Environment Report 31 Jul 2000 to 6 Aug 2000

TABLE OF CONTENTS

S/N	Title		Synopsis
I. Subject Area: Environmental Technology
1	UV radiation for cleaner, greener, safe water		Researchers at the University of North Carolina say UV radiation can become an environment-friendly alternative water disinfection method.
2	Nutshells and tyres can clean up mercury emissions		Researchers at the University of Illinois have come up with a way to use old tyres and pistachio shells to remove mercury emissions from power plants.
II. Subject Area: Environmental Management
3		US EPA's move to reduce emissions from heavy-duty trucks and buses		The US EPA has issued a final rule to reduce harmful diesel emissions from heavy-duty trucks and buses.
4		Australian New Zealand Food Standards Council's labelling scheme for foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs)		Australian food and consumer groups have welcomed the Australian New Zealand Food Standards Council (ANZFSC) decision to tighten rules on the labelling of foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
III. Subject Area: Environmental Health
5		Nappy manufacturers plan standardised tributyltin (TBT) testing procedure		Following a report on the presence of TBT in disposable nappies, manufacturers have begun talks with several European laboratories in an effort to agree on a standardised test for TBT.
IV. Subject Area: Recycling and Waste Minimisation
6		Greater demand for recycled aluminium in 2000		Demand for scrap aluminium has trended upward since the mid-1990s and, despite a slowdown in recent years, is rebounding again in 2000.

SUMMARY REPORT

Period Covered : 31 Jul 2000 to 6 Aug 2000

Item 1	UV radiation promises cleaner, greener, safe water
Summary	Researchers at the University of North Carolina say that UV radiation can be used to protect drinking water from potentially deadly parasites and other harmful microorganisms. Parasites like Cryptosporidium parvum, which get into reservoirs and rivers through infected faeces, are hard to kill. Filtering them out or preventing them from getting into reservoirs have been the two most common approaches to protection until now. Cryptosporidiosis caused by Cryptosporidium can be deadly to the elderly, infants and people with weakened immune systems such as HIV/Aids or cancer patients. UV radiation has now been shown to damage the DNA that instructs the single celled parasite to multiply in mammalian intestines, causing the diarrhea, stomach cramps and low fever symptomatic of cryptosporidiosis. UV radiation is also effective against giardia, bacteria and other microorganisms. As an added environmental benefit, the use of UV can also eliminate disinfection byproducts (DPBs) - potentially cancer-causing leftovers of the chemicals now used to disinfect tap water.
Reference	http://www.ens-news.com

Item 2

Nutshells and tyres can clean up mercury emissions

Summary

Researchers of the University of Illinois have come up with a way to use old tyres and pistachio shells to remove mercury emissions from power plants, which are one of the largest anthropogenic sources of mercury emissions. Activated carbon adsorbents made from the tyres and shells work as well as or better than current commercial products and might even be cheaper to produce. In a collaborative research programme, the researchers prepared adsorbents from a variety of feedstocks, including Illinois high sulphur coal, waste tyres and pistachio shells. The adsorbents were then evaluated for their effectiveness in removing two forms of mercury emissions - elemental mercury and mercuric chloride - from several different stimulated combustion gas streams.

It was found that mercury removal was affected by both the properties of the adsorbent and the flue gas compositions. The tyre and pistachio carbons had nearly five times larger capacity for the adsorption of mercuric chloride than their coal-derived counterpart.

Reference

http://www.ens-news.com

Item 3

US EPA's move to reduce emissions from heavy-duty trucks and buses

Summary

The US EPA has issued a final rule to reduce harmful diesel emissions from heavy-duty trucks and buses.

The rule is part of the agency's two-part strategy to improve vehicle engines and have cleaner diesel fuel in the U.S. market. It deals exclusively with making truck engines cleaner by requiring them to emit 40% less air pollution by 2004.

The second phase of the programme, which will be issued by the end of the year, will require cleaner diesel fuel and even cleaner engines by 2007, reducing air pollution from trucks and buses by another 90%.

When both rules take effect, trucks and buses will be almost as clean as vehicles run on alternative fuels such as natural gas.

Reference

http://www.planetark.org

Item 4

Australian New Zealand Food Standards Council's labelling scheme for foods containing genetically modified organisms

Summary

Australian food and consumer groups have generally welcomed a compromise decision by the Australian New Zealand Food Standards Council (ANZFSC) to tighten rules on the labelling of foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The ANZFSC had earlier rejected a plea from food manufacturers to introduce a one percent GMO threshold in food before requiring labels.

The ANZSF has now made four exemptions for the labelling of food containing GMOs:

highly refined food where the refining process removed DNA and proteins;

processing aids and food additives where novel DNA and protein was not present in the final food;

flavours in a concentration of 0.1 percent or less; and

food prepared at the point of sale.

The new standard also allows for up to one percent of unintended presence of GMO material.

Reference

http://www.planetark.org

Item 5

Nappy manufacturers plan standardised tributyltin testing procedure

Summary

Manufacturers of disposable nappies (diapers) have begun talks with several European laboratories in an effort to agree on a standardised test for tributyltin (TBT).

The first meeting between industry representatives and laboratories took place after Greenpeace announced in May that tests showed the presence of TBT, a toxic and endocrine-disrupting chemical, in several brands of nappies sold in Germany.

It is thought that TBT can be found in plastics that are formed with dibutyltin (DBT) as a catalyst because the catalyst is often contaminated with TBT from the outset.

The types of materials in nappies which can contain TBT are the "nonwoven topsheet" which has contact with the skin, as well as elastics and glues.

Reference

http://www.ends.co.uk

Item 6	Greater demand for recycled aluminium in 2000
Summary	Demand for scrap aluminum has trended upward since the mid-1990s and, despite a slowdown in recent years, is rebounding again in 2000. The auto industry is one of the biggest users of aluminium scrap, and has been incorporating an increasing percentage of the light-weight metal in the design of their vehicles. Over 90 percent of a retired vehicle gets recycled, and will add to secondary aluminium supplies as it costs about 95 percent less to remelt used aluminum than to process primary aluminum from its ores. Another big user of recycled aluminum is the beverage can industry, where more than 60 percent of used cans have been recycled for the last 11 years.
Reference	http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=7659

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Item 2	Nutshells and tyres can clean up mercury emissions
Summary	Researchers of the University of Illinois have come up with a way to use old tyres and pistachio shells to remove mercury emissions from power plants, which are one of the largest anthropogenic sources of mercury emissions. Activated carbon adsorbents made from the tyres and shells work as well as or better than current commercial products and might even be cheaper to produce. In a collaborative research programme, the researchers prepared adsorbents from a variety of feedstocks, including Illinois high sulphur coal, waste tyres and pistachio shells. The adsorbents were then evaluated for their effectiveness in removing two forms of mercury emissions - elemental mercury and mercuric chloride - from several different stimulated combustion gas streams. It was found that mercury removal was affected by both the properties of the adsorbent and the flue gas compositions. The tyre and pistachio carbons had nearly five times larger capacity for the adsorption of mercuric chloride than their coal-derived counterpart.
Reference	http://www.ens-news.com

Item 5	Nappy manufacturers plan standardised tributyltin testing procedure
Summary	Manufacturers of disposable nappies (diapers) have begun talks with several European laboratories in an effort to agree on a standardised test for tributyltin (TBT). The first meeting between industry representatives and laboratories took place after Greenpeace announced in May that tests showed the presence of TBT, a toxic and endocrine-disrupting chemical, in several brands of nappies sold in Germany. It is thought that TBT can be found in plastics that are formed with dibutyltin (DBT) as a catalyst because the catalyst is often contaminated with TBT from the outset. The types of materials in nappies which can contain TBT are the "nonwoven topsheet" which has contact with the skin, as well as elastics and glues.
Reference	http://www.ends.co.uk