Daily Dose of Air Pollution

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Air Pollution News & Alerts - April 30th, 2014

Last on April 2nd, 2014

Nearly 50% of Americans Live in Areas with Unhealthy Levels of Air Pollution

Nearly 148 million people live in areas where smog and soot particles make it unhealthy to breathe the air, according to the ALA's annual study on US air quality. The report, which is based on data collected between 2010 and 2012, found smog, or ozone, had worsened in 22 of the 25 biggest US metropolitan areas, including Los Angeles, Houston, Washington-Baltimore, New York City and Chicago – and said there was a high risk of more high-ozone days because of climate change.

Link to the article @ the Guardian

State of the Air in USA 2014

"Weather played a factor," the report said. "The warmer summers in 2010 and 2012 contributed to higher ozone readings and more frequent ozone days. Sunlight and heat create conditions that increase the risk of high ozone levels." Smog, or ozone, which is the most widespread air pollutant, forms more readily in hotter temperatures, and is expected to increase under climate change. "It's going to make it harder to clean up air pollution," said Janice Nolen of the ALA. "Days that wouldn't ordinarily have high ozone levels are going to have them." She added: "It's going to be much harder to keep ozone pollution down to the levels that we should be breathing."

There is growing concern globally – including in the US – about the health risks of air pollution. The report's release comes a day after the supreme court endorsed the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to deal with smog and soot that travel across state lines. The ALA had joined that case on behalf of the EPA. The group has also been pushing hard to tighten air pollution standards, and has supported the EPA's moves to force power plants to cut carbon dioxide emissions.

US Air NOW Program

Scientific research shows that smog and soot are far more harmful at lower levels than previously thought. A growing body of research over the last decade has connected air pollution to increased deaths from heart disease and respiratory illnesses. The World Health Organisation said last autumn that particulate pollution causes lung cancer.

Air pollution in New Delhi rose to record levels in winter, triggering a debate about whether the Indian capital had now caught up with Beijing. Britain was on smog alert earlier this month after recording very high levels of air pollution.

Comparing Air Pollution in Delhi and Beijing

Meanwhile, California's pollution control officers warned this month that extreme heat and wildfires could set back decades of improvements in air quality, boosting smog formation and spewing dangerous smoke into the air. Eighteen of the 25 US cities with the worst particulate pollution saw a drop in year-round particle pollutants because of cuts in emissions for coal-fired power plants and other measures. Thirteen of them, including Los Angeles, Pittsburgh and Atlanta, registered their lowest ever levels. But the report said those cities still failed to meet national standards for year-round particle pollution.

Metro's in California are the Most Polluted

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Only 55% of the Fly-Ash is Utilized for Bricks and Cement in India

Ideally, the entire fly ash should be used, but CEA considers 75%-100% utilization as satisfactory. However, Mahagenco's utilization figure is 63%. The national average is 55.6%. The biggest power producer NTPC has a very poor record of 43% utilization. Read more @ Times of India

Mahagenco has been frequently hauled up by environmentalists for not taking measures to control air pollution. The company has always defended its conduct by saying that poor quality coal makes it difficult to do that. Now, a Central Electricity Authority (CEA) audit has revealed that even fly ash utilization by Mahagenco is far below the minimum expected level.

While many generation companies fare even worse, there are some utilities, mostly private, that use the entire fly ash. CEA has compiled data for 66 companies for the first half of 2013-14. Sixteen power utilities have used the entire fly ash generated by them. Twenty-one have used up 75% to 100% while the remaining 29 are below 75% usage. Mahagenco falls in the third category. During this period, Tamil Nadu has achieved fly ash utilization level of more than 98% while Delhi, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal achieved fly ash utilization level of more than 70%.

The average fly ash utilization of Mahagenco reached 63% in the first quarter of 2013-14 because Koradi and Parli used the fly ash generated in earlier period. The figure for Koradi was 168% and Parli 127%. Other than these two plants, Nashik had the best figures with 70% followed by Khaparkheda at 67%. The poor performers are Chandrapur (43.5%), Bhusawal (44%) and Paras (29%). The performance of some private power plants in Maharashtra, commissioned four to five years ago, is quite satisfactory. Wardha Power's Warora plant used all the fly ash it generated, JSW Jaigad (96%), Trombay (94%), GMR Warora (98.5%) and Dahanu (91%). The plants that had started a few months ago had poor record of ash utilization during first half of 2013-14. These include Mihan, Mouda, Butibori and Tiroda.

Mahagenco's poor pollution control mechanism has led to discharge of fly ash slurry from Koradi and Khaparkheda plants into Kanhan and Kolar rivers, creating a health hazard for citizens of Nagpur. TOI had highlighted this in a series of articles in January 2013, forcing Mahagenco to take some remedial measures.

Climate Change Closed the Mt. Everest's 2014 Season

The deadly avalanche on Everest earlier this month wasn't technically an avalanche. It was an "ice release"—a collapse of a glacial mass known as a serac. Rather than getting swept up by a rush of powdery snow across a slope, the victims fell under the blunt force of house-sized ice blocks tumbling through the Khumbu Icefall, an unavoidable obstacle on the most popular route up Everest. The worst accident in the mountain's history has effectively ended the 2014 climbing season. And some see global warming as the key culprit.

"I am at Everest Basecamp right now and things are dire because of climate change," John All, a climber, scientist, and professor of geography at Western Kentucky University, tells me by email. "The ice is melting at unprecedented rates and [that] greatly increases the risk to climbers." "You could say [that] climate change closed Mt. Everest this year," he adds.

Climbers had warily eyed the serac that collapsed on April 18 for years. In fact, a major expedition outfitter canceled its climbing season in 2012 because of it—a decision vividly reconstructed by Jon Krakauer in The New Yorker last week

Ice frequently falls from this hanging glacier on the West Shoulder, and traversing the Icefall has always been treacherous. "Ice doctors" who install ladders and ropes in the area have long adjusted and readjusted the infrastructure in response to the collapses, big and small, that occur there on a daily basis. But experts believe these dangers are multiplying as average temperatures rise. In Krakauer's words, "the pronounced warming of the Himalayan climate in recent years has made the Icefall more unstable than ever, and there is still no way to predict when a serac is going to topple over." .

Read more @ The Atlantic Cities

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Agricultural Waste Burning in Central India

Farmers are disposing of the remains of the crop destroyed in the recent hailstorm by burning. This is adding to air pollution as huge quantities of particulate matter, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, ash and sulphur dioxide are being released in the process. Read more @ Times of India

To look into the matter, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered that a pilot committee be constituted by MP pollution control board (MPPCB) within the next three days to assess the impact of burning of crop residue on the atmosphere and the local ecosystem. On Friday, while hearing a petition on hailstorms, central zone bench of the NGT comprising Justice Dalip Singh and expert member PS Rao expressed grave concern over the environmental impact of burning of crop residue.

More images from Earth Observatory

NGT bench also ordered that agriculture and animal husbandry departments, MP Biodiversity board, MPPCB and Jawaharlal Nehru Agricultural University Jabalpur constitute a joint committee, including a scientific officer from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), which will look after the proposal of disposal of straws and other residual material. The committee will also discuss issues such as dearth of fodder for livestock because of damage incurred to the crop.

Agriculture Insurance Company (AIC) of India Ltd has been directed to apprise the NGT of the role an insurance company plays, vis-a-vis crop insurance in case of natural calamities like the recent hailstorm so that their correlation can be ascertained. Farmers should also be educated about various alternative ways of getting rid of crop remains other than burning.

Applicant Subhash C Pandey said that standing crop is being adversely affected by climate change, natural calamities and also burning of crop residue. "Lakhs of acres of farmland is being burnt as famers don't know any other technique to get rid of crop residue. Alternatives methods are costlier and require increased labour inputs. Therefore, farmers choose the cheaper option of burning crop residue but this spells doom for the environment," he said. In a similar petition to the principal bench of NGT, a report was submitted on March 21 and that also has to be placed before the bench before the next date of hearing on May 19.

Air pollution estimate

Particulate matter - 45,000 tonnes
Carbon monoxide - 900,000 tonnes
Carbon dioxide - 21.9 million tonnes
Ash - 2.985 million tonnes
Sulphur dioxide - 30,000 tonnes

Rabi crop - approx 15 million tonnes

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Pollutants from Coal Burning Stoves Strongly Associated with Miscarriages in Mongolia

Burning coal for domestic heating may contribute to early fetal death according to a new study that took place in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia -- the coldest capital city in the world. Researchers report "alarmingly strong statistical correlations" between seasonal ambient air pollutants and pregnancy loss.

Burning coal for domestic heating may contribute to early fetal death according to a new study by experts from The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia -- the coldest capital city in the world. In a paper published today in the journal BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, researchers report "alarmingly strong statistical correlations" between seasonal ambient air pollutants and pregnancy loss in Ulaanbaatar (UB), Mongolia.

UB has one of the highest levels of air pollution of all world capitals, with sulfide dioxide and particulate matter levels during winter months, which are up to 23 times World Health Organization standards. Air pollution in winter is largely caused by coal burning in Ger stoves (Ger refers to the traditional round, felt tent used as a portable residence by nomadic Mongolian people, but such stoves are also used in wooden houses within the Ger district.)

Air Pollution in Ulaanbaatar

The scientists, led by David Warburton, OBE, DSc, MD, MMM, FRCP, FRCS, FRCPCH, professor of Pediatrics and Surgery at The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, examined the association between spontaneous abortion (miscarriages) and seasonal variation of air pollutants. The measurements were gathered near the National Center for Maternal and Child Health (NCMCH) -- which provides the majority of obstetric and gynecological services in UB -- and compared to the medical records of 1,219 women in the region who had been admitted to the hospital between 2009 and 2011 due to fetal death prior to 20 weeks gestational age. "We found that the incidence of miscarriage revealed a striking seasonal pattern of variation," said Warburton.

While the overall rate of miscarriages (occurring in approximately 15 to 20 percent of pregnancies) reported in UB is similar to that of Western countries, including the United States, the study showed that spontaneous abortion incidence per calendar month increased from 23 per 1,000 live births in May to 73 per 1,000 live births in December 2011.

Read more @ Science Daily

Printing 3-D Buildings?

In Shanghai, a Chinese company 3D-printed 10 small buildings in about a day. Walls are made of layers of a concrete aggregate that includes recycled construction waste. Each house, assembled from the printed walls, measures 200 square meters and costs about $4,800. Granted, these buildings are not the most sexy. You could even argue they're not real 3D-printed buildings since assembly is required. (Rest assured a team from Amsterdam is currently at work on a fully 3D printed canal house). But according to The Architect’s Newspaper, the company hopes the technology will provide an “affordable and dignified" housing option for the impoverished. Read more @ Atlantic Cities

Friday, April 25, 2014

Ontario (Canada) is Coal-Free

Ontario has become the first jurisdiction in North America to eliminate electricity produced from coal-fired power plants. The last coal-fired site in Ontario, the Thunder Bay Generating Station, will be converted to a biomass facility. Read the article @ Power Engineering

In 2013, Ontario introduced the Ending Coal for Cleaner Air Act to ensure coal-fired power production would not happen in the province, according to the Ontario Ministry of Energy. To keep up with the power demand, Ontario has used a mix of emission-free electricity sources such as wind, solar, nuclear and hydropower, along with lower-emission electricity sources like natural gas and biomass. The ministry said that the commitment to close all of its coal plants before the end of 2014 has been met.

Role of Transport in Making Cities Green

Webinar from TERI

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Coughing Up Coal - Pollution from the Coal Fired Power Plants in India

India is rivaling China -- in its plans to consume coal. India is aggressively expanding construction of coal fired power plants to meet growing energy needs. Some 455 new plants now are in the pipeline. With air pollution already a leading health concern, medical experts say this expansion can have dire health consequences. Emissions from coal power plants were linked to 80,000-150,000 premature deaths in India between 2011 and 2012 alone and to a wide range of diseases from cancers, to respiratory and cardiovascular disorders.

Singrauli -- an industrial hub in north central India -- embodies the tragic human toll that a largely unregulated coal industry can extract. Sarah Stirk of the Ecologist Film Unit files this original investigative report for Earth Focus. Read her accompanying blog post, "Coughing up Coal: Reporting from the Frontline of India's Health Crisis"

Monday, April 21, 2014

Comparing Air Quality Classifications in China and USA

Here are two simple charts, neither of them brand-new but both easily comprehensible, that help dramatize how different the situation is there. The first, by Steven Andrews for China Dialogue via ChinaFile, compares official Chinese classifications of "good" air conditions with those in Europe or North America. Read the full article @ Atlantic Cities

Here is the point of this graphic: The green and yellow zones in the left-hand column, showing official Chinese government classifications, are for "good" or "OK" air—while those same readings would be in the danger zone by U.S. or European standards. When you're living in China, it's impossible not to adjust your standards either to ignore how dire the circumstances are, so you can get on with life, or to think that any day when you can see across the street is "pretty good."

Here's the other chart, comparing the 10 most-polluted Chinese cities with the 10 in America. It is from The Washington Post a few weeks ago:

Read the full article @ Atlantic Cities

Nobody Lives Here

There are plenty of visualizations based on population data, but nothing quite like what designer Nik Freeman has created: a map of where no one lives. Using data from the 2010 U.S. census, Freeman shades green the nearly 5 million census blocks with zero population. The resulting map highlights the 47 percent of the U.S. that remains unoccupied. Read more @ Atlantic Cities

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Measuring Air Pollution in African Cities

When Jenny Linden, an air quality scientist, tried to measure the pollution in Burkina Faso’s capital city, one of her instruments clogged up. It was designed for road dust in Arizona, but the dust in Ouagadougou far exceeded the machine’s limit, and it had to be sent to the United States for repair.

The instrument “could not take the level of pollutants they had there,” recalled Dr. Linden, who took measurements in Ouagadougou between 2003 and 2007 and is now a research associate in urban climatology at the University of Mainz, in Germany. So intense was the dust, she added, that “you don’t have a cold but you have an irritated nose the whole time.”

Read the full article @ NY Times

Gridded Anthropogenic OC Emissions in 2030 in Africa

Air pollution in Asia and Europe has grabbed headlines. But as Dr. Linden’s experience suggests, the problem is pervasive across Africa as well. Africa is urbanizing quickly, and pollution from sources like vehicle exhaust, wood burning and dusty dirt roads has reached worrisome levels in many cities. Equally or more troubling is air pollution inside homes, caused by cooking with wood or other sooty fuels. But few nations outside South Africa have imposed regulations to address the problem, experts say.

Anthropogenic CO2 Emissions in Africa

“We do know that in Africa, there’s a very major problem with indoor air pollution,” said Dr. Carlos Dora, an official with the World Health Organization’s Department for Public Health and Environment. Data for outdoor air pollution in cities, he added, is less available and may not capture the scope of the problem.

A factory in Kenya Producing Improved Cookstoves for Africa

Dirty air can cause lung damage as well as heart disease, strokes and cancer. Last month the W.H.O. estimated that one in eight deaths worldwide resulted from air pollution. The organization found that air pollution in African homes contributed to nearly 600,000 deaths in 2012. Africa had the third highest level of deaths per capita from indoor air pollution of any region of the world, though it was still well behind areas of the western Pacific region (including China) and Southeast Asia.

Explosive Growth in Africa's Combustion Emissions

The W.H.O. figures for deaths per capita from outdoor air pollution in Africa are well below the world average, but the lack of data is a barrier. Pollution monitoring is minimal on a continent that is mostly focused on other problems. Instruments are expensive, and academics say they often struggle to get grants to study the problem. The W.H.O. assesses outdoor pollution in Africa by drawing from satellite data, inventories of pollution sources, air-current modeling and occasional ground monitors, Dr. Dora said. Continentwide data is stronger than that for individual countries, he added.

In Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, normal levels of fine dust (meaning particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, about 1/30 of the width of a human hair and a significant health threat) are usually five times as high as those in Gothenburg, Sweden, according to Johan Boman, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Gothenburg. The Nairobi pollution doubles near the central business district, he said, reflecting high pollution from vehicle exhaust.

“It’s certainly not as bad as what we see from China,” he said. “On the other hand, in China it’s very much seasonal,” whereas Nairobi, with its relatively stable climate, has less variation. A survey several years ago by the W.H.O. showed Gaborone, Botswana, as having the eighth-highest level of particulate pollution (particles of up to 10 micrometers in diameter) among a list of world cities. But the W.H.O. stresses that it is an incomplete list, since many cities did not provide data — including some of the most polluted.

Measuring and Characterizing Pollution in Accra

The outdoor pollution problem is growing, as more Africans move to cities. Ms. Linden, who did research in Burkina Faso until 2007, said that “the situation is likely worse now” because Ouagadougou’s population has swelled by more than 50 percent since then. Major outdoor sources of pollution include old vehicles; the burning of wood and trash; industrial activities; and even dust from dirt roads, a serious issue in Ouagadougou. In West Africa, a wind called the harmattan adds to the problem in the winter, coating the region in Saharan desert dust.

One recent study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, estimated that Africa could generate 20 percent to 30 percent of the world’s combustion-driven sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides by 2030, up from about 5 percent each in 2005. Other pollutants are growing too: Organic carbon from Africa could rise to over 50 percent of the world’s combustion output, from 20 percent, the study said. The authors did their calculations using estimates about fuel consumption, growth and other emissions factors, and warned of “a considerable increase in emissions from Africa” in the absence of regulations.

One of few countries to put regulations in place is South Africa, where ozone and tiny particles are particular worries. Air quality standards went into effect in 2009. Restrictions on particles will tighten in 2015 and 2016, according to Rebecca Garland, a senior researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in Pretoria.

Air Pollution in Ouagadougou

Elsewhere, action is lacking as African nations grapple with other problems. Dr. Dora of the W.H.O. said that in countries like China, the pressure to stem pollution comes from businesses, and “from what I know, there’s still not that pressure from businesses in Africa,” he said. However, some leaders are aware of the issue and want to address it, he added.

Air Pollution in Kampala

One initiative that has gotten considerable attention is cleaner cookstoves. The current fuels, including wood, charcoal, animal dung and crop residues, create smoke and soot. The W.H.O. is releasing information soon about how various technologies can improve indoor air pollution. The concept of cleaner cookstoves has been getting high-profile attention; however, some experts caution that some of the new cookstoves may be focused less on reducing air emissions than on other benefits like increased energy efficiency and preventing forest degradation.

From Gridlock to Brain Damage in Lagos

“I don’t think anybody’s really demonstrated that they’re clean enough” to play a serious role in improving public health, said Darby Jack, an assistant professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.