Category: Air-pollution

Beijing under red alert

7/12/2015

Sunny day in Beijing with light pollution

Chinese authorities have issued a first ever red alert for their nation’s capital because of the toxic smog that has descended on it. The city has just had a reprieve from an orange alert because of smog and now faces three to four days of increased hazard. The hope is that a wave of cold air will help to clear the hazard.

A cold front may dissipate the gunk, but it is also the winter weather that contributes to increased air pollution as coal fired heating plants gear up.

The state has taken precautions to keep children from venturing outside by advising schools from kindergarten to graduation to remain closed for the duration. Outdoor construction in some areas has been suspended, some industrial plants have been shut down or on reduced production and cars are being allowed into the city on alternating days, determined by their license plate number.

The official Chinese news service, Xinhua News, has published photos taken showing the blackened sky in Beijing. There is no time stamp on the photos, but some show shoppers walking with groceries as well as cyclists so I assume the black sky is due to the massive pollution.

China is the world’s heaviest polluter, partly because of its heavy dependence on coal. The manufacture of cement also contributes particulate matter as well as copious amounts of carbon dioxide to the air. Other areas in the northeast are suffering with poor air quality as well. Harbin, the capital of Heilonjiang Province is enclosed in smog.

A traveller’s account of landing in Beijing and proceeding to the airport terminal illustrates the pervasive nature of the Chinese smog.

It can be so intense that inside visibility is reduced to a few dozen meters. It is a sensation unlike any other, which gives a traveler the sense of impending suffocation or drowning. Forex TV

At the climate conference in Paris, the Chinese delegates have vowed to start reducing their carbon footprint by 2030. In the meantime massive amounts of particulate matter and noxious gases are entering the shared atmosphere.

Sources:
BBC News
Xinhua News
Forex TV

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Pollution crisis in China eases as weather cools

16/11/2015

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Residents of Beijing and the north east part of China have had their first air pollution crisis of the winter ease with a cold front moving through the area. The new cold weather and winds has swept some of the filthy air out over the Pacific.

N. America will receive a blast of coal generated pollution from Asia in a few days.

The Chinese national observatory reduced the smog warning from yellow alert(second highest). Their alert levels are instituted at levels different from those recommended by the World Health Organization for air pollution. WHO recommends that exposure to the very tiny particles in pollution – those 2.5 microns or smaller – be limited to an average of 10 micrograms per cubic metre. Beijing issues air pollution alerts when pollution levels reach 35 micrograms per cubic metre.

"Increases in risk are apparent in the city with the next-lowest long-term PM2.5 mean (i.e. 14.9 µg/m3 ), indicating that health effects can be expected when annual mean concentrations are in the range of 11–15 µg/m3" . WHO

Over the past week Beijing residents have been exposed to an average of 190 micrograms of the harmful tiny particles. Beijing is not the hardest hit area. Northeast of the capital, Shenyang has recorded as much as 1400 micrograms per cubic metre.

The government agencies responsible for health have advised that the very young and very old stay inside as much as possible and that people wear face masks when venturing outside. Unfortunately the 2.5 micron or less sized particles are not filtered out by ordinary gauze masks.

The air pollution is made worse as the winter progresses. China’s leading source of energy is coal. While the laws mandate pollution controls on stacks, it often is not done or enforced.
Air pollution can initiate or make worse heart disease, stroke and cancers. In addition to the air pollution that China is wrestling with, an estimated 60% of the country’s aquifers are polluted and unsafe. Some sources estimate that air pollution kills about 4000 Chinese every day.

Many countries have become addicted to coal for industrial purposes. Some are moving away from that fossil fuel to using shale gas. Another source of energy is nuclear. Neither is without serious environmental problems.

Sources:
Guangdong News
China Daily
World Health Organization

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VW caught cheating loses billions in corp value

23/9/2015

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Are the new beetles dirty bugs?

Volkswagen has admitted to cheating by altering software on millions of diesel vehicles to falsify emission readings. The software on about 11 million vehicles altered the readouts for VWs sold in the US. Other countries may also have been sold the ‘doped’ vehicles. Europe and S. Korea are also launching investigations.

Apparently the software could switch the motors to a cleaner mode of operation when they were being tested for pollutants. On normal operations, the vehicles were reputed to be forty times more polluting.

The fallout of the rigging scandal has cost Volkswagen Corp. dearly. They have set aside $7.3 billion USD to pay for the legal costs that are expected to arise but perhaps more costly will be the public’s perception of a dependable car company.

Stock prices for the corporation have taken a major slide since the scandal broke. At the end of trading Tuesday VW stock had fallen 36%. While company executives have issued apologies, it may not be enough to stop the slide.

Further, sales of diesel vehicles which may have had doped software have been suspended in Canada and the US.

"Volkswagen Canada has issued a stop-sale order to our dealers for all of the affected vehicles pending resolution of this matter," company spokesman Thomas Tetzlaff" - CBC News

The affected vehicles that may be affected are as old as 2009 models. The 2015 models are also affected. Included are VW models Jetta, Golf, Beetle, Passat and Sportswagon. About one fifth of VWs sales in Canada are diesels.

Both environmental protection agencies in Canada and the US have stressed that the vehicles in question are not unsafe to drive, but they are emitting unsafe levels of pollutants. One of diesel’s exhaust emissions is benzene, a carcinogen. Criminal investigations have begun.

The troubles for VW continue as law firms in both countries have already begun organizing class action suits.

The Guardian has reported that the whistleblower who broke the scandal has intimated that more firms may have been involved with spoofing the EPA results and that it’s time that they are also looked at critically.

[Wednesday update - Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn resigns]

Sources:
Al Jazeera
CBC News
The Guardian

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Beijing under red alert

Pollution crisis in China eases as weather cools

VW caught cheating loses billions in corp value

Barbara McPherson

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