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Industrial emissions data free
on web
Agreements’ between local communities and the
factories in US
Gel carpet to clean
up pollution spills
Sperm counts down due to air pollution
Vitamins C and E protect lungs from pollution
Plants act as 'pollution hoovers'
Passive smoking endangers the heart
Good neighbourliness
‘Good Neighbour Agreements’ between local communities and the
factories in their midst are now commonplace in the US. The agreements
nearly always include:
• setting up a liaison group
• giving the community access to company information expressed in
easy-to-understand terms
• giving the community the right to inspect the facility as well
as the factory’s contingency plans for accidents, and
•the factory operators committing themselves to higher pollution
and behaviour standards than are legally required.
They have also included declarations to employ local people wherever possible,
as well as agreed sanctions against the operator should they break the
agreement. The UK’s first Good Neighbour Agreement was signed between
the community of Douglas (Scotland) and waste incinerator Dundee Energy
Recycling in Summer 2000.
For more information contact: Eurig Scandrett, Friends of the Earth Scotland,
72 Newhaven Road, Edinburgh EH6 5QG Tel.: 0131 554 9977 Fax: 0131 554
8656 email: escandrett@foe-scotland.org.uk
uk
(7403-05) Warmer Bulletin 1.9.00 p15
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Industrial emissions data free on
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Although it only reports data already published by the UK’s Environment
Agency, Friends of the Earth’s Factory Watch website has made the
public generally more aware, and less supportive, of the UK’s chemical
industry. Its success is probably due to the fact that is has ‘humanised’
the dry emissions data reported to the Environment Agency by the factories
by explaining the potential health effects of the emissions in each case.
The UK Chemical Industry Association admits that support has fallen since
the website went live, particularly in communities living near the filthiest
factories.
Check out website: www.foe.co.uk/factorywatch
(entering your postcode brings up a pollution map of your area).
(7462-63) Environmental Science &
Technology 1.5.00 p207A
Drs. Donald Eagland and Nicholas Crowther of the University of Bradford have developed a gel to clean up pollution spills. The 'hydrogel' is 97.5% water and 2.5% polymer and absorbs oil and water. In doing so it thickens into a mat which can then be rolled up like a carpet and removed. The new gel is 1,000 times stronger than other gels of its kind and can be adapted to other applications, e.g. antiseptic/antibiotic wound dressings.
(6353-54) Roger Highfield. Daily Telegraph
Wendie Robbins and colleagues (University of California & Los Angeles (US)) have now shown that exposure to air pollution significantly affects the fertility of sperm. Young men appear to be more affected by air pollution than older men. Thankfully, the effect is temporary. When the men were re-tested in a less polluted environment six months later, the quality of their sperm had improved.
(6061-63) Environmental Health Perspectives 1.11.99 p542 Original research: Robbins,WA et al. Environmental Epidemiology and Toxicology 1999; 1:125-31
US research has shown that both vitamins C and E can protect the lungs against the effects of environmental pollution. Vitamin C was better at protecting against some gases, while vitamin E was better against others. Used together they were found to help prevent bronchitis, asthma and emphysema by protecting against damage to the lung lining.
Ed. Foods high in vitamin C: blackcurrants, parsley, kale, broccoli, green peppers and brussel sprouts. Foods high in vitamin E: wheatgerm, soya bean and sunflower oils.
(941) Alternatives in Health 1.12.95 p 12
Researchers have discovered that certain tropical and flowering plants reduce concentrations in the air of the ‘big bad three’ pollutants formaldehyde, benzene and trichloroethylene by up to 90%. To give three examples: spider plants and Boston ferns have a taste for formaldehyde; peace lilies absorb trichloroethylene; and English ivy and chrysanthemums eat up benzene.
Plants literally ‘hoover up’ air pollutants, including cigarette smoke and possibly radon, whilst microbes around plant roots destroy harmful viruses, bacteria and chemicals.
(1235) Jean Barilla. Health News & Review 1.1.96 p15
32,046 women were selected from the Nurses Cohort Study on the basis that they had never smoked and had no history of coronary heart disease, cancer or stroke. In 1982 they completed a questionnaire about their health and exposure to tobacco smoke. Of the 25959 women exposed to smoke 59% were exposed occasionally and 41% were exposed regularly.
By 1992 there had been 127 non-fatal and 25 fatal heart attacks. When these were divided between the two groups it showed that women exposed occasionally to smoke had a 58% higher risk of heart disease whilst the women exposed regularly ran a 91% higher risk. Previously the risk was thought to be about a third higher.
The study showed that ‘second-hand smoke’ endangers the heart by reducing oxygen supply and damaging the arteries. Significant damage can result from as little as one hour’s exposure over a regular period.
The legal implications of the findings are likely to be far-reaching. There are thousands of passive smokers who may wish to sue the tobacco industry, their employers, and even those who smoke at desks next to them at work.
The UK charity Action on Smoking & Health (ASH) welcomes the research as additional evidence of the need to restrict smoking in public places.
(2018-19) Peter Moore. Lancet 31.5.97
p1606
(2252) Tunku Varadarajan. Times 21.5.97
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