’s senior author, notes that the study is one of the first to present evidence that chemicals in the environmental can contribute to obesity in human beings. Future research will focus on identifying other examples of these “obesogens” and ways to reduce them, says Dr. Whyatt, who is deputy director at CCCEH and professor of clinical environmental health sciences at the Mailman School.

MIT Study: Air Pollution Linked With Early Deaths In UK

Description: http://blogs-images.forbes.com/jenniferhicks/files/2012/04/Screen-Shot-2012-04-22-at-12.45.43-PM.png

Concentrations of PM emissions and Nitrogen Dioxide throughout the UK (image: Steve Barrett)

Well, it’s official. Air pollution sends you to an early grave in the United Kingdom. In a recent study from the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics atMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers Steve Barrett and Steve Yim report that emissions from cars, trucks, planes and power plants cause 13,000 premature deaths in the United Kingdom each year.

Barret and Yim analyzed data from 2005 and found that car and truck exhaust was the single greatest contributor to premature death, affecting 3,300 people per year. By comparison, the report indicated that fewer than 3,000 Britons died in road accidents in 2005.

The report measured particulate matter (PM) which are fine particles, tiny sub-divisions of solid matter suspended in a liquid. Some PM is natural – from volcanoes, dust storms, grass or forest fires and others are man-made. PM emissions are highly regulated by governments, but many urban areas still violate PM emissions standards.

Let’s look at the data from a financial point of view. The total monetized life loss in the UK is estimated at £6–62bn per year or 0.4–3.5% of gross domestic product. In Greater London, PM concentrations are the highest, possibly due to higher shipping and aviation emissions because of the proximity of the airports to urban populations, and exceed EU standards. The report also estimates that non-UK EU emissions account for 30% of the 3,300 air quality-related deaths annually.

London is currently in violation of air quality standards set by the EU and the British government may face heavy EU fines if it fails to address its PM emissions.

The report was started by the Energy Efficient Cities initiative at the University ofCambridge and completed by MIT researchers.


This article is available online at:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferhicks/2012/04/22/mit-study-air-pollution-linked-with-early-deaths-in-uk/

Two ways to burn our trash, both with flaws

SCMP

Hong Kong’s planned incinerator relies on older technology with proven results, instead of an advanced, perhaps greener solution still in its infancy
Adrian Wan
Apr 22, 2012

In its quest to build an incinerator to help dispose of Hong Kong’s rubbish, the government has opted for tried-and-tested over state-of-the-art.

The rubbish-burning facility that the government hopes will finally win over lawmakers would use a “moving grate” system, in which a grate carries a steady flow of waste through a high-temperature furnace. Present in more than 900 plants globally, it is one the world’s most common waste-to-energy technologies.

But the system has drawn criticism from some environmentalists who prefer more advanced technologies, such as plasma gasification, an option that officials rejected.

Hong Kong closed the last of four incinerators in 1997, after the colonial government weighed the effects the facilities had on the environment and public health. But they are being considered once again, and a proposal to build an incinerator at Shek Kwu Chau south of Lantau, at a cost of HK$15 billion, has been heavily pushed by the environment chief, Edward Yau Tang-wah. Yau argues the city has no other viable alternative to incineration.

The project will fall to the next administration after the Environment Bureau withdrew its funding request from the Legislative Council on Friday amid a lack of support from lawmakers. Incoming chief executive Leung Chun-ying has yet to officially state his view on the plan, although Yau says the new leader will have no choice but to support it.

Professor Poon Chi-sun, director of the Polytechnic University’s research centre for environmental technology and management and a technical adviser to the government, backs the grate system.

Such a facility could reduce the city’s overall waste volume by about 90 per cent and provide much needed efficiency, since existing landfills were expected to be full by 2018 if they were not expanded, Poon says.

“I recommend Hong Kong’s first plant be one that uses the moving grate technology,” he says. This is based on comparing the reliability, robustness, economics and environmental impact of the different technologies.”

Poon says other emerging incineration methods, such as plasma gasification, could be considered if a second plant was needed in the future, presumably after such technologies became more mature. He nonetheless concedes that the ash produced by a moving-grate incinerator was a concern, though one that could be addressed.

The government also weighed costs in its decision. A government-commissioned study found a moving-grate incinerator would be cheaper to build and run.

The government had said it wanted a “state-of-the-art” facility to burn 3,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste daily, which would make the incinerator the biggest of its kind in the world. An advisory group at first recommended the project should adopt a multi-technology approach because of the complex nature of the city’s waste, but a 2009 review concluded moving-grate technology should play a central role.

The technology is used in incinerators throughout the world, including in 420 of Europe’s 450 facilities. Environmentalists oppose the method because it requires a constant flow of trash to keep the fires burning, a process they say would discourage waste-reduction efforts and possibly motivate the city to generate more waste.

In such a system, waste moves through a combustion chamber heated to 850 degrees Celsius to achieve the most efficient and complete burning possible. Heat from the burning waste runs a boiler, which produces steam to create electricity.

The heaviest ash produced by burning the rubbish – called bottom ash – falls into a collection point and is passed over with an electromagnet to extract metal for recycling. Flue gases containing fine ash are then passed through a scrubber reactor to remove dioxins and other compounds that contribute to acid rain.

The flue gas – heated to 200 degrees – is passed into the flue-gas-cleaning system, which removes fine particulate before releasing it through the chimney stack

The government says the plant would boast “the most advanced flue-gas-treatment system” in the world. Nonetheless, environmentalists say they are concerned smoke and ash would pose a health risk, especially to nearby residents.

The government also studied plasma gasification, a more advanced, chemical approach. It relies on a high-energy plasma arc that creates temperatures ranging from 3,000 degrees to 7,000 degrees to break down organic matter primarily into syngas – a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen – and solid waste.

An electrode is lowered into the plasma converter and gas and solid material is fed into the chamber.

Clean exhaust gases are produced which are then used to power generators. The rest of the material solidifies into what is called plasma rock.

The rock is broken down and used in construction and road building.

While the technology shows promise, not enough is known about its emissions, Poon says. Plasma gasification may seem better for the environment because it produces less ash and emission than other incineration methods, but its long-term reliability has yet to be proven.

A moving grate system can handle almost all kinds of municipal solid waste, while plasma gasification requires the waste to be sorted and ground beforehand to ensure a good thermal process.

“The current discussion by lawmakers has become politicised. It’s not rational. It doesn’t get us any closer to solving the waste problem,” Poon says. “There’s nothing we can do about it except to wait, but we don’t have much time. People may say the governments in the past did not do enough, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a problem that has to be dealt with now. Whatever the history, we have to do both: incineration and waste reduction. Not either.”

adrian.wan@scmp.com

Hong Kong’s planned incinerator relies on older technology with proven results, instead of an advanced, perhaps greener solution still in its infancy
Adrian Wan
Apr 22, 2012

In its quest to build an incinerator to help dispose of Hong Kong’s rubbish, the government has opted for tried-and-tested over state-of-the-art.

The rubbish-burning facility that the government hopes will finally win over lawmakers would use a “moving grate” system, in which a grate carries a steady flow of waste through a high-temperature furnace. Present in more than 900 plants globally, it is one the world’s most common waste-to-energy technologies.

But the system has drawn criticism from some environmentalists who prefer more advanced technologies, such as plasma gasification, an option that officials rejected.

Hong Kong closed the last of four incinerators in 1997, after the colonial government weighed the effects the facilities had on the environment and public health. But they are being considered once again, and a proposal to build an incinerator at Shek Kwu Chau south of Lantau, at a cost of HK$15 billion, has been heavily pushed by the environment chief, Edward Yau Tang-wah. Yau argues the city has no other viable alternative to incineration.

The project will fall to the next administration after the Environment Bureau withdrew its funding request from the Legislative Council on Friday amid a lack of support from lawmakers. Incoming chief executive Leung Chun-ying has yet to officially state his view on the plan, although Yau says the new leader will have no choice but to support it.

Professor Poon Chi-sun, director of the Polytechnic University’s research centre for environmental technology and management and a technical adviser to the government, backs the grate system.

Such a facility could reduce the city’s overall waste volume by about 90 per cent and provide much needed efficiency, since existing landfills were expected to be full by 2018 if they were not expanded, Poon says.

“I recommend Hong Kong’s first plant be one that uses the moving grate technology,” he says. This is based on comparing the reliability, robustness, economics and environmental impact of the different technologies.”

Poon says other emerging incineration methods, such as plasma gasification, could be considered if a second plant was needed in the future, presumably after such technologies became more mature. He nonetheless concedes that the ash produced by a moving-grate incinerator was a concern, though one that could be addressed.

The government also weighed costs in its decision. A government-commissioned study found a moving-grate incinerator would be cheaper to build and run.

The government had said it wanted a “state-of-the-art” facility to burn 3,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste daily, which would make the incinerator the biggest of its kind in the world. An advisory group at first recommended the project should adopt a multi-technology approach because of the complex nature of the city’s waste, but a 2009 review concluded moving-grate technology should play a central role.

The technology is used in incinerators throughout the world, including in 420 of Europe’s 450 facilities. Environmentalists oppose the method because it requires a constant flow of trash to keep the fires burning, a process they say would discourage waste-reduction efforts and possibly motivate the city to generate more waste.

In such a system, waste moves through a combustion chamber heated to 850 degrees Celsius to achieve the most efficient and complete burning possible. Heat from the burning waste runs a boiler, which produces steam to create electricity.

The heaviest ash produced by burning the rubbish – called bottom ash – falls into a collection point and is passed over with an electromagnet to extract metal for recycling. Flue gases containing fine ash are then passed through a scrubber reactor to remove dioxins and other compounds that contribute to acid rain.

The flue gas – heated to 200 degrees – is passed into the flue-gas-cleaning system, which removes fine particulate before releasing it through the chimney stack

The government says the plant would boast “the most advanced flue-gas-treatment system” in the world. Nonetheless, environmentalists say they are concerned smoke and ash would pose a health risk, especially to nearby residents.

The government also studied plasma gasification, a more advanced, chemical approach. It relies on a high-energy plasma arc that creates temperatures ranging from 3,000 degrees to 7,000 degrees to break down organic matter primarily into syngas – a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen – and solid waste.

An electrode is lowered into the plasma converter and gas and solid material is fed into the chamber.

Clean exhaust gases are produced which are then used to power generators. The rest of the material solidifies into what is called plasma rock.

The rock is broken down and used in construction and road building.

While the technology shows promise, not enough is known about its emissions, Poon says. Plasma gasification may seem better for the environment because it produces less ash and emission than other incineration methods, but its long-term reliability has yet to be proven.

A moving grate system can handle almost all kinds of municipal solid waste, while plasma gasification requires the waste to be sorted and ground beforehand to ensure a good thermal process.

“The current discussion by lawmakers has become politicised. It’s not rational. It doesn’t get us any closer to solving the waste problem,” Poon says. “There’s nothing we can do about it except to wait, but we don’t have much time. People may say the governments in the past did not do enough, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a problem that has to be dealt with now. Whatever the history, we have to do both: incineration and waste reduction. Not either.”

adrian.wan@scmp.com

Hong Kong’s planned incinerator relies on older technology with proven results, instead of an advanced, perhaps greener solution still in its infancy
Adrian Wan
Apr 22, 2012

In its quest to build an incinerator to help dispose of Hong Kong’s rubbish, the government has opted for tried-and-tested over state-of-the-art.

The rubbish-burning facility that the government hopes will finally win over lawmakers would use a “moving grate” system, in which a grate carries a steady flow of waste through a high-temperature furnace. Present in more than 900 plants globally, it is one the world’s most common waste-to-energy technologies.

But the system has drawn criticism from some environmentalists who prefer more advanced technologies, such as plasma gasification, an option that officials rejected.

Hong Kong closed the last of four incinerators in 1997, after the colonial government weighed the effects the facilities had on the environment and public health. But they are being considered once again, and a proposal to build an incinerator at Shek Kwu Chau south of Lantau, at a cost of HK$15 billion, has been heavily pushed by the environment chief, Edward Yau Tang-wah. Yau argues the city has no other viable alternative to incineration.

The project will fall to the next administration after the Environment Bureau withdrew its funding request from the Legislative Council on Friday amid a lack of support from lawmakers. Incoming chief executive Leung Chun-ying has yet to officially state his view on the plan, although Yau says the new leader will have no choice but to support it.

Professor Poon Chi-sun, director of the Polytechnic University’s research centre for environmental technology and management and a technical adviser to the government, backs the grate system.

Such a facility could reduce the city’s overall waste volume by about 90 per cent and provide much needed efficiency, since existing landfills were expected to be full by 2018 if they were not expanded, Poon says.

“I recommend Hong Kong’s first plant be one that uses the moving grate technology,” he says. This is based on comparing the reliability, robustness, economics and environmental impact of the different technologies.”

Poon says other emerging incineration methods, such as plasma gasification, could be considered if a second plant was needed in the future, presumably after such technologies became more mature. He nonetheless concedes that the ash produced by a moving-grate incinerator was a concern, though one that could be addressed.

The government also weighed costs in its decision. A government-commissioned study found a moving-grate incinerator would be cheaper to build and run.

The government had said it wanted a “state-of-the-art” facility to burn 3,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste daily, which would make the incinerator the biggest of its kind in the world. An advisory group at first recommended the project should adopt a multi-technology approach because of the complex nature of the city’s waste, but a 2009 review concluded moving-grate technology should play a central role.

The technology is used in incinerators throughout the world, including in 420 of Europe’s 450 facilities. Environmentalists oppose the method because it requires a constant flow of trash to keep the fires burning, a process they say would discourage waste-reduction efforts and possibly motivate the city to generate more waste.

In such a system, waste moves through a combustion chamber heated to 850 degrees Celsius to achieve the most efficient and complete burning possible. Heat from the burning waste runs a boiler, which produces steam to create electricity.

The heaviest ash produced by burning the rubbish – called bottom ash – falls into a collection point and is passed over with an electromagnet to extract metal for recycling. Flue gases containing fine ash are then passed through a scrubber reactor to remove dioxins and other compounds that contribute to acid rain.

The flue gas – heated to 200 degrees – is passed into the flue-gas-cleaning system, which removes fine particulate before releasing it through the chimney stack

The government says the plant would boast “the most advanced flue-gas-treatment system” in the world. Nonetheless, environmentalists say they are concerned smoke and ash would pose a health risk, especially to nearby residents.

The government also studied plasma gasification, a more advanced, chemical approach. It relies on a high-energy plasma arc that creates temperatures ranging from 3,000 degrees to 7,000 degrees to break down organic matter primarily into syngas – a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen – and solid waste.

An electrode is lowered into the plasma converter and gas and solid material is fed into the chamber.

Clean exhaust gases are produced which are then used to power generators. The rest of the material solidifies into what is called plasma rock.

The rock is broken down and used in construction and road building.

While the technology shows promise, not enough is known about its emissions, Poon says. Plasma gasification may seem better for the environment because it produces less ash and emission than other incineration methods, but its long-term reliability has yet to be proven.

A moving grate system can handle almost all kinds of municipal solid waste, while plasma gasification requires the waste to be sorted and ground beforehand to ensure a good thermal process.

“The current discussion by lawmakers has become politicised. It’s not rational. It doesn’t get us any closer to solving the waste problem,” Poon says. “There’s nothing we can do about it except to wait, but we don’t have much time. People may say the governments in the past did not do enough, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a problem that has to be dealt with now. Whatever the history, we have to do both: incineration and waste reduction. Not either.”

adrian.wan@scmp.com

Description:

API

Sunday 22n April 2012

General Station Station Location Map
Station API Air Pollution Level Contributing Pollutant
Central/Western 90 High Nitrogen Dioxide
Eastern 107 Very High Nitrogen Dioxide
Kwai Chung 102 Very High Nitrogen Dioxide
Kwun Tong 124 Very High Nitrogen Dioxide
Sha Tin 81 High Nitrogen Dioxide
Sham Shui Po
Tai Po 71 High Nitrogen Dioxide
Tap Mun 55 High Respirable Suspended Particulates
Tsuen Wan 76 High Nitrogen Dioxide
Tung Chung 68 High Respirable Suspended Particulates
Yuen Long 76 High Nitrogen Dioxide
Forecast – Today’s Highest General Station 45 to 120 / Medium to Very High
Roadside Station 105 to 165 / Very High
Air Pollution Index at 06:00 22-Apr-2012
Roadside Station Station Location Map
Station API Air Pollution Level Contributing Pollutant
Causeway Bay 176 Very High Nitrogen Dioxide
Central 164 Very High Nitrogen Dioxide
Mong Kok 177 Very High Nitrogen Dioxide

Remark:

The API information is based on raw data taken directly from EPD’s Air Quality Monitoring Network.