Table of Contents
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S/No |
Title |
Synopsis |
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I. Subject Area : Environmental Technology |
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1 |
Steel maker improves its wastewater treatment |
Bethlehem Steel Corporation has developed a more efficient method of separating metallic waste from mill wastewater |
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II. Subject Area : Environmental Policies |
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2 |
California to phase out MTBE by 2002 |
The California Air Resources Board had announced a plan to ban methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) in petrol. |
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III. Subject Area : General Environmental News |
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3 |
US EPA releases information on chemicals for public information |
The US EPA has published health and environmental data on 2011 chemicals under the High Production Volume Chemical Challenge Program for public information. |
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4 |
Mexico City chokes on record air pollution levels |
Mexico City schoolchildren were kept indoors while factories were forced to cut output or shut down after air pollution hit record levels. |
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5 |
Australia sells Halon 1301 to US Defence Department |
Australians are questioning their Government on the sale of the most Halon 1301, an aggressive ozone depleting chemical to the US Defence Department. |
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6 |
Shell's emission trading scheme |
Royal Dutch/Shell has introduced an emission trading scheme for carbon dioxide among its companies around the world. |
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7 |
U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention allows toxic-exposure test |
The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has decided to allow federal health agencies to test the blood of people exposed to potentially toxic substances in an accident. |
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SUMMARY REPORT
Period covered: 31 Jan 2000 to 6 Feb 2000
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Item 1 |
Steel maker improves its wastewater treatment |
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Summary |
Environmental engineers at Bethlehem Steel Corporation have developed a more efficient method of separating metallic waste from mill wastewater. The rolling of steel products uses large quantities of cooling water. Wastewater from the roll-mill contains oil-coated mill scale, which must be removed from the water re-circulation system in order to prevent causing damage to the surface of the mill rolls or the steel product that is being rolled. The present filtering methods for removing the mill scale from wastewater are inadequate because the accumulation of oil on the scale often clogged the filters, severely reducing filtering efficiency. The patented Bethlehem process overcomes these shortfalls by using the somewhat unconventional combination of metal washers and magnetism inside a filtering apparatus through which the mill water is circulated. As the water enters the apparatus, it passes through the magnetized washers, which captures the metal scale. A high-pressure stream of air and water is then injected into the apparatus, separating the oily metal for treatment. After treatment, the de-oiled scale can be either filter-pressed for appropriate disposal or reused as sinter plant feed. |
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Reference |
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Item 2 |
California to phase out MTBE by 2002 |
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Summary |
The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has announced a new set of gasoline rules that will remove the additive methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) from reformulated gasoline without compromising the good air quality obtained from the state's cleaner-burning gasoline program. The new rules, known as the Phase 3 Gasoline Regulation, prohibit the formulation of gasoline with MTBE after December 31, 2002. MTBE is added to gasoline as an octane booster and as an oxygenate to reduce carbon monoxide formation. Unfortunately MTBE poses a threat to groundwater when underground fuel tanks leak because it is more difficult to remove from water than other components. Even trace amounts of MTBE in water will render drinking water unusable because of taste and odour problems. |
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Reference |
Water Technology, Vol. 23 No. 1, Jan 2000, Pg. 10 |
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Item 3 |
US EPA releases information on chemicals for public information |
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Summary |
As part of the U.S. EPA's commitment to respect the public's right to know about chemicals in their community, it is making available information on health and environmental data for 2,011 chemicals. Under the High Production Volume (HPV) Chemical Challenge Program, basic toxicity information is made available to the public on chemicals manufactured or imported into the United States in amounts exceeding one million pounds a year. The companies involved in the program use the same tests, testing protocols and information summary formats used by international agencies to present the basic toxicity information on HPV chemicals. |
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Reference |
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Item 4 |
Mexico city chokes on record air pollution levels |
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Summary |
Mexico City schoolchildren were kept indoors and factories were forced to cut output or close down after air pollution hit record levels on 31 Jan 2000. Particulate levels reached record levels and an environmental emergency was declared. The record pollution levels were blamed on shifting winds carrying smoke and particles from outlying industrial plants and agricultural fires into the city. The situation was aggravated by the emissions from the city's 3.5 million vehicles. Factories in the southeastern part of the city were ordered to cut back production by 30 to 60 percent and some 154 brickyards were shut down. . |
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Reference |
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Item 5 |
Australia sells Halon 1301 to US Defence Department |
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Summary |
Australia is selling 250 tons of Halon 1301 from its own Halon bank to the US Defense Department for $US5.5 million. The Halon sold to the U.S. Defense Department will be used in fire suppression and as an explosion retardant in enclosed spaces where human evacuation is impracticable - tanks, planes, and submarines. In Sep 1997, Australia called on the world to stop using Halons in fire protection systems, describing Halons as 16 times more potent than chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in depleting ozone. It was also illegal in Australia to have fire-fighting equipment containing Halons if an alternative was available. Defending the Halon sale, the Australia Government said it was a "one-off" sale and was within the spirit of the Montreal Protocol on Ozone Protection. It claimed that the sale represented a constructive Australian contribution to international efforts to maximise recycling of existing stocks of Halon 1301. The proceeds from the sale and other operations of the Halon bank would be directed to ozone protection activities. |
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Reference |
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Item 6 |
Shell's emission trading scheme |
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Summary |
Royal Dutch/Shell is introducing a new pilot emission trading scheme among its companies around the world. Under the scheme, emission permits, each worth 100 tonnes of carbon dioxide or its methane equivalent, would be traded among its companies. The permits would be based on 98 percent of the emissions in 1998, committing each company participant to make a two percent reduction by 2002. Shell Australia Ltd said that the most promising way for any refinery to reduce emission was to use energy more efficiently. Therefore, it would look at installing a co-generation plant at its Geelong refinery to meet its CO2 emission reduction target. |
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Reference |
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=5591&newsDate=1-Feb-2000 |
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Item 7 |
U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention allows toxic-exposure test |
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Summary |
The US' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has allowed federal health agencies to develop field testing of blood from people exposed to chemicals released during accidents. The tests will permit communities to routinely monitor thousands of people for exposure to more than 100 potentially toxic substances. In the case of chemical accidents, the tests will quickly determine whether the communities are affected by the exposure. CDC officials said the tests are needed to study the link between chemicals and disease and to identify regions of the country where Americans are exposed to cancer-causing substances. |
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Reference |