Table of Contents

 

S/No

Title

Synopsis

I. Subject Area: Public Health

1

Pesticide residues too high in children's food

US Consumers Union says favourite children's foods like apples and grapes have high levels of toxic pesticide residues.

2

Banned pesticide, Chlordane found in foods

According to a report by the American Chemical Society, the banned pesticide, Chlordane that was introduced more than 50 years ago, is showing up in foods.

II. Subject Area : Environmental Technology

3

New process reduces POPs to methane

A waste disposal company in Kwinana, Western Australia developed a new process that effectively reduced persistent organic pollutants to methane, hydrochloric acid and low-weight hydrocarbons.

4

Computer model predicts toxic algal outbreaks

A researcher from the Adelaide University has developed a new computer model that can predict outbreaks of toxic blue-green algae in Australia.

III. Subject Area : Environmental Management

5

Environmental management systems have potential to address critical environmental issues

A study conducted by the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment and Security, in California, concludes that environmental management systems like ISO14001 can prove to be a force for substantially improving organizations' environmental standards.

IV. Subject Area : General Environmental News

6

Rapid car growth threatens Europe's CO2 plans

Rapid car growth and ownership and transport operations in general are threatening to undermine European efforts to curb CO2 emissions.

SUMMARY REPORT

Period Covered: 5 Jun 2000 to 11 Jun 2000

Item 1

Pesticide residues too high in children's food

Summary

The U.S. Consumers Union in an update to its 1999 report on food safety, concluded that pesticide residues in foods children eat every day often exceed safe levels. In the report, Consumers Union said Dursban, the most commonly known brand name of chlorpyrifos, was found in 22 foods tested by US Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s Pesticide Data Programme (PDP) from 1994 through 1998.

The group, which publishes the Consumer Reports magazine, said its conclusions were based on an independent analysis of the USDA's 1998 tests of thousands of fruit and vegetable samples, domestic and imported, fresh and processed, for pesticide residues. It found that some foods contained high levels of relatively toxic residues, including winter squash, peaches, apples, grapes, pears, green beans and spinach, as well as strawberries and cantaloupe.

The group said parents should not stop feeding their children fruits and vegetables, and offered some tips on limiting exposure to pesticides by peeling the fruit and washing it well before eating.

Reference

http://www.planetark.org

Item 2

Banned pesticide Chlordane found in foods

Summary

According to a report by the American Chemical Society, a banned pesticide that was introduced more than 50 years ago is showing up again. Chlordane, considered a persistent organic pollutant (POP) because its half-life in soil is 22 years, was used to control termites and other insects, until it was banned by the USEPA in 1988. The compound accumulates in the human body and can lead to digestive and nervous system disorders.

12 vegetables included in a study were found to have absorbed varying degrees of the compound. Fruits do not seem to be similarly affected, according to previous research. The main recommendation is to wash the food thoroughly before eating.

Reference

http://www.gnet.org

 

 

 

Item 3

New process reduces POPs to methane

Summary

A waste disposal company in Kwinana, Western Australia developed a new high-temperature gas-phase system that can effectively reduce persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as PCBs, DDT, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), dioxins and furans, to methane, hydrochloric acid and small amounts of low-weight hydrocarbons. The primary chemical reactions of the new system involved the breaking down of the hydrocarbon structure. The resulting carbon was then hydrogenated to form methane. The hydrochloric acid produced in the reaction was neutralised with caustic during initial quenching of the product gas and the light hydrocarbons were stripped with a steam heated oil stripper or consumed during the combustion of the product gas.

Reference

Hydrocarbon Processing, April 2000, Page 39

 

 

 

Item 4

Computer model predicts toxic algal outbreaks

Summary

A researcher from the Adelaide University has developed a new computer model that can predict the outbreaks of toxic blue-green algae in the Murray, Australia largest river four weeks before they occur.

The researcher used a special computer modelling process called the artificial neural network to enable the computer to learn the major factors which contribute to an algal outbreak and to predict the algal blooms before they occur. The model took into account a range of environmental factors such as the nutrients levels, the flow and temperature of the water and the turbidity and colour of the water in the river.

The blue-green algae with its associated toxins pose a major water quality problem. The model is helping the industry take appropriate action to tackle the problem, resulting in savings in time and cost.

Reference

http://www.enn.com/

 

 

 

 

Item 5

Environmental management systems have potential to address critical environmental issues

Summary

The Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment and Security, a non-profit research group in California, assessed the future of the environmental management systems (EMS), including ISO 14001. They concluded that environmental management systems could be a force for substantially improving organizations' environmental standards.

Environmental Management Systems are management structures that help an organization to manage, measure and improve the environmental aspects of its operations. ISO 14001 is the dominant EMS in the world today. The research group concluded that EMS could be a valuable tool for addressing environmental issues that are not easily addressed through current regulatory regimes, such as non-point source pollution and climate change because they emphasized holistic efforts to address environmental performance instead of reactive, single media, end-of-pipe strategies. They also concluded that effective EMS could allow regulators to focus their limited resources more on industry laggards.

Reference

http://www.enn.com/

 

 

 

Item 6

Rapid car growth threatens Europe's CO2 plans

Summary

Rapid growths in car ownership and transport operations in general are threatening to undermine European efforts to curb CO2 emissions. Current trends indicate that CO2 emissions will increase by 8% by 2008, rather than reducing by that amount, as foreseen in the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gases.

The European Parliament has endorsed a draft legislation that will introduce a system for monitoring CO2 emissions from new cars using data on registrations and estimates of emissions based on the models' emission performance in average use.

Reference

Environment Business News, June 2000, Page 3.
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