TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Title |
Synopsis |
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I. Subject Area: Environmental Policy and Regulation |
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1 |
Germany wants all batteries to be mercury-free by April 2001 |
German Environment Minister Juergen Trittin said that the German government has passed a new Battery Ordinance that would require all batteries to be practically mercury-free after April 2001. |
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2 |
Taiwan may give 5-year grace period on GMO labeling |
Taiwan's health department said it might give food manufacturers a grace period of up to five years before requiring all products made from genetically modified organisms (GMO) to be labelled. |
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II. Subject Area: Environmental Technology |
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3 |
Sensor uses DNA to detect presence of lead |
Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a simple and inexpensive method for lead detection that permits real-time, on-site detection of lead ions. |
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III. Subject Area: Environmental Health |
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4 |
Hands-free earpiece gives more radiation? |
Using a hands-free earpiece with a mobile phone may channel more microwave radiation into your head than holding the phone up to your ear, according to tests announced by Britain's Consumers' Association. |
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IV. Subject Area: General Environmental News |
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5 |
UK announces progress with ultra-low sulphur fuels |
The UK government has published a paper on ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD). The paper outlines the environmental objectives behind the switch to ULSD and explains how the ULSD programme has worked. |
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6 |
Joint development of fuel cell vehicles by Japanese and German companies |
The business daily Nihon Keizai reported that Mitsubishi Motors Corp, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd and Daimler Chrysler AG plan an alliance on development and mass production of fuel cell vehicles. |
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7 |
Largest thin-film solar system in US |
The General Services Administration (GSA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) commissioned the largest multi-celled thin-film solar power system in the US. |
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SUMMARY REPORT
Period Covered: 6 Nov 2000 to 12 Nov 2000
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Item 1 |
Germany wants all batteries to be mercury-free by April 2001 |
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Summary |
German Environment Minister Juergen Trittin said that a ccording to the new Battery Ordinance, mercury content in batteries would be limited to no more than 0.0005 percent of a battery's total weight.Germans used about 900 million batteries or 30,000 tons in 1998. It is estimated that a total of 3 tons of mercury in batteries, mostly micro-batteries used in cameras or toys such as musical greeting cards, are released to the environment each year. The new ordinance is designed to reduce the burden of heavy metals to the environment. |
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Reference |
International Environment Reporter, Vol. 23, No. 22 page 828 |
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Item 2 |
Taiwan may give 5-year grace period on GMO labelling |
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Summary |
Chen Lu-hung, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Food Sanitation said it was considering adopting voluntary labelling for three to five years in response to appeals by the industries for the deferment of the introduction of mandatory labelling on GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) products. GMO crops contain genes from another organism to provide attributes, such as resistance to herbicides or the ability to produce their own toxins to kill pests. The health authority had initially planned to complete detailed guidelines for labelling GMO foods and draft regulations that would require GMO farm products to meet government safety standards by the end of 2000. But the food industry had called for a grace period as the relevant safety standards and testing techniques were still not ready. Industry officials are also lobbying for a less stringent standard than the European Union on the maximum allowable GMO material in a product before labeling is required. The European Union requires labelling on products containing more than one percent of GMO ingredients. |
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Reference |
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Item 3 |
Sensor uses DNA to detect presence of lead |
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Summary |
Lead is a common environmental contaminant that can cause a host of health problems, particularly in children. Current techniques for lead detection require sophisticated equipment or complicated sample treatment. Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a simple and inexpensive method that permits real-time, on-site detection of lead ions. A unique feature of the lead sensors is that they consist of small pieces of DNA, the same basic building block of our genes. The lead sensor is environmentally safe and is an example of catalytic DNA-based biosensors for metal ions. The sensor combines the high metal ion selectivity of catalytic DNA with the high sensitivity of fluorescence detection. Because DNA is stable, cost-effective and easily adaptable to optical fibre and chip technology, the catalytic DNA system is an ideal candidate for real-time, remote sensing of lead in applications such as environmental monitoring, clinical toxicology and industrial process monitoring. |
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Reference |
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/11/001106060504.htm |
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Item 4 |
Hands-free earpiece gives more radiation? |
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Summary |
Using a hands-free earpiece with a mobile phone may channel more microwave radiation into your head than holding the phone up to your ear, according to tests announced by Britain's Consumers' Association (CA). Most tests have found that hands-free kits cut the amount of radiation entering the user's head. But the CA reported that tests on five types of cell phone and 10 different hands-free ear-piece kits showed the latter could transmit up to three and a half times as much radiation to users' head as the cell phone alone. The CA's tests found, however, that fitting a small ring of an iron-based compound called ferrite to the headset wire eradicated the extra radiation as the ferrite acts as a high impedance to the wave and reflects it back down the cable. |
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Reference |
http://www.newscientist.com/nsplus/insight/phones/giveusaring.html |
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Item 5 |
UK announces progress with ultra-low sulphur fuels |
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Summary |
UK's Treasury Minister Stephen Timms said that between 1997 and 1999, the fuel duty for ultra-low sulphur diesel was steadily cut relative to conventional diesel. In the space of two years, these duty differentials succeeded in converting the entire diesel market to the cleaner fuel, cutting emissions of the most damaging local air pollutants and enabling the introduction of new, pollution-reducing technology. The Minister's statement was with reference to the differentials delivering significant emissions savings (including an 8% reduction in urban particulate emissions) and stimulating the development of new pollution-reducing technology by diesel-vehicle manufacturers. The Minister also alluded to the government's commitment to tackling local air pollution, particularly emissions of particulates and nitrogen oxides, of which road transport is the biggest single source. In support of its stance, the government introduced a 1-pence differential for ultra-low sulphur gasoline on 1 Oct 2000. The ultra-low sulphur gasoline reportedly can be used in all vehicles that use unleaded gasoline. |
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Reference |
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Item 6 |
Joint development of fuel cell vehicles by Japanese and German companies |
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Summary |
The business daily Nihon Keizai reported that Mitsubishi Motors Corp, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd and Daimler Chrysler AG are expected to sign an agreement early next year for the joint development of fuel cell vehicles. The three companies would share development cost of more than 100 billion yen and aim to jointly develop and mass produce the vehicles within four or five years. Fuels cells, which produce electricity from hydrogen and oxygen, are seen as the ultimate successor to the internal combustion engine in the 21st century. DaimlerChrysler holds a 34 percent stake in Mitsubishi Motors. |
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Reference |
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Item 7 |
Largest thin-film solar system in US |
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Summary |
The General Services Administration (GSA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) commissioned the largest multi-celled thin-film solar power system in the US, which was installed at the GSA's Suitland, Maryland Federal Center. This solar power system is the latest addition to the Clinton Administration's Million Solar Roofs initiative, which has installed more than 100,000 solar roofs since 1997, nearly double the goal of 51,000 solar roofs by 2000. The 2,800-panel, 100 kW photovoltaic (PV) power system is a co-operative effort between DOE and GSA. The system, built on an abandoned cooling pond, produces electricity that is used in the facility's heating plant, thus reducing the amount of electricity purchased from the local utility. An educational kiosk describes the operation and provides current information on the amount of electricity generated by the system along with the corresponding emissions reductions. In addition to being part of the Million Solar Roofs initiative, the system also satisfies President Clinton's Executive Order 13123 that requires 2,000 solar energy systems to be installed on federal buildings by the end of this calendar year. Federal agencies have invested more than US$10 million into solar energy systems over the past three years, offsetting more than 16,000 million BTUs of energy generated by fossil fuels each year. |
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Reference |