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Air Pollution

  • Ambient air quality and health hazards near mini cement plants

    Mandiakudar is a rural area near Rourkela, the steel city of Orissa. A large number of mini cement plants are in operation in and around Rourkela.

  • Tripping due to pollution: Experts

    As the sudden fog over Delhi and NCR on Sunday stumped most people, environmentalists and meteorological experts said this was possibly the outcome of extremely high levels of pollution.

  • Letter from the villagers of Nakrasota, P.S. Hirapur dated 11-03-2008

    Mass petition from the villagers of Nakrasota, P.S. Hirapur

  • Grid collapses again, blackout in Delhi areas

    Still to recover from the blackout that lasted several hours this past Friday, Delhi and its satellite towns were subjected to yet another power shutdown on Sunday morning as more than 37 supply lines

  • Efforts on to avert further power grid breakdown

    Teams of engineers are working 24x7 to prevent further breakdown of transmission lines of the northern grid though such breakdowns cannot be ruled out completely, say transmission officials.

  • Dust can kill (editorial)

    Days after the loading and unloading of coal at Berths 10 and 11 at the Mormugao Port was stopped by a series of agitations, the Goa Pollution Control Board has shown that both the suspended particulate matter (SPM) and the respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) in the area are much higher than the permissible limits. The RSPM, which can cause major health disorders, is over 60 per cent higher than the limit. Respirable suspended particulate matter (dust) is defined as particles 10 micrometres in size or smaller (PM10), which can settle in the lungs, causing serious health problems like asthma, lung cancer and heart disease. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) says particles smaller than 2.5 micrometres (PM2.5) can penetrate the gas-exchange areas of the lungs, and cause high plaque deposits in arteries, vascular inflammation and atherosclerosis, leading to heart disease. This happens even with short-term exposure at higher concentrations The very smallest particles

  • The fuel cell arrives

    It now delivers electricity, hot water to Japanese homes A prototype of a fuel cell battery for mobile phones, a file picture. Hiratsuka: Masanori Naruse jogs every day, collects miniature cars and feeds birds in his backyard, but he is proudest of the way his home and 2,200 others in Japan get electricity and heat water

  • Aviation generated pollution (editorial)

    By Wg Cdr N K Pant (Retd) Scientists estimate that the effect of aviation emissions on the climate is up to five times the impact of emissions occurring on the ground. The primary gas emitted by jet aircraft engines is carbon dioxide, which, scientists believe, can survive in the atmosphere up to 100 years. It means denying the coming generations from living in a world where they can breathe clean air, enjoy diverse ecosystems and eat healthy food. Some of the major airlines of the world seem to be lately realising the adverse role of their big passenger jets on climate changes on account of emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the engine-exhausts into the earth's atmosphere. In this context Virgin Atlantic's first flight of a commercial aircraft powered with bio-fuel from London to Amsterdam on February 24, 2008 to show it can produce less carbon dioxide than normal jet fuels was an appreciable endeavour. This particular flight was partially fueled with a bio-fuel mixture of coconut and babassu oil in one of its four main fuel tanks and is expected to produce much less CO2 than regular jet fuel. Since aircraft engines emit gases and particulates that reduce air quality, spearheading the test flight was indeed a potentially useful experiment aimed at cutting down emission of greenhouse gases. A few weeks prior to this, an airbus A 380 too had taken off on a similar test sortie, powered on a blend of regular fuel and liquid fuel processed from natural gas with the hope that the super jumbo will become a centerpiece of efforts to develop the next generation of cleaner fuel. Several airlines have also pledged to clean up their fleets as fears about global warming and fuel costs have mounted. The petrol and diesel driven vehicles leave harmful trails of smoke on the roads. Thousands of air turbine fuel (ATF) guzzling aeroplanes release tonnes of hazardous fumes into our biosphere daily. The increasing size of aircraft, the emission of black smoke during take-off, and the density of air traffic at major airports, have drawn environmentalists' attention to pollution by aircraft. A loaded jumbo 747, for instance, uses tens of thousands of litres of fuel on merely take-off. Pollution by aircraft arises from the jettisoning of spare fuel after being airborne. It must be released at a height sufficient to allow it to vaporise so that it does not reach the ground in liquid form. Commercial jet planes make a significant contribution to the problem of global warming. According to a UN report, aviation is responsible for over half of the pollution caused by transportation on the surface. In India the number of passenger and freight aircraft flown by private airlines is fast multiplying. The Indian Air Force is likely to increase its flying operations in the coming years. Its increasing use of supersonic combat aircraft flying at high altitudes may lead to increasing pollution of the upper air, where pollutants may accumulate since natural dispersion at such heights is not very effective. It is estimated that one multi-engine passenger aircraft is being added every fortnight to the fleets of India's domestic carriers that are engaged in cutthroat competition to fly to the remotest corners of the country. As a result, the number of aircraft flying the Indian skies has gone up considerably. Air Force, Army, Navy and the coast guard has more than 1,000 fighter jets, transport planes and helicopters kept aloft in routinely scheduled day and night flying.

  • Forbes gives city the dirty' tag

    Despite much talk of Delhi making the transition from

  • Pollution norms go up in smoke

    With nearly all residential societies, malls, offices and homes surviving on generator sets in Gurgaon, serious air pollution is but only inevitable. According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) sources, levels of particulate matter exceed prescribed limits for most of the day several times over in the city. An analysis in December 2005 revealed that against a prescribed limit of 80 micrograms/cubic metre, NO2 averaged 283 micrograms/cubic metre. PM10 was a whopping 721 micrograms/cubic metre against a limit of 100. The levels of CO shot up three times to 6,240 micrograms/cubic metre against the permissible limit of 2,000 in the evenings. The alarm bells started ringing then, and matters have only become worse since. According to CPCB, pollution from generator sets stands second only to vehicular pollution, and in a city like Gurgaon, which is completely generator-dependent, the situation is close to getting out of hand. Gensets emit dangerous gases like CO and NOx which have a terrible impact on health thanks to greater personal exposure levels.

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