Environment Report 17 Jan 2000 to 23 Jan 2000

TABLE OF CONTENTS

S/N	Title			Synopsis
I. Subject Area: Environmental Technology
1		Raising chickens without antibiotics	A researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has developed a method of raising chickens without the use of antibiotics as a growth promoter. The method uses antibodies to peptide neurotransmitters cultivated in the yolks of chicken eggs instead.
2		Turning waste tyres into activated carbon	Research at the Illinois State Geological Survey and the University of Illinois has shown that it is feasible to produce tyre-derived activated carbon for removing pollutants from air and water.
3		Monitoring system for motor vehicular emissions	Researchers at the Imperial College are developing a system capable of real-time measurements of pollutants like ammonia, toluene, benzene, NOx and SOx in vehicular exhausts.
4		Sound waves can reduce particle pollution	Madrid researchers have discovered that sonic energy directed at an aerosol causes the fine particles of less than 2.5 mm in size to agglomerate into larger particles, making them easier to remove from the flue gas.
II. Subject Area : Global Environmental Issues
5		France unveils plan to fight global warming	The French government adopted proposals aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent by 2010 to meet France's obligations under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on climate change. The measures include an energy consumption tax on industries and emission credit trading of greenhouse gases.
III. Subject Area: Environmental Pollution
6		Two programmes improve Mexico City's air quality	Pollution data disclosed by Mexico City authorities show that 1999 was the least-dirty year of the decade, due mainly to two programmes to improve air quality.
IV. Subject Area: General Environmental News
7		US - EU row over aircraft noise	US has requested international regulators like the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to oppose a new European Union (EU) regulation on aircraft noise that would bar many older U.S planes from using European airports.
8		Italian car bans result in sharp drops in particulate levels	Sharp drops in levels of particulate as a result of traffic bans in Milan and other Italian cities, have shown that traffic is a major source of particulate pollution in Italy.

SUMMARY REPORT

Period Covered : 17 Jan 2000 to 23 Jan 2000

Item 1	Raising chickens without antibiotics
Summary	There is increasing concern over the use of antibiotics in raising poultry and other livestock, which may have contributed to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains. Dr Mark Cook, a researcher from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, US has developed a way of raising chickens economically with fewer or no antibiotics. Antibiotics work as growth promoters because, by knocking out bacteria, they help prevent stimulation of the immune system. When a bird's immune system is stimulated by infection, immune cells release chemical messengers that cause muscle wasting and also cause the release of peptide neurotransmitters that suppress appetite. To get around the use of antibiotics, Dr Cook's method blocks the actions of the appetite-suppressing neurotransmitter peptides, which are produced in the gut, by using antibodies. To make the antibodies, the researchers inject chickens with small fragments of the peptides attached to larger carrier molecules. The birds secrete antibodies against the neurotransmitters, which are incorporated into the yolks of their eggs. The yolks are harvested without destroying the antibodies. The yolks are then powdered and added to chicken feed in small quantities.
Reference	http://www.gnet.org/

Item 2	Turning waste tyres into activated carbon
Summary	Each year, the U.S. discards about 242 million used tires. Only 20% of the waste tyres generated per year in the country are recycled or used for energy production. A new potential use for waste tyres may be as activated carbon for removing pollutants from air and water. Research at the Illinois State Geological Survey and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (ISGS/UIUC) has shown that it is feasible to produce tyre-derived activated carbon (TDAC). Its fixed carbon content (25% by mass) and low ash content (<5%) make tyre rubber a suitable raw material for activated carbon production. At the same time, the oils and gases (72% by mass yield) produced during tyre-rubber pyrolysis can be captured and used as a source of energy in the activation process. Interestingly, research has also shown that sulphur-impregnated carbons perform better than other materials in mercury removal. The influence of sulphur on the mercury adsorption capacity may be relevant to TDACs, since sulphur is used in the vulcanisation of tyres, and the sulphur is bound organically within the tyre's carbon matrix.
Reference	http://www.pollutiononline.com/

Item 3	Monitoring system for motor vehicular emissions
Summary	Researchers at Imperial College are developing a monitoring system capable of real-time detection of NOx, SOx, benzene, toluene and ammonia emissions from motor vehicles. The principle of detection is used in high-energy particle physics to determine complex small signals in a haystack of background signals. The system uses differential UV optical absorption of chemicals in the 200-270 nanometres (nm) range to detect the pollutants as many pollutants have characteristic absorption spectra in this wave length range. The system has a detection accuracy of up to 1 part per billion (ppb) for benzene over a path length of 30 metres. It is undergoing tests in a roadside location as well as in the laboratory. If the tests are successful, the monitoring system could be available for the market in the next few months.
Reference	Air Quality Management January 2000, Page 10

Item 4	Sound waves can reduce particulate pollution
Summary	A group of researchers at Madrid has found that bombarding particles with ultrasonic sound waves can cause the particles to agglomerate into large particles for easier removal from flue gases. Fine particles less than 2.5 mg/m³ in diameter are a major health concern and are difficult to remove from flue stacks. Such fine particles are also difficult to filter out using conventional technology. The researchers have found that acoustic transducers at a frequency of 10-20 kHz is able to reduce the number of fine particles by as much as 40%.
Reference	Air Quality Management January 2000, Page 10

Item 5

France unveils plan to fight global warming

Summary

The French government has adopted proposals aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent by 2010 to meet France's obligations under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on climate change. The Kyoto Protocol aims to cut emissions back to 1990 levels by 2010 and was signed by 83 governments.

French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin said that the package of 96 measures, including an energy consumption tax on industries due to take effect in 2001, would help fight global warming without harming business. However, France will monitor the implementation closely to ensure that the significant reduction in carbon emissions does not compromise the pursuit of strong growth.

The government said that industries that risk losing competitiveness because of the energy tax would be allowed to work on reducing their gas emissions rather than paying the tax. Firms unable to reach their emissions target could buy "emission credits" from businesses that are able to go beyond the required cuts.

Reference

http://www.planetark.org/

Item 6	US - EU row over aircraft noise
Summary	US has requested international regulators like the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to oppose a new European Union (EU) regulation that would bar many older U.S planes from using European airports. The EU law would ban from 2002 all non-EU aircraft fitted with hushkits that are not already operating in the EU bloc. The US wants ICAO to scrap the law, due to come into force in May 2000, which is aimed at reducing noise around congested European airports. The US insisted that the EU law discriminated against the older US planes. The EU had earlier written to the US to say that EU could postpone the "hushkit" regulation if the US showed that it was serious about negotiating international aircraft noise standards by Sep 2001. EU would only suspend the measure if the US agreed to new international norms that would supercede EU rules.
Reference	http://www.envirolink.org/environews/

Item 7	Two programmes improved Mexico City's air quality
Summary	Pollution data released by Mexico City authorities show that 1999 was the least-dirty year of the decade. Nevertheless ozone still exceeded acceptable levels on 300 days during 1999, although pollutants triggered emergencies on just five days. The downtrend in air pollution continued despite Mexico's mid-1990s economic crisis that made affording a new vehicle (which generally produce less pollution) more difficult. Also about 24% of the vehicles in Mexico City in 1999 were pre-1980 models which can emit as much as 70 times more pollutants than new models. The improvement in air quality can be attributed to two programmes to improve air quality implemented in the early 1990s by the local government. One is the "Today You Can't Drive" law, which takes 20% of all vehicles without catalytic converters off the road on any given weekday and as much as 40% on emergency days. Also in the early 1990s, lead was taken out of gasoline sold in the Valley of Mexico and the government doubled inspection of factories in 1999 and paid residents 10 cents for each tree planted in their premises that has been growing for at least a year.
Reference	http://www.pollutiononline.com/

Item 8

Italian car bans result in sharp drops in particulate levels

Summary

Traffic bans in Milan and other Italian cities prompted by high-levels of particulate (PM10) pollution have shown that traffic is a major cause of particulate pollution and resulted in renewed calls for traffic reduction.

Vehicles not fitted with catalytic converters, other than emergency vehicles and taxis were banned from Milan's roads for two days. This was followed by the imposition of a twelve-hour curfew on all privately owned motor vehicles. The move resulted in significant reductions in particulate pollution, which fell from 170 micrograms per cubic metre (mg/m³) to 35 micrograms per cubic metre (mg/m³) during the traffic ban period.

The particulates in question are PM10 or particles with a diameter of less than 10 microns. They are believed to cause chronic cardiovascular and respiratory problems. Italian environmental groups have been voicing growing concern over dangerously high concentrations of PM10. Last year, an EU directive introduced an air quality standard of 50 mg/m³ for PM10 for its member countries but it is not yet in force.

Reference

http://www.ends.co.uk/

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