European Commission Requests Information from Member States on Airborne Particles Pollution

The European Commission has written to 23 Member States to request information on what action they are taking to comply with the EU's air quality standard for dangerous airborne particles known as PM10. These coarse particles, emitted by industry and traffic, can cause asthma, cardiovascular problems, lung cancer and premature death. The Commission's action follows the entry into force on 11 June of the major new EU air quality directive, which allows Member States to request limited extra time to meet the PM10 standard under certain conditions.

Stavros Dimas, European Commissioner for Environment, said: 'Air pollution has serious impacts on health and compliance with the standards must be our utmost priority. The entry into force of the new Directive on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe marks a new phase in the implementation and enforcement of air quality standards.'

Time extensions
The new directive[1] (see MEMO07/571 and IP/08/570) establishes ambitious, cost-effective targets for improving human health and environmental quality up to 2020. However, in recognition of the difficulty many Member States face in complying with some EU air quality standards, it also allows for the possibility of limited time extensions for compliance. In the case of PM10, for which the mandatory standard has been in force since 2005, this time extension can run until 10 June 2011. It is estimated that on average 40% of air quality zones in the EU currently do not comply with the PM10 standard.

Time extensions will be granted only for zones that satisfy the conditions laid down in the directive, which relate to external factors over which the Member States have no direct control, such as transboundary contributions, and adverse climatic conditions. Outside these areas the air quality standards must be fully complied with already.

On 26 June the Commission adopted a Communication[2] providing guidance to Member States wishing to request time extensions. In assessing notifications for such requests, the Commission will look specifically at the efforts undertaken by Member States to comply by the initial deadline, ie 1 January 2005 in the case of PM10. The Commission must also be convinced that full compliance will be achieved at the expiry of the time extension period.

In the light of this guidance, the Commission has written to the 23 Member States that reported exceedances of the limit value for PM10 in 2006, asking them to provide information by 30 September 2008 on the steps they are taking to achieve compliance. This concerns all Member States except Ireland and Luxembourg, which reported no exceedances of the PM10 standard in 2006, and Bulgaria and Romania, which did not join the EU until 2007.

In the letters, the Commission makes clear that Member States are expected to notify requests for time extensions by 31 October 2008. Failure either to achieve compliance with the standard or to submit notifications by that date will lead to legal action against the Member State concerned.

PM10 standard
The PM10 standard consists of two limit values:
- a concentration of 50 micrograms (µg)/m3, measured over 24 hours; this can be exceeded on no more than 35 days per year
- a concentration of 40 µg/m3, measured over one year; no exceedance is allowed.

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Environmental Expert

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About diesel particulate matter emissions

air pollution

ARB Approves the Distribution of $221 Million of Proposition 1B Funding

Projects estimated to reduce nearly 30,000 tons of pollution

FRESNO - The Air Resources Board approved today the final list of diesel emission reduction projects to be funded by the first installment of $221 million out of the $1 billion from voter-endorsed Proposition 1B.

ARB voted to distribute $221 million among California's four trade corridors based on the funding targets adopted last February. The allocation will place $122 million for the Los Angeles/Inland Empire; $55 million for the Central Valley; $31 million for the Bay Area; and $13 million for the San Diego/Border region.

The dissemination by categories would result in a total of:
$198.4 million to upgrade over 8,200 trucks with cleaner equipment and engines
$16.5 million for 18 new locomotives
$2.5 million for shore electric power for cargo ships docking at the Port of San Diego
$4.3 million for 17 freight-related harbor craft

"This is a grand move toward our ultimate goal of cleaning up the air," said ARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols. "With regulations in place and funding for early compliance, California is on its way to significantly reduce the number of people affected by diesel soot."

Having identified diesel particulate matter as a toxic air contaminant in 1998 due to its potential to cause cancer and other respiratory problems, ARB has put in place stringent regulations to curve the health risk to Californians and to further the state's progress towards meeting air quality goals.

Over their life, the projects to be funded are estimated to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 26,900 tons and particulate matter by 1,800 tons. ARB and the local agencies administering the monies will focus on projects that quickly reduce emissions and achieve benefits throughout the state, such as directing 94 percent of the total to cleaner trucks and locomotives that may travel within multiple corridors.

The awards to eligible local agencies and projects were made official at today's public hearing in Fresno. Earlier this year, the ARB released $25 million in early grants to five air districts to upgrade 1,000 trucks and install shore-based electrical power at two ship berths.

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ARB

EPA Provides Further Direction on Implementing Fine Particle Pollution Air Quality Standard

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule further outlining steps that state, local and tribal governments must take to reduce fine particle pollution (PM2.5). The rule describes how to apply the New Source Review (NSR) program at facilities that emit fine particles. EPA's NSR program requires industrial facilities to obtain permits outlining emissions controls for target air pollutants before they begin construction.

The rule affects areas that do not meet the 1997 PM2.5 standards. Those areas must meet the standards by 2010.

Today's rule complements the agency's PM2.5 final implementation rule issued on April 25, 2007, which addresses the non-New Source Review provisions of PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards. A related rule, proposed on Sept. 21, 2007, would complete the PM2.5 preconstruction review program framework by establishing increments, significant impact levels, and significant monitoring concentrations for EPA's Prevention of Significant Deterioration program. Together, these three rules will establish the framework for implementing preconstruction permit components of the 1997 PM2.5 air quality standards.

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EPA - NSR

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How to reduce particulate matter from prime power and emergency generators

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particle pollution

EPA Proposes Measures to Address Direct Emissions of Fine Particulates

EPA is proposing options for calculating key program elements for implementing the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program for fine particle pollution in areas that meet clean air standards. Fine particle pollution can aggravate heart and lung diseases and has been associated with premature death and a variety of serious health problems including heart attacks, chronic bronchitis and asthma attacks.

When an industrial facility applies for a permit to emit a regulated pollutant in an area that meets clean air standards, the state and EPA must determine if emissions of that pollutant will harm air quality. The PSD program uses three key measures to make this determination: increments, significant impact level (SIL), and significant monitoring concentration (SMC). The proposal presents options for how to calculate each of these measures for PM2.5. EPA will accept comment on the proposal for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

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EPA proposal

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How to reduce fine particulate matter using diesel particulate filters on off-road vehicles. Watch video.

particle pollution

High Pollution Affecting Children in Mexico City

According to researchers in Mexico, children who are chronically exposed to higher levels of air pollution show marked deficiencies in lung growth and function.

"Our study revealed significant deficits in lung function growth in children with long-term exposure to air pollutants,” wrote Isabelle Romieu, M.D., M.P.H., lead author of the study. "In addition to the important impact of lung health, early lung deficits may increase the risk of developing chronic obstructive lung disease later in life, as well as cardiovascular morbidity and general mortality.

These conclusions are the result of a three-year, multi-site prospective study that measured lung function growth in 3,170 eight-year-old children at 39 schools in Mexico City and analyzed it with respect to the children’s exposure to common urban pollutants: ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and particulate matter under 10 μm (PM10).

Dr. Romieu, of the Instituto Nacional de Salud Publico in Mexico, and eight colleagues reported their findings in the second issue for August of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published by the American Thoracic Society.

Previous studies have found that short-term exposure to pollutants is associated with acute but reversible deficits in lung function, but the effects of long-term exposure, like that experienced by residents of heavily polluted urban environments, had not been conclusively characterized.

Although all measurements of lung function increased over time, the researchers found that higher exposure to O3, NO2 and PM10 was significantly associated with growth deficits.

“At the beginning of the study and at each phase of follow-up, children exposed to lower O3 and PM10 concentrations had better lung function values that children exposed to higher concentrations,” wrote the researchers.

The study could not determine the mechanism by which pollutants change lung growth, but other studies have found differences in lung morphology related to O3 exposure, and suggested that chronic exposure to PM and O3 may be associated with small airway disease.

Recently, oxidative stress from oxidant compounds, including O3, NO2 and PM has been identified as a potential cause of an inflammatory response, which could then lead to chronic lung damage. The reversibility of the damage is unclear, but the authors note that previous studies have reported long-term deficits in lung function associated with air pollutants.

“Although we could not identify specific sources [of the pollutants], the effect is likely to be due to vehicular exhaust,” wrote the researchers, concluding that “there is a clear need for stricter air pollution measures in Mexico City to protect lung growth in children living there.”

See the Source:
Newswise

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How to reduce particulate matter from diesel engines using diesel particulate filters.

air pollution
particle pollution

Is Your Daily Commute Giving You a Heart Attack?

Recently, German researchers from the University of Duisberg-Essen found that regularly commuting in heavy traffic or living in high-traffic areas can contribute to atherosclerosis, high blood pressure and an increase risk of a heart attack. Using ongoing data from three industrialized cities in Germany, the researchers found that breathing air pollution at this level created the same damage as inhaling second hand smoke.

They surmised the artery damage was most likely caused by a high concentration of particulate matter from vehicle emissions. This is the first study to establish a direct link to air pollution created by traffic and arterial damage.

“The only immediate protective action that can be taken by people living close to heavy traffic is increased attention to known cardiac risk factors, such as obesity and high blood pressure,” said Dr. Hoffmann, head researcher for the project. “Over the longer run, community action is needed.”

Using data already on record, Forbes magazine compiled three factors to come up with the unhealthiest commutes in the U.S. They looked at levels of particulate pollution; the estimated time spent in rush hour traffic; and the per-capita fatal car accidents registered for a region. From the collected data, the unhealthiest workday drives are: Riverside, CA; Atlanta, GA; and Los Angles, CA. Apparently LA drivers spend the most time in traffic.

The average American takes 25 minutes to drive to work, during that time the California Air Resources Board (CARB) estimates this time equals 50% of a person’s daily exposure to fine particulate matter – one of the worst pollutants to inhale and a known contributor to heart disease.

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Heartzine.com
Forbes

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The health and environmental impact of diesel particulate matter.

air pollution
particle pollution

How Shipping Affects Air Pollution

Transportation related air pollution:

- Ground freight (diesel trucks, trains) emit 40% of NOx and 30% of particulate matter.
- Moving freight uses 20% of the total amount of energy used by the transportation market.
- 66% of all freight in the U.S. is shipped by truck.
- 16% is shipped by train.
- Truck and train transport use 35 billion gallons of diesel fuel per year, producing 350 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.

See the Source:
Industry Week

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How to decrease particulate pollution using a diesel particulate filter.

diesel emissions
NOx emissions

California Proposal Would Clean Up Heavy Equipment.

California air quality regulators are currently hearing testimony concerning a proposal requiring off-road diesel equipment to be retrofitted with emissions control technology or replace them with newer, cleaner engines. This sweeping ruling would force construction companies, airports and ski resorts to drastically reduce emissions of diesel particulate matter and NOx by as soon as 2010 to comply with new air quality regulations.

“This by far is the largest diesel rule ever undertaken,” stated Natural Resources Defense Council scientist, Diane Bailey. “Nobody writes air pollution on the death certificate, but the fact is it is responsible for thousands of deaths in California.”

There are an estimated 180,000 diesel off-road vehicles in California that would fall under the proposed ruling.

See the Source:
Press Telegram

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About diesel particulate filters for off-road equipment

Cleaning Up Emissions with New CleanAIR Filter/Silencer

Leading emissions control manufacturer, CleanAIR Systems introduces a new addition to their line of diesel particulate filter products, the PERMIT Filter/Silencer, designed to reduce exhaust emissions from prime power and emergency generators. Facilities using gensets for power generation are already familiar with silencers installed to lessen engine noise. With the enforcement of stringent pollution regulations, generator owners also need emissions control technology along with sound attenuation to meet demanding air quality laws. The PERMIT Filter/Silencer incorporating CleanAIR’s CARB verified PERMIT Filter, meets both requirements.

Available for all stationary engine sizes, CleanAIR’s PERMIT Filter/Silencer is installed on the exhaust of a generator, eliminating visible black smoke, diesel odor and noise while the engine is running. Emissions of particulate matter are substantially reduced by more than 85% and emissions of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons by up to 99%.

“Keeping our customer in mind, we designed our PERMIT Filter/Silencer specifically to fit facilities that need to reduce emissions and sound,” explained CleanAIR Sales Engineer, Daniel Serrano. “By combining our diesel particulate filters with a silencer, the customer no longer needs two separate units that take up a lot of space. Our PERMIT Filter/Silencer does the job of both by eliminating emissions while at the same time providing sound reduction. It also reduces the overall cost.”

Manufactured using 304 stainless steel, the PERMIT Filter/Silencer is custom designed to fit each application. Utilizing CleanAIR’s integrated approach, the product is entirely designed and manufactured in-house, including: product design; flow, stress and sound modeling; filter catalyzation; and custom fabrication of the silencer shell. Each PERMIT Filter/Silencer is fully insulated to reduce heat loss and provide sound attenuation.

The stainless steel silencer is corrosion-resistant, thereby extending the life of the product. Using stainless steel also reduces the product’s total weight by up to 50% over silencers currently on the market constructed of mild steel, allowing for easier installation.

“We looked at silencer designs already on the market and knew we could design a better, more efficient product that also incorporated our CARB verified PERMIT Filters,” concluded Michael Roach, President of CleanAIR Systems. “It was a real group effort with our engineering, manufacturing and technical sales staff all offering input as to what our customers wanted in an emissions control product. Our team designed a premium product using stainless steel construction, incorporating our PERMIT Filters and still maintained a comparable price advantage. In this way all facilities from schools and hospitals to power generation plants can afford to install a better emissions control product.”

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The CleanAIR PERMIT Filter/Silencer

Watch a video to see how the PERMIT Filter/Silencer works

emissions control
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clean air

What’s Up Doc – Don’t Breathe the Air!

Should you’re doctor be advising you to check the “AQI” each day? That’s the air quality index. If you’re sensitive to pollutants or at risk due to lung or cardiovascular disease, maybe your doctor should be explaining avoidance strategies for heavy pollution days at your next checkup.

A new report in the April issue of American Journal of the Medical Sciences, suggests that health care professionals should be looking at three specific categories of air pollutants, along with how they impact health, when advising their patients.

• Particulate matter, linked to increased rates of illness and death from heart and lung (cardiopulmonary) disease—probably by promoting inflammation within the airways. Particulates may also increase lung cancer risk, but more study is needed.
• Ozone, a respiratory irritant that decreases lung function in healthy people as well as patients with asthma. Short-term increases in ozone level may also lead to increases in illness and death from cardiopulmonary disease.
• Nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide, which are highly toxic at high concentrations. Although they contribute to poor air quality, it remains unclear whether these pollutants cause health problems at the "ambient" levels associated with air pollution.

"Increased recognition of the hazards of air pollution, coupled with simple common sense recommendations from clinicians, may provide the basis for reducing exposure to outdoor air pollution," concludes Scott Shofer, MD, PhD, of Duke University School of Medicine.

Patients should be advised to watch for symptoms possibly related to air pollution exposure, such as chest pain or tightness, cough, wheezing, and shortness of breath. Those with respiratory diseases such as asthma should be sure to carry their "rescue" inhalers.

"We believe these simple actions may help reduce the risk of adverse events due to air pollution in sensitive patient populations," Dr. Shofer conclude. The report also calls for revised air quality standards to lower ambient levels of air pollutants—especially small particles and ozone.

See the Source:
Newswise

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How to reduce particle matter, carbon monoxide and NOx with CleanAIR emissions control technology

air pollution
NOx emissions
particle pollution

Earth Day: What Can You Do to Reduce Air Pollution?

In celebration of Earth Day, here’s our list of recommendations for reducing emissions and improving air quality. Take a stand - make a difference!

- Support regional clean air regulations by contacting your state and local representatives, urging them to pass strong air quality standards.

- Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs to reduce energy consumption, and lessen the impact of energy produced by burning fossil fuels.

- Use ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel in all diesel engines to reduce emissions of sulfur oxides.

- Urge your local city government to retrofit public transportation with emissions control technology.

- Purchase renewable wind or solar energy blocks from your utilities provider.

- Find out if your local schools and colleges have diesel emergency generators. If so, urge them to be retrofitted with diesel particulate filters. This will substantially reduce diesel emissions of particulate matter, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons.

- Educate yourself! There are many websites and blogs (just like ours) that publish daily environmental information. Take advantage of the news offered and become an informed, activist against air pollution.

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EPA – Earth Day
CleanAIR Systems

East Meets West: The Impact of Asian Pollution on Clouds, Weather, Climate Change

Using the newest aircraft for environmental research, scientists are launching a project to study and track plumes of dust and pollutants which originate in Asia and travel across the Pacific to North America. Captured as “event”, it is believed they are so large in size as to have an affect on cloud formation, weather and global climate change.

The Pacific Dust Experiment (PACDEX) will be launched in late April and continue for two months.

"PACDEX will open a window into what happens to the atmosphere as these massive plumes cross the Pacific Ocean. The plumes affect clouds, precipitation, and the amount of sunlight that reaches Earth," explains National Center for Atmospheric Research scientist Jeff Stith, a principal investigator on the project. "We want to determine how the various particles of dust and pollutants in the plumes influence clouds and climate, and how far downwind those effects occur."

Sulfate particles found within the plumes cool the planet by blocking solar radiation, at the same time that other particles of black carbon create a warming effect by absorbing sunlight. Various particles may also mask up to half of the global warming impact of greenhouse gases. Future warming will be influenced by the amount of particulate matter emissions originating in Asia.

Dust and pollutants also reduce light, contributing to the “global dimming” phenomenon that can affect temperature and precipitation.

See the Source:
The National Center for Atmospheric Research and the UCAR Office of Programs

Find out:
How to reduce particulate emissions using diesel particulate filters

Canada and U.S. Move Forward to Reduce Air Pollutants

U.S. EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson and the Honorable John Baird, Canada's Minister of the Environment, announced today that Canada and the United States will begin negotiation of an annex to the U.S.-Canada Air Quality Agreement aimed at reducing the cross-border flow of air pollution and its impact on the health and ecosystems of Canadians and Americans.

Minister Baird and Administrator Johnson met to discuss common cross-border and global environment priorities. The officials noted that both Canada and the United States recognize that cooperative action can reduce the transboundary flow of particulate matter (PM) originating on either side of the border.

Pollution, especially air pollution, knows no geographic or political borders," said Administrator Johnson. "Our nations are committed to becoming better environmental neighbors, and the negotiation of this annex will strengthen the successful U.S.-Canadian collaboration helping clean the air for North American residents for generations."

The U.S.-Canada Air Quality Agreement, negotiated in 1991, marked a new era of cooperation aimed at helping to guarantee cleaner air and a healthier environment for millions of Americans and Canadians. The PM Annex would complement the annex negotiated in 2000 addressing ground-level ozone, as well as the original annexes on acid rain and scientific cooperation.

Particulate matter consists of airborne particles in solid or liquid form. The pollutant can be emitted directly at the emissions source, for example, from a smokestack of an electrical power plant or as the result of reactions between chemicals (precursors) as they are transported through the atmosphere. Numerous studies have linked particulate matter, especially fine PM, to cardiac and respiratory diseases such as asthma, bronchitis and emphysema and to various forms of heart disease.

Recent scientific analysis has shown that joint strategies are needed to address these pollutants. This research, conducted over the last three years, has shown that emissions of PM and its precursors can significantly affect air quality in both countries. The annex will result in reductions in PM as well as many of the chemicals that contribute to other air quality issues of concern such as acid rain, regional haze and visibility in the communities along the U.S.-Canada border.

See the Source:
Joint technical and scientific analyses on particulate matter
More information about the U.S.-Canada Air Quality Agreement

Find out:
How to reduce deadly particulate matter using diesel particulate filters

Cut Air Pollution … Or Else!

The EPA has finalized rules instructing 39 areas in 20 states to drastically reduce air pollution levels of fine particulate matter by 2010. The source of most particulate pollution is power plants, cars, trucks and heavy equipment. The EPA requirements include the use of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, the introduction of clean diesel trucks and buses, the Clean Air Nonroad Diesel Rule to reduce emissions produced by off-road diesel vehicles, and the Clean Air Interstate Rule to reduce particulate matter (PM) from power plant emissions.

Under the Clean Air Act, states must have a plan in place by April of 2008, and designated areas must reduce fine particles to 1997 air quality levels by 2010. Approximately 88 million people in urban areas live with high levels air pollution containing fine particles, which have been linked to heart and lung disease, as well as premature death.

But Clean air advocate, Frank O’Donnell of Clean Air Watch believes that the finalized rules are a “flagrant gift to the electric power industry” because power plants can comply to regulations by purchasing credits through the “cap-and-trade” program and not physically reduce their emissions.

It is estimated that power plants already need to invest $50 billion to install new technology to bring emissions into compliance with the air quality standards for reduction of sulfur dioxide (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx).

Another contingency is that counties with the highest levels of fine particulate matter could receive a five year extension, delaying their attainment until 2015.

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EPA

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How diesel particulate matter impacts health and the environment

Clean Air Advocates Demand that EPA Withdraw Bogus Clean Air Finding in San Joaquin Valley

Determination based on illegally ignored data

San Francisco – March 22, 2007 -- Clean air advocates in the San Joaquin Valley of California are taking action to reverse a finding that the region cleared the air of dangerous particulate matter pollution. Advocates say the Environmental Protection Agency reached its finding by sweeping key data under the rug.

On October 30, 2006, EPA declared that the San Joaquin Valley had attained the national air quality standards for particulate matter pollution (PM-10), i.e., tiny particles of dust, soot, and chemicals that can obscure visibility and be inhaled deep in the lungs. PM-10 is a known killer that can cause lung and heart ailments. In a region where this type of pollution kills more that 1800 residents a year (http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/aaqs/std-rs/std-rs.htm) clean air advocates question EPA's decision to end requirements that the local air district keep working to eliminate this threat.

The groups have now presented EPA with data that contradicts the regional air district's and EPA's claims of victory over particulate pollution.

"It's astounding the lengths to which our public health agencies are going to protect this bad decision," says Kevin Hamilton of Medical Advocates for Healthy Air. "EPA said they'd withdraw it if there were more violations -- we're just asking them to keep their word. They need to stand up and protect the public health in our Valley."

To be declared in attainment with the public health standards, the Valley is required to go three years without violating the pollution limit more than once a year. Last fall, southern portions of the Valley violated the limit more than two dozen times -- more than twice as many as in any other year for the past 14 years.

Clean air advocates assert that EPA ignored dirty data from numerous days at numerous air monitors last fall when it made its attainment finding in October. EPA is trying to blame the area's bad air quality on winds in the Sacramento Valley but has provided no reliable evidence to support that claim. In fact, former National Weather Service forecaster and expert forensic meteorologist Jan Null says that the days in question were "complete non-events" and "were not windy by any stretch of the imagination."

Advocates believe the premature clean air declaration was intended to avoid a court-ordered deadline in which EPA was required to impose a federal clean air plan on the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District by October 18, 2006. By determining that the air was clean, EPA avoided this work burden. Advocates say EPA's finding sends the wrong message to regulated industries and Valley citizens whose health remains imperiled by unacceptable levels of PM-10.

"EPA is contorting its own policies to avoid doing its job," said Sarah Jackson, air specialist with Earthjustice. "There are no more 'get out of jail free' cards for an agency with more than three decades of missed deadlines and botched plans. The residents of the San Joaquin Valley deserve real progress, not agency politics."

In a formal "petition for withdrawal" submitted today, air advocates claimed:
In spite of EPA's regulatory acrobatics, the fact is that the Valley was not in attainment as of the date of the Finding, and it is not in attainment today. Since EPA published its proposed Attainment Finding, Valley monitoring sites using methodology subject to all quality assurance and quality control requirements, have recorded 26 PM-10 exceedance days.

Earthjustice represents Latino Issues Forum, Medical Advocates for Health Air, and three valley Sierra Club chapters in this action. In addition to a full withdrawal of the attainment finding, they are asking EPA to reinstate the contingency measures and other Clean Air Act requirements it suspended when it made that erroneous finding.

See the Source:
Earthjustice – Petition for Withdrawal

Find out:
The health impact of exposure to diesel particulate matter

GE Energy’s Filtration Technology Receives ecomagination Certification

NEW DELHI, India--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GE Energy’s PulsePleat® filtration technology has received ecomagination certification after completing the company’s rigorous environmental and operational evaluation. It was cited as one of a number of successful GE projects during the formal launch of GE’s ecomagination program in New Delhi, India.

Ecomagination is GE’s commitment to address challenges such as the need for cleaner, more efficient sources of energy, reduced emissions and abundant sources of clean water. GE Energy’s environmental services team provided metrics to demonstrate that PulsePleat offered significant and measurable performance advantages.

Fabric filtration is used to capture particulate matter (fine dust) created by different manufacturing processes to help prevent air-polluting emissions. The technology is used by more than 50 industries globally, by utilities and in the cement, metals, food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries.

“PulsePleat elements can help to reduce particulate matter emissions by as much as 40 percent in the 3,000,000 units installed worldwide,” said Daniel Heintzelman, president of GE Energy’s services business. “This technology helps the industry to meet increasingly stringent emissions control regulations and to benefit from improved production levels and lower operating costs.”

Conventional filter bags are the most commonly accepted method used to capture fine particulate matter for air pollution control. Standard fabric filter bags are arranged in a dust collection system (or baghouse) where exhaust air is filtered before venting out of the stack to the atmosphere.

PulsePleat Pleated Filter Elements are a replacement upgrade to conventional filters, requiring minimal or no retrofitting to existing baghouses. Customers using PulsePleat Pleated Filter Elements have seen significant improvement in performance, cost and ecological impact when compared to traditional filter bags. The filters are manufactured in GE’s facilities in Switzerland, China and Salisbury, Mo., U.S.A.

By reducing particulate matter emissions by 21,000 lbs/year (for a typical metals manufacturing plant) down to a mean particle size of 0.5 micron, customers using GE’s PulsePleat Filter Elements are able to recycle particulate matter back into the manufacturing process. The 21,000 lbs/year of particulate saved is equivalent to the average amount of aluminum needed to build 87 passenger vehicles, and enough recycled material to make 355,950 aluminum beverage cans.

In a standard manufacturing plant, PulsePleat filters last four times longer than standard filters. Over a three-year period, this results in a filter material savings equivalent to 99,531 lbs. of polyester material, 4,977 barrels of oil (used as an ingredient in 99,351 lbs. of polyester) and waste that would be generated by 22,672 people daily in the United States.

About GE Energy
GE Energy (www.ge.com/energy) is one of the world’s leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technologies, with 2006 revenue of $19 billion. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Energy works in all areas of the energy industry including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy; renewable resources such as water, wind, solar and biogas; and other alternative fuels.

Numerous GE Energy products are certified under ecomagination, GE’s corporate-wide initiative to aggressively bring to market new technologies that will help customers meet pressing environmental challenges.

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GE Energy

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How the PERMIT Filter from CleanAIR Systems reduces particulate matter by over 85% from emergency and prime power generators.

Air Quality Site Reports Daily Air Quality

AIRNow is a daily update of the Air Quality Index (AQI) reporting how clean or polluted the air is in your neighborhood. Five major air pollutants (ground-level ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide) are used by the EPA to calculate the AQI.

Using this information, the AIRNow website offers daily AQI forecasts and real-time conditions for over 300 metropolitan areas in the United States. The user-friendly website is a government-backed program, developed collaboratively by the EPA, NOAA, NPS, tribal, state, and local news agencies to assist the public in understanding the health effects of breathing polluted air.

See the Source:
AIRNow

Find out:
How particulate matter can be reduced using diesel particulate filters from CleanAIR Systems

Long-term Exposure to Air Pollution Hardens Arteries

Study in Environmental Health Perspectives Finds women most vulnerable to atherosclerosis

Long-term exposure to air pollution may lead to the development of atherosclerosis, a form of cardiovascular disease in which fatty deposits cause artery walls to thicken and harden, according to a study published today in the February issue of Environmental Health Perspectives. The study adds to the growing body of literature linking air pollution with cardiovascular disease and provides the first epidemiologic evidence linking atherosclerosis with exposure to fine particulate matter.

Researchers evaluated 798 healthy Los Angeles-area men and women over the age of 40 who showed some signs of increased risk of cardiovascular disease. They used data from 23 monitoring stations to estimate annual average concentrations of particulate matter in residential zip codes throughout the Los Angeles area. Beginning with data from 2000, researchers found concentrations of particulate matter ranging from 5.2 to 26.9 micrograms per cubic meter.

Overall, the more polluted the air to which subjects were exposed, the thicker the inner layers of their carotid artery, which transports blood to the head and neck. The most-exposed study participants experienced about 8% more artery thickening than the least-exposed participants, after accounting for such factors as diet, use of vitamin supplements and hormone-replacement drugs, physical activity, blood pressure, education, and income.

Women over the age of 60 experienced artery thickening at a rate almost four times higher than the overall population. In general, women were much more vulnerable than men, and nonsmokers and people taking drugs to reduce cholesterol also proved to be more vulnerable than average.

"From a biologic perspective, our results support the hypothesis that long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter contributes to systemic inflammatory pathways, which are a relevant aspect of atherogenesis," the study authors write. "The findings indicate a biologically plausible link between the observed acute effects of ambient air pollution on systemic inflammation and the long-term consequences of sustained vascular inflammation leading to increased atherosclerosis and, ultimately, cardiovascular death."

"We've known for some time that air pollution leads to lung damage, but this study also emphasizes the role air pollution plays on the arteries. Heart disease is a primary cause of death in the western world, so more research, perhaps focusing on those at highest risk, is important," says Dr. Jim Burkhart, science editor for EHP.

The lead author of the study was Nino Künzli of the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. Other authors included M. Jerrett, W.J. Mack, B. Beckerman, L. LaBree, F. Gilliland, D. Thomas, J. Peters, and H.N. Hodis. The article is available free of charge at http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/members/2004/7523/7523.html.

The study was supported in part by the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Wright Foundation, the Hastings Foundation, and the Health Effects Institute.

EHP is published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. EHP is an Open Access journal.

See the Source:
Environmental Health Perpectives

Find out:
How diesel particulate filters can reduce fine particulate matter.

Coal is Choking China

When the rest of the world is looking for ways to go green, China forges ahead in a cloud of black smoke. With 2,000 coal-fired powered plants emitting soot, carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, China has plans to build another 500 power stations, adding to the toxic brew.

It’s estimated 400,000 deaths each year are attributed to pollution. The majority of Chinese citizens are concerned by the ever-worsening situation of their environment at the expense of economic growth. But most mayors and local government oppose any effort to protect the environment, worried that it may slow the economy.

“People can’t tolerate the pollution any longer but officials only care about their political achievements of hitting targets for growth. If this policy isn’t stopped, China will become a land where there are only graves, no people,” explained Yue Jianguo, a Chinese analyst.

China currently has 21,000 mines, with coal output doubling in the past five years. In 2007, the country used 2.5 billion tons of coal – and had the world’s highest miner casualty rate at 3,818 deaths and 2,456 accidents.

Yet local governments are unwilling to purchase filters or use western technology that could reduce emissions up to 95% from power plants.

See the source:
Times Online

Find out:
About the CleanAIR ENDURE SCR to reduce NOx from coal-fired power plants.

How the CleanAIR PERMIT Filter reduces particulate matter (soot) from diesel exhaust by over 85%.

States Join Forces to Fight Air Pollution and the EPA

In December, the states of Maine, New York, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, and New Hampshire sued the EPA to demand stricter emissions regulations for particular matter (soot) coming from smokestacks and tailpipes. The states argue that EPA scientists “say lower limits would save lives and improve public health.”

According to Maine’s Attorney General, Steven Rowe “If the federal government doesn’t carry out its duties, then the states are not going to sit idly by and watch.”

"The fact that there has been such an overwhelming proliferation of environmental lawsuits in recent years -- including six brought by the state of Maine -- is a clear indication that our federal laws are not being enforced to the level that Congress intended," said Maine Senator Olympia Snowe.

"While it is unfortunate that the states are sometimes forced to mount legal challenges to these regulations, court action can be necessary when the EPA, and other agencies for that matter, clearly fail to uphold the law," added Senator Susan Collins, also of Maine.

See the Source:
Press Herald

Find Out:
How CleanAIR Systems’ emissions control technology decreases particulate matter (soot).

Short-Term Air Pollution Increases Risk of Heart Attack for Those With Clogged Arteries

A new Brigham Young University study published in the world's top heart journal shows that a one- or two-day rise in air pollution causes a significant increase in the risk of unstable angina and heart attacks in the millions of Americans who have significant coronary artery blockage.

"For people who have blockage in their arteries -- whether they know it or not -- relatively modest increases in air pollution are associated with measurable and significant increases in one of these heart disease events," said C. Arden Pope, a BYU epidemiologist and lead author on the study appearing in the new issue of Circulation. He has also published several landmark studies on the health effects of air pollution over the past two decades.

For this study, the researchers linked detailed daily measures of air pollution gathered from monitoring sites in northern Utah with a registry of more than 12,000 heart patients painstakingly built over 12 years by cardiologists at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City. Pope and his co-authors from the hospital were able to compare levels of pollution on the days preceding the patients' hospital visits with their personal health characteristics. This approach eliminated the impact of other risk factors such as smoking or obesity. The level of detail considered by the study allows cardiologists like study co-author Dr. Jeffrey L. Anderson to make specific recommendations for their patients.

"For those of us with patients who have significant coronary artery disease, the message is that they probably shouldn't be out and about during periods of air pollution," said Anderson, associate chief of cardiology at LDS Hospital as well as professor of internal medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine. "We have wide fluctuations in the degree of fine particulate pollution along the Wasatch Front. At times our area is wonderfully clean, and other times it's really awful."

The type of pollution linked to the heart attacks is fine pieces of soot smaller than 2.5 microns, or less than five one-hundredths the width of a human hair. Such particulate matter is generated by combustion, most commonly by automobiles, manufacturing and coal-fired power plants. The Environmental Protection Agency has declared that the annual average level of such particles in the air should not exceed 15 micrograms per cubic meter. Pope's study showed that a daily increase of 10 micrograms per cubic meter in fine particulate air pollution is accompanied by a 4.5 percent increased risk of having unstable angina or a heart attack. During winter inversions, Utah can see levels as high as 100 micrograms per cubic meter, Pope said.

Although the effect may seem small, the findings have significant public health impact because exposure to fine particulate matter is widespread in urban environments and essentially involuntary, Pope said. "We all have to breathe the air."

In further explanation of the broad application of these findings, study co-author Benjamin D. Horne pointed out that coronary disease is very common. "Although some people have advance warning through chest pain and other indications, unfortunately about half of people who are at the greatest risk from air pollution's effects actually have silent, undiagnosed coronary disease, and their first sign or symptom of disease is an acute event such as a heart attack," said Horne, director of cardiovascular epidemiology at LDS Hospital.

Horne suggested preventive measures such as improving public air quality warning systems, educating the public about the American Heart Association's recommendations for activity restrictions for those at higher risk and educating the public about improving filtration of their indoor air. He also pointed out that any efforts to improve air quality would be beneficial.

Other co-authors on the study were Dr. Joseph B. Muhlestein and Dr. Dale G. Renlund, who both have joint appointments at LDS Hospital and the University of Utah, and Heidi T. May of LDS Hospital.

NIWA Expands Urban Air Quality Team

NIWA Media Release 8 January 2007

NIWA expands team to meet challenge of poor urban air quality

For a country with a relatively low population density, New Zealand’s air quality can be very poor. The most significant concern is wintertime air pollution in urban centres, where emissions from domestic solid fuel heaters generate high ambient concentrations of PM10 (Particulate Matter with a diameter of ten micrometres or less). Vehicle pollution is also an important source in the larger cities. Recent research has estimated that as many as 900 people may die prematurely each year in New Zealand from the effects of air pollution and that the cost to the New Zealand taxpayer of the health effects of air pollution is greater than six hundred million dollars per year.

The National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA) is expanding its urban air quality team. The group carries out research into the processes controlling air pollution in urban environments and investigates methods of managing or mitigating its effects. We also provide air quality monitoring and consultancy services to government and industry throughout NZ.

Group manager, Dr Guy Coulson, says three new staff will substantially boost NIWA’s capacity to conduct scientific research and commercial consultancy work. The group will now have six scientists based in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch, supported by a three-person strong technical team based in Auckland. The team is Jeff Bluett, Tom Clarkson, and Guy Coulson with newcomers Perry Davy, Ian Longley, and Gustavo Olivares, supported by Lou Reddish, Sally Gray, and Jeremy Hunt.