TABLE OF CONTENTS
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S/N |
Title |
Synopsis |
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I. Subject Area: Environmental Policy and Regulation |
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1 |
Irish plastic bag levy becomes law |
Ireland's environmental levy on plastic shopping bags has been signed into law. |
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2 |
Philippines to regulate import of GMOs |
The Philippine government has approved guidelines to regulate imports of genetically modified plants and plant products by 1 Jul 2003. |
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3 |
Canada to reduce sulphur level in diesel |
Canadian Environment Minister announced a plan to reduce the sulphur content in diesel fuel by 95 percent. |
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II. Subject Area: Environmental Technology |
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4 |
Japan power body invents device to measure airborne pollutants |
The Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI) has developed a laser radar system that can measure trace pollutants in the atmosphere with high precision from the ground. |
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5 |
New product for testing safety of public drinking water receives US EPA approval |
A testing product, Colitag, manufactured by CPI International, has the ability to detect small amounts of E. coli bacteria in water samples. |
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III. Subject Area: Recycling and Green Energy |
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6 |
Scrap fridges to go to Germany |
Thames Waste Management (TWM) plans to export up to 100,000 scrap refrigerators a year to Germany for reprocessing. |
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7 |
Programme brings together producers and users of recyclable waste |
Civil engineers from Purdue University are creating a website that will display the names and locations of Indiana companies producing wastes that could be reused as raw materials for construction and transportation projects. |
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IV. Subject Area: General Environmental News |
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8 |
Warmer water changing Portugal fish species |
A researcher from the University of Lisbon said that rising water temperatures have dramatically changed the species of fish in Portugal's Tejo River estuary. |
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9 |
UV and PCBs can cause tumors even at sites not exposed |
The combination of sunlight and PCB exposure enhances the development of non-melanoma skin cancer on parts of the body not directly exposed to the sun, according to a University of Illinois study. |
SUMMARY REPORT
Period Covered: 1 Apr 2002 to 7 Apr 2002
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Item 1 |
Irish plastic bag levy becomes law |
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Summary |
Ireland's environmental levy on plastic shopping bags has been signed into law by their environment minister, Noel Dempsey, following a final consultation. Plastic bags are a visible and persistent component of litter in towns, the countryside and along Ireland's coastline. They impact on ecosystems, habitats and wildlife. It is estimated that around 1.2 billion plastic shopping bags are provided to consumers at retail outlets annually, equating to approximately 325 bags/person/year. Ireland hopes the levy will reduce the number of bags consumed. The levy applies at the point of sale in all retail outlets. Shop owners are now obliged to pass on the full amount of the levy as a charge to customers at the checkout. |
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Reference |
Environment Business Magazine, March 2002, Pg 8. |
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Item 2 |
Philippines to regulate import of GMOs |
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Summary |
The Philippines government has approved guidelines to regulate imports of genetically modified plants and plant products by 1 Jul 2003. The Agriculture Secretary, Leonardo Montemayor signed the administrative order governing the release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) for field testing, propagation and for direct use as food or feed. Under the administrative order, the government would prepare by 30 June 2003 a list of approved commodities that will be allowed into the country. After that date, any company importing a GMO not included in the list of the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) will be required to secure a permit. |
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Reference |
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15316/story.htm |
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Item 3 |
Canada to reduce sulphur level in diesel |
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Summary |
Canadian Environment Minister, David Anderson announced a plan to reduce the sulphur content in diesel fuel by 95 percent. The reduction is the first formal component of a progressive plan in place to reduce harmful emissions from vehicles, engines and fuels, and to improve air quality for Canadians. The Sulphur in Diesel Fuel Regulations will diminish the level of diesel fuel used in on-road vehicles to a maximum of 15 parts per million (ppm), a 95 percent reduction from the current limits of 500 ppm. The new regulations will significantly reduce air pollution in combination with other rigorous vehicle emissions requirements to be proposed early next year. Canada signed the ozone annex with the US last year, in which both nations committed to reduce smog-causing pollutants that create disastrous health and environmental problems. |
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Reference |
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Item 4 |
Japan power body invents device to measure airborne pollutants |
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Summary |
The Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI) has developed a laser radar system that can measure trace pollutants in the atmosphere with high precision from the ground. By using up to four lasers of different wavelengths, the radar system can measure airborne pollutants at the parts per billion level, which is about 10 times as precise as conventional ground-based systems. The device can also measure two pollutants at the same time. The institute plans to boost the precision of the system so that even air pollutants like mercury that are present at the parts per trillion level can be measured from the ground . |
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Reference |
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Item 5 |
New product for testing safety of public drinking water receives US EPA approval |
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Summary |
CPI International, a Santa Rosa, California firm, has received the US EPA's approval for Colitag, CPI's highly effective test method for public drinking water under the Total Coliform Rule. Colitag quickly detects small amounts of the potentially deadly E. coli bacteria in water samples. Importantly, Colitag has the critical ability to detect E. coli injured but not killed during water treatment that could present health risks, if not re-treated. Colitag will go mostly to public agencies for testing for E. coli in water systems, which include everything from drinking water and wastewater systems to public pools. |
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Reference |
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Item 6 |
Scrap fridges to go to Germany |
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Summary |
The UK Thames Waste Management (TWM) plans to export up to 100,000 scrap refrigerators a year to Germany for reprocessing, as domestic efforts to meet the Ozone Depleting Substances Regulation remain stalled due to the lack of finalised UK standards. Germany has been routinely removing CFCs and HCFCs from refrigeration equipment and insulation foam for several years and TWM plans to set up a UK operation once the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has finalised standards. Each year, around 3 million domestic and 500,000 commercial refrigerators reach the end of their lives in the UK. Since the beginning of the year, there have been no legal disposal options, so they are either being stored by their owners, local authorities or waste contractors or, not infrequently, fly-tipped. |
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Reference |
Environment Business Magazine, March 2002, Pg 6. |
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Item 7 |
Programme brings together producers and users of recyclable waste |
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Summary |
Cities and counties in Indiana that are looking to use recycled materials in projects are getting a helping hand from civil engineers at Purdue University. The engineers are creating a website that will display the names and locations of Indiana companies producing wastes that could be reused as raw materials for construction and transportation projects. The materials include foundry sands left over from casting, fly ash and coal ash, rubber tyres, waste concrete, and crushed glass. The website also provides information on what wastes can be used for specific projects. |
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Reference |
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Item 8 |
Warmer water changing Portugal fish species |
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Summary |
A researcher from the University of Lisbon said that rising water temperatures have dramatically changed the species of fish in Portugal's Tejo River estuary, the biggest in Western Europe. Global warming had caused such cold-water species as flounder and red mullet to almost disappear in the last two decades. At the same time, warm-water fish such as Senegal sea bream, common to North African waters, and dogfish have increased vastly. Many scientists believe that polluting gases, such as carbon dioxide, trap the sun's heat and make the Earth warmer. The Tejo's surface temperature has risen more than one degree Celsius from 1980 to 1996. |
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Reference |
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15253/story.htm |
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Item 9 |
UV and PCBs can cause tumors even at sites not exposed |
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Summary |
The combination of sunlight and PCB exposure enhances the development of non-melanoma skin cancer on parts of the body not directly exposed to the sun, according to a University of Illinois study. In the study, researchers exposed a group of mice for 77 days to soil from a Southern Illinois landfill site contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans, a PCB byproduct. Some of the mice were then exposed five days a week for 28 weeks to solar ultraviolet radiation. The PCB-sunlight combination led to a rapid growth of non-melanoma tumors on the non-light-exposed undersides of the mice. The tumors were slow growing and have low malignant potentials. PCB-exposed mice kept out of the light did not develop such tumors. |
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Reference |