Los Angeles Times
August 4, 2007
SCIENCE FILE
The chemicals used in cleanup efforts harm reefs more than the oil itself does, researchers say.
By Alison Williams
Times Staff Writer
Chemicals frequently used to clean up oil spills in marine environments turn out to be more toxic to coral reefs than the oil itself, researchers said this week.
Continue reading "Oil spill remedies toxic to coral, study finds" »
Jerusalem Post
Aug. 2, 2007
meredith price
Every night before Ron Shani's father dropped him off at the children's house in
Kibbutz Amiad, he would ask whether he wanted to hear a story about an inventive
patent or world news. "It didn't matter which one I picked, he always told me a
story about water," says Shani, 39, an engineer. "This is where my knowledge of
water originated. I grew up learning about water filters and solutions from my
father."
Jordan Times
By Hana Namrouqa
AMMAN -- The Ministry of Environment has instructed 16 farms in the Ghor to
relocate to areas removed from residential neighbourhoods after repeated
complaints of foul odours being emitted from their premises, a ministry
official said on Saturday.
Continue reading "16 dairy farms asked to relocate away from residential areas" »
Jordan Times
Aug. 5, 2007
Hani Hazaimeh
AMMAN -- The emergence of 11 diarrhoea cases over the weekend in the Rihab District of Mafraq does not constitute another water pollution crisis in the governorate, a district official said on Saturday.
Continue reading "'Rihab diarrhoea cases do not signal new water crisis' -- district official" »
Haaretz
July 30, 2007
By Ido Solomon
Workers at the building housing the Tel Aviv branches of government offices will launch labor sanctions this morning, in protest over Finance Ministry delays in fixing a faulty ventilation system and other problems they say constitute health hazards. The 1,700 workers will come to work, but will not provide services to the public, nor answer the phones.
Continue reading "Civil servants protest unhealthy work environment at TA government complex" »
Jordan Times
Jul. 30, 2007
Hani Hazaimeh
AMMAN -- The Water Authority on Sunday resumed pumping drinking water from 20 artesian wells to citizens in the northern governorates after lab tests indicated they were free of pollutants, a Water Ministry official said on Sunday.
Continue reading "Water Authority resumes pumping drinking water from 20 artesian wells" »
Haaretz
August 2, 2007
By Jack Khoury
From a distance, the eastern neighborhood of the Galilee village of Majdal Krum looks pastoral, its relatively new homes sitting along green hills. Yesterday at dusk, a lone horse was even wandering in the fields. To the south, the nearby villas of Karmiel come into view. But as you come closer, you quickly see why residents call it "Sewage Valley."
Continue reading "In 'Sewage Valley,' no solution in the pipeline" »
Haaretz
August 1, 2007
By Eli Ashkenazi
Interest in Lake Kinneret goes deeper and wider than its water level or its recreational aspects, as seen by Monday's seminar marking the establishment of the Authority for the Conservation of Lake Kinneret.
Continue reading "New authority seeks to conserve soil in Kinneret basin" »
Haaretz
August 2, 2007
By Haaretz Editorial
The many visitors to the Kinneret this summer are in for a disappointment. Most of the lake's shores are still surrounded by fences and an admission fee is charged. If this was not enough, entering some of the beaches is impossible because of pollution caused by raw sewage flowing into the water.
The Jerusalem Post
Aug. 1, 2007
rory kress
The Kinneret Basin Authority was established this week to protect the soil in the region surrounding Israel's largest freshwater source.
Lake Kinneret has long been an environmental concern due to its receding water level, and most recently, last week's forced closing of its public beaches due to sewage contamination of the water.
Continue reading "Kinneret Basin Authority formed to revive area" »
The Daily Star
July 25, 2007
By John Ehab
Special to The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The non-governmental organization Bahr Loubnan urged the Environment Ministry on Tuesday to remove polluted sand accumulated along Lebanon's shores during efforts to clean up an oil spill cause by an Israeli attack in 2006. An Israeli air strike on the Jiyyeh power plant during last summer's war spilled over 15,000 tons of crude oil into the Mediterranean, polluting much of Lebanon's coast.
Continue reading "Environmental group presses ministry to clear coastline of polluted sand" »
Haaretz
July 23, 2007
By Zafrir Rinat
Residents in Arab and Jewish communities near the Hilazon Stream in the Galilee are fed up with its sewage problem. Last week, they decided to share their troubles with National Infrastructures Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, sending him a petition describing how fecal sewage flows undisturbed into the stream, endangering their children's health. They demanded that Ben-Eliezer order the national sewage authority to immediately address the problem.
Continue reading "Galilee residents make a stink about sewage problems" »
Jerusalem Post
Jul. 24, 2007
RORY KRESS
Gidon Bromberg, founder and Israel director of Friends of the Earth Middle East, loves his job not just because it allows him to fight for the environment, but because it gives him an opportunity to build bridges between Israelis and Palestinians.
Continue reading "Cross-border efforts focus on greening Wadi Abu Nar" »
Arab Environmental Monitor
July 14, 2007
For the first time in its history, UNESCO World Heritage Programme had to take the bad decision of removing one site from its glamorous list of global natural wonders, and the site in question is an Arabian Oryx sanctuary in Oman.
Continue reading "A Negative Record: Arabian Oryx Sanctuary Removed from World Heritage List" »
Jordan Times
Jul. 17, 2007
Hana Namrouqa
AMMAN -- The government will introduce new regulations this month to regulate the practice of sandblasting to clean buildings, a government official said on Monday.
Continue reading " Sandblasting harmful to citizens' health, says government" »
Haaretz
July 19, 2007
By Zafrir Rinat
The Water Commission warns of possible exposure to poisonous fumes that could spread from polluted land and water sources on sites planned for construction projects in the Dan region, which includes Tel Aviv and Givatayim. Such plans include the "City Project," located in a major commercial and industrial area in the Givatayim municipality, just south of the diamond exchange. The Water Commission has been running tests of the ground water and land pollution levels in the Dan region for the past three years.
Continue reading "Poisonous fumes threaten building plans in Dan region" »
Al Jazeera (English)
July 15, 2007
By Farid Barsoum in the Nile Delta, Egypt
Some Egyptians have to walk
many kilometres to get clean water
A large puddle provides the only drinking water for many residents of Brulus on the Nile Delta. The water is putrid.
Jordan Times
Jul. 18, 2007
Hana Namrouqa
AMMAN -- The Ministry of Environment on Tuesday announced plans to establish a treatment plant for medical and hazardous waste in the Zarqa area.
The plan was announced during a workshop to discuss the ministry's 2007-2009 strategic plan.
Continue reading "Gov't to establish waste treatment plant in Zarqa" »
The Jerusalem Post
Jul. 19, 2007
RORY KRESS,
The mayors of Palestinian Baka a-Sharkiya (East Baka) and Israeli Baka al-Gharbiya (West Baka)-Jat signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday to protect Wadi Abu Nar, a stream that runs through both municipalities.
Continue reading "Exclusive: Palestinian, Israeli mayors battle pollution" »
MA'AN
July 19, 2007
JERUSALEM, 19 July 2007 (IRIN) - Two mayors - one Israeli and one Palestinian - signed a joint declaration on 19 July agreeing to improve cooperation between their towns in water and waste management as well as conservation.
Friends of the Earth Middle East
July 10, 2007
Six Mediterranean countries make the splash to clean up their Rivers
On Sunday, July 15th, six (6) Mediterranean countries will simultaneously JUMP into their local Rivers, joining the European bi-annual BIG JUMP event that calls on governments to take action in cleaning up their local waterways.
Ma'an News
July 12, 2007
BETHLEHEM - On July 15th, residents of six Mediterranean countries will simultaneously jump into their local rivers, joining its counterpart, the European bi-annual 'Big Jump' event, that calls on governments to clean up their local waterways.
Haaretz
July 14, 2007
By Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondent
Authorities on Saturday banned bathing at beaches near the Alexander River estuary after a routine inspection revealed its waters had been dangerously contaminated.
Continue reading "Bathing banned at 3 beaches due to water contamination" »
Haaretz
July 11, 2007
By Zafrir Rinat
Two years ago, the Elcon Recycling Center wastewater treatment plant in Haifa Bay received the approval of the Environmental Protection Ministry to transfer hypersaline waste (fluids that contain unusually high concentrations of salt) to treatment pools in an industrial zone in the Galilee region. The ministry later received data that indicated that Elcon's purification process had failed to rid these brine-like substances of dangerous pollutants. Transport of the hypersaline waste to the Galilee was halted. The ministry now maintains it is taking action to remove this environmental hazard.
Jordan Times
June 13, 2007
Feynan Eco-lodge gets commendation as Best Overseas Tourism Project
The lodge at Wadi Feynan sits deep in the mountains of Jordan’s southern Rift Valley (Photo courtesy of the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature)
By Linda Hindi
AMMAN — As Jordan advances in the global ecotourism sector, the Feynan Eco-lodge in the Dana Reserve has received an international commendation under the title “Best Overseas Tourism Project”.
Arab Environment Monitor
Friday, June 29, 2007
By Batir Wardham
A 47-nation survey finds global public opinion increasingly wary of the world's dominant nations and disapproving of their leaders. Anti-Americanism is extensive, but also the growing global concern of environmental threats.
Continue reading "Environmental Concerns rising in global Pew Survey except in Arab Region!" »
Jordan Times
July 1, 2007
Mohammad Ghazal
AMMAN -- The government has issued instructions to the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company (JPRC) to improve the quality of its diesel, which contains a high ratio of lead that is harmful to the environment, Minister of Environment Khalid Irani said on Sunday.
"The Cabinet recently took a decision to commit the JPRC to set a clear and time-specific schedule for improving the quality of its diesel, which contains lead levels that are much higher than international and local standards," Irani told The Jordan Times.
Continue reading "Gov't instructs JPRC to improve diesel quality" »
Jordan Times
Jul. 1, 2007
AMMAN -- Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit on Saturday said the government will pursue efforts to solve environmental problems in Fuheis, mainly caused by the presence of the Jordan Cement Factories Company (JCFC) in the city.
During a meeting yesterday with Vice Chairman of the French La Farge Company Eric Meuriot, the premier voiced hope that La Farge would work out drastic solutions for the environmental problems and stabilise cement prices.
Continue reading "Gov't to pursue efforts to solve environment problems in Fuheis" »
Jordan Times
3 Jul 2007
The country’s 105 olive mills annually produce 200,000 cubic metres of olive vegetable water, which pollute the soil and water resources (Al Rai file photo)
By Mohammad Ghazal and Hana Namrouqa
AMMAN — The Environment Ministry will establish a pilot plant by the end of this year to treat the liquid residue of the olive-pressing process, as it pollutes the soil and water resources.
Continue reading "Pilot plant to treat olive vegetable water" »
Haaretz
July 8, 2007
By Zafrir Rinat, Haaretz Correspondent
Tel Aviv area beaches could become heavily polluted due to repairs being done to a cracked sewage pipe in the city.
The Dan Municipal Union for Environment and Sewage, a body responsible for the transfer of sewage across the Gush Dan area, has identified a crack in one of the main sewage lines in northern Tel Aviv. If the crack is not repaired, the pipe could collapse, spilling large amounts of sewage into residential areas. However, while the pipe is being repaired, the sewage would be spilled into the sea, causing large-scale pollution to area beaches.
Continue reading "Repairs on cracked Tel Aviv sewage pipe could pollute beaches" »
The Jerusalem Post
Jul. 9, 2007
MATTHEW KRIEGER
Calling his new program "agriculture in service of the environment," Agriculture Minister Shalom Simhon on Sunday unveiled his ministry's plan to reward those farmers who demonstrate "eco-friendly" farming practices.
The Palestine Center
Edited transcript of a presentation by members of the Negotiation Support Unit of the PLO’s Negotiations Affairs Department on Water
“For the Record” No. 280 (27 June 2007)
At a 14 June 2007 Palestine Center briefing, Dr. Shaddad Attili, Mr. Fuad Bateh and Mr. John Murray of the Negotiations Support Unit of the PLO’s Negotiations Affairs Department, proposed a positive-sum approach for the resolution of the water crisis in the Middle East. As for the allocation of water, both on the political and topographical level, they maintained that an equitable allocation of water is not only essential for the establishment of a viable Palestinian state but will also help restore relations with Israel and its neighboring countries. They also emphasized the dire need for clean water in Gaza and the creation of a much needed desalinization plant. Ultimately, the question of a viable and sustainable Palestinian state and the long-term interests of all the water-sharing parties—Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syrian and Palestine—depends on a sound and just resolution to the water conflict.
Continue reading ""Palestinian Water Crisis: Bilateral and Regional Perspectives"" »
Haaretz
July 2, 2007
By Zafrir Rinat, Haaretz Correspondent
It will be difficult to meet projected water demand for 2008 if next winter's rainfall levels are similar to those of last winter, said the head of the Water Authority Council, Prof. Uri Shani.
Lecturing at the Hebrew University Faculty of Agriculture in Rehovot last week, Shani warned that Israel's water problems will worsen significantly in the coming years unless the production of desalinated water rises sharply. The lecture was not intended for media coverage.
Continue reading "Water Authority chief warns of possible shortage in 2008" »
Haaretz
June 27, 2007
By Tahal Frosh
The failure to rehabilitate land once used by a military factory is costing the state $1 billion in revenues. A seriously polluted 450-dunam (110-acre) plot in Herzliya's Nof Yam neighborhood used to be the site of an Israel Military Industries plant, and the Israeli Union for Environmental Defense is sponsoring legislation to get it cleaned up. The "green" advocacy organization says the state could make about $1 billion in betterment tax on the land if it were to be cleared for construction, based on the local norm of $5 million per dunam. The organization also estimates Herzliya's lost tax revenues at NIS 21 million annually. Developers could see net profits of $900 million from construction at the site.
Continue reading "State delays rehab of severly polluted land, loses $1 billion tax revenue" »
Haaretz
June 27, 2007
By Yigal Hai, Haaretz Correspondent
Four fires blazed Wednesday in Petah Tikva and the surrounding area, three in open fields and one in an apartment building. There were no reported injuries.
Continue reading "Asbestos fumes rise over Petah Tikva in indutrial zone fire" »
Haaretz
June 27, 2007
By Uri Blau
Last December, as part of the lesson-learning process in the wake of the Second Lebanon War, the Environment Ministry established a public committee chaired by Major General (Res.) Herzl Shafir to examine the preparedness of facilities containing hazardous substances in the north of the country for emergency situations. Initial and partial conclusions of the committee were made public, and seemed to be quite innocuous. Now it turns out that the true dynamite that turned up in the Shafir Committee's hearings remained classified. Haaretz has obtained the complete data about the dangers of the industrial plants in Haifa Bay, as it appears in the committee's internal documents.
The Daily Star
Friday, June 22, 2007
By Mohammed Zaatari
Daily Star staff
SIDON: Official negligence has led to unprecedented levels of pollution in the Siniq River a few kilometers outside Sidon, area residents said Thursday. Even from its banks, the riverbed of the shallow waterway is almost completely obscured by murky water. Discarded furniture, wood, tires and all kinds of garbage, including industrial waste, can be seen floating on the surface.
Jordan Times
Listing Jordan River among the top most endangered cultural heritage sites
in the world comes as no surprise.
The Friends of the Earth Middle East Society and the World Monument Fund,
the renowned international watchdog of cultural heritages worldwide, have
sounded the alarm about the inevitable demise of the river and showed what
protecting it from becoming altogether extinct entails.
YNET
Activists claim air pollution caused by waste management site of Ramat Hovav
will endanger lives of soldiers who will serve in new IDF compound
Dana Levy
Published: 06.24.07, 11:16 / Israel News
Environmental organizations continued their protest against the government's plan to build a "military town" south of Beersheba, which will house all of the IDF's training bases.
The town is set to be built only 10 kilometers away from the waste management facility of Ramat Hovav, which deals with large quantities of hazardous materials, and is responsible for a severe problem of air pollution in the region.
Continue reading "Green groups protest plan to build military town in Negev" »
THE JERUSALEM POST
June 14, 2007
RON FRIEDMAN
Jerusalem cleaned up at last week's Green Globe awards, held to honor leaders in environmental protection. The ceremony, organized by Life and Environment, an umbrella organization that includes over 95 groups, was held at the Duhl Center in Tel Aviv to celebrate World Environment Day, a UN initiative.
Jordan Times
June 17, 2007
Hana Namrouqa
AMMAN -- The Ministry of Environment will set up special task forces to address Zarqa Governorate's environmental problems.
"Zarqa Governorate poses major environmental challenges as it is home to several environmental hotspots, which require exceptional efforts to improve the situation there," Minister of Environment Khalid Irani said during a recent meeting of the ministry's planning committee.
Continue reading " Environmental task forces to tackle Zarqa pollution" »
Jordan Times
Jun. 18, 2007
Paul Tate
AMMAN -- A lack of cooperation and political will among regional states is hampering efforts to address the worsening ecological condition of the Jordan River, environmentalists said on Sunday.
According to Friends of the Earth Middle East, a regional environmental organisation of Israelis, Jordanians and Palestinians, poor regional water management has led to the complete demise of one of the world's most famous rivers.
Continue reading "Jordan River among world's 100 most endangered sites" »
Haaretz
June 9, 2007
By Eli Ashkenazi and Fadi Eyadat
A couple of hungry cormorants circled last week above a school of fish at the mouth of the Kishon Stream running through Haifa. Several fishermen on the banks were also waiting for fish, which were tough to spot. In the past month, the water has grown murky from the booming algae growth that resulted from high concentrations of chemicals in the stream. Despite the cleanup efforts, the Kishon remains polluted.
Continue reading "'Rehabilitated' Kishon Stream still filthy" »
Haaretz
June 5, 2007
By Dan Rabinowitz
Forty years after June 5, 1967, a variety of symposia, conferences and discussions are being held that stress the malignant effect of the occupation - on the Palestinians, of course, but also on morality, society, solidarity and politics in Israel. A few weeks ago, when those who have fond memories of 1967 tried to celebrate what they call "the reunification of Jerusalem," the result was a limp demonstration of nostalgic blasts on trumpets. It is good that this week, sane, critical voices are being heard. This will help many people to identify, in anger and anxiety, the depressing future that the occupation is passing down to us for years to come as well.
Ma'an News Service
June 5, 2007
Bethlehem - Ma'an - On the occasion of World Environment Day, celebrated every year on 5 June since 1972, when the United Nations declared World Day at the opening of the Stockholm conference on human environment, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) has issued a press release on the state of the Palestinian environment.
Population density
Continue reading "On World Environment Day, PCBS reveals the state of the Palestinian Environment" »
Jordan Times
June 1, 2007
Samir Ghawi
AMMAN -- The environmental pollution worsened so much at the Himmeh tourist resort that the company operating the site had no choice but to demolish the whole facility.
"The Himmeh facility was operated intermittently during 2006 as the site was closed several times by the official health and environment authorities because the water at the resort was contaminated by wastewater leaking from cesspools of private houses adjacent to the tourist area," the Jordan Himmeh Mineral Company said in its 42nd annual report.
Continue reading "Water pollution leads to Himmeh demolition" »
The Daily Star
June 01, 2007
Daily Star staff
BEIRUT: Last summer's fuel-oil spill into the Mediterranean Sea is not the main cause behind the Lebanese coast's pollution, despite what many people think. In fact, the key factor contributing to the pollution of the sea around Lebanon has never changed: sewage, according to an article in this month's issue of Environment and Development magazine.
Continue reading "Sewage remains primary pollutant in Lebanese waters" »
The Jerusalem
May. 30, 2007
YORAM DORI
It is said of Israel that she is a mini-cosmos. A country of immigrants hailing from more than 120 countries: fair-skinned and dark-skinned, Chinese and Indian, haredim and atheists. An 80 percent Jewish majority that lives alongside an Arab minority, mostly Muslims, an island in an Islamic sea in the throes of a power struggle between Shi'ite and Sunni hegemony, and counting a population of 7 million spread over an area (sovereign Israel) that measures a mere 20,770 kilometers.
The Daily Star
May 28, 2007
An israeli attack caused the disaster, but environmentalists say Lebanese inaction made it worse
By Dona Challita
Special to The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Several forms of pollutants have fouled the sea off Lebanon for decades, including industrial effluents, untreated sewage and runoff from coastal garbage dumps. As though this were not enough, an Israeli attack during the war last summer added another hazardous element to the mix when the destruction of the storage tanks at the jiyyeh power plant south of Beirut released an estimated 15,000 tons of fuel oil into the Mediterranean.
Continue reading "Critics flay official response to Jiyyeh spill" »
YNET
May 28, 2007
Sampling by Environmental Protection Ministry show 46 percent of Israeli factories emit more air-pollutants than allowed, sanctions taken against 22. Over all improvement shown in most factories
David Hacohen
Forty-six percent of Israeli factories emit more air-pollutants than allowed in the Environmental Protection Ministry's guidelines, according to a samplings taken by the Environmental Protection Ministry in 2006.
Continue reading "Nearly half of Israel's factories pollute air" »
Haaretz
May 28, 2007
By Tzafrir Rinat, Haaretz Correspondent
The Environment Ministry published on Sunday its annual report which revealed that 46 percent of factories tested in 2006 exceeded air pollution standards.
The figure represents a 20 percent decrease from the previous year.
Continue reading "2006 report: 46% of factories exceed pollution standards" »
Haaretz
May 24, 2007
By Tzafrir Rinat, Haaretz Correspondent
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz on Thursday submitted to State Prosecutor Eran Shendar, and to the Environment Ministry, policy guidelines for the prosecution of environmental offenders by local authorities.
Continue reading "AG submits guidelines for prosecution of environmental offenders" »
Pollution Online
May 21, 2007
Beersheba, Israel — A new and valuable tool for fighting soil and ground water pollution has been developed by Dr. Ofer Dahan, a researcher at the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research (ZIWR) at the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research. The information was made public as part of the 30th Anniversary celebrations of the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research as part of the University’s 37th Annual Board of Governors meeting. At the same event, the new building for the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research was dedicated.
Continue reading "Researcher Develops Tool For Fighting Soil And Groundwater Pollution" »
The Jerusalem Post
Mar. 5, 2007
Sheera Claire Frenke
Despite Israel's carcinogenic waterways, local companies lead the world in clean-water know-how, and 2007 is set to be a banner year for foreign sales of the blue-and-white technology.
Dozens of groups from across the globe are planning trips to Israel this year with an eye toward purchasing some of the environmentally friendly technology being developed by Israeli scientists. The industry brought approximately one billion dollars last year, but Avraham Israeli, head of Water and Environmental Technology at the Israel Export Institute, said Israel's slice of the international pie could be $10 billion.
Continue reading "Israel's green technology leads world, but not at home" »
YNET
March 5, 2007
Pollution costs as mush as Israel's defense budget; new bill proposed to deal with air pollution, cut costs
Amir Ben-David
Israel Money
Air pollution in Israel places a financial burden of NIS 11 billion ($2.7 billion) on the country, equal to 2.26 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). This figure is the amount the state pays on such expenses as sick leave and medical treatments for those who suffer from severe illness and early death fueled by pollution.
Continue reading "Israel loses up to NIS 11 billion a year on air pollution" »
Haaretz
March 8, 2007
By Pe'er Visner
It's just like Israel to take a great idea and execute it badly, wasting taxpayers' money and even putting lives at risk.
That's the case regarding the idea of levying congestion tax on travelers using the Ayalon Freeway, to reduce traffic in Tel Aviv.
The Jerusalem Post
Mar. 8, 2007
Judy Siegel-Itzkovich
The greater the air pollution over hilly land in semi-arid regions, the less rain the area will get, according to an Israel-Chinese research team led by Prof. Daniel Rosenfeld of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem's department of atmospheric sciences, whose study has just been published in Science.
Continue reading "More air pollution means less rain in hilly areas" »
The Jerusalem Post
Mar. 1, 2007
shelly paz
Dozens of Greenpeace activists demonstrated in front of the Rabin Lights power station near Hadera on Wednesday under the slogan, "Pollution is returned to the polluter."
The protesters used pipes to blow thick, gray but harmless smoke toward the facility, and later spoke with Hadera residents.
Continue reading "Greenpeace protests at Hadera power plant" »
Asharq Alawsat
18 February 2007
Hussein Shobokshi
More than a year has passed since my last meeting with the former Vice President of America, Al Gore, in Jeddah, which he visited as part of the economic forum. My meeting with him was long and he explained to me his new priorities away from the political world and far from his famous defeat in the race for presidency against George Bush in 2000.
The Daily Star
February 26, 2007
State inaction allows industry to imperil water resources and depress property values
By Hani M. Bathish
Special to The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Some of Lebanon's most picturesque areas bear the unsightly scars of quarrying, a frequent visual reminder of what can happen when the state consistently fails to regulate an industry whose work has so much potential for far-reaching side-effects. But the damage is more than skin-deep: The quarry industry's de facto freedom to act as it sees fit also contributes to a variety of economic, environmental and public-health problems whose impacts are no less damaging for their lower visibility.
Continue reading "Quarries do damage you can see - and some you can't" »
Haaretz
February 26, 2007
By Zafrir Rinat
The government of Israel lined its pockets with plenty of cash last week through the privatization of the Haifa-based Oil Refineries and also ensured handsome revenues for the new controlling shareholders. The calculation of monetary profit has already been made, but another calculation - environmental and health - remains unresolved.
Haaretz
February 20, 2007
By Tzafrir Rinat, Haaretz Correspondent
The Israel Defense Forces has begun planning a town in the Negev that will accommodate several army training camps currently located in the center of Israel, Haaretz has learned.
The town will be erected in the northern Negev, some ten kilometers south of the Ramat Hovav industrial zone. IDF planners received the go-ahead after the Ministry of the Environment and Ramat Hovav factories reached a settlement agreement on the treatment of environmental hazards, which delayed the army's final decision on whether to build the town.
Continue reading "IDF begins mobilizing on 'training camp' town in Negev" »
Haaretz
February 16, 2007
By Zafrir Rinat, Haaretz Correspondent
Recently completed research indicates the problem of serious groundwater contamination is widespread throughout the greater Tel Aviv region and covers huge areas of Gush Dan, with several contamination sites.
Six years ago, when the Tel Aviv Water Authority discovered serious contamination on the site of the former Israel Military Industries factory Magen, it thought the problem was contained.
Continue reading "Greater Tel Aviv area riddled with serious groundwater pollution" »
Daily Star
By Mohammed Zaatari
Daily Star staff
Monday, February 12, 2007
SIDON: About 50 truckloads of garbage transported in the last three days from
the Normandy landfill in Beirut to the Southern port city of Sidon have been
dumped directly into the sea, according to a source close to the issue.
Speaking to The Daily Star on condition of anonymity, the source said three
contractors from Sidon had deposited the garbage in the sea between the Sidon
dump and the Siniq bridge south of town.
"An agreement was signed between the company charged with treating the Normandy
dump and three contractors from Sidon to transport garbage to Sidon for $140
per truckload," the source said. "Waste was unloaded in five places, with one
truck throwing its load by the coast, near the Siniq bridge."
On Sunday, Sidon's municipality erected sand barriers in the area in a bid to
block passages the trucks had used to entered the town.
Sidon Mayor Abdel-Rahman Bizri issued a statement Sunday calling on security and
military bodies to "monitor Sidon's entrances after strange waste was smuggled
into the town."
"Some parties were transporting garbage from Normandy to the Chouf region of
Sibline, but for some reasons which we do not know yet, garbage was transported
to Sidon instead," Bizri said.
According to Bizri, "Jihad Arab, a contractor charged with the transportation
process from the Normandy dump, agreed to carry waste out of Sidon at his own
expense to various other licensed places situated outside of the area."
"Environmental and health safety are as important as security," Bizri said.
Bizri called for the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for
transporting and dumping the garbage. The perpatrators should also by fined, he
said, "to prevent the reoccurrence of such a problem where environmental
conditions are exploited for financial benefits."
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=79447
Haaretz
By Haaretz Editorial
The latest data shows that the water quality in the coastal aquifer - one of
Israel's three main freshwater sources - is in steady decline to the point of
threatening the integrity of water resources. More than 10 percent of the water
holes drilled into the aquifer have been closed in the past five years due to
contamination stemming from industrial waste, agricultural fertilizer and urban
sewage. In the Tel Aviv area alone, more than half the water holes have been
closed over the past 25 years, and those that continue to operate are permeated
by toxic heavy metals and carcinogenic substances.
It is certainly no consolation for consumers that for the time being, the
concentration of these materials is lower than the maximum quantities allowed
in drinking water. In at least one Sharon-area community, residents are forced
to use mineral water for drinking and cooking, because their groundwater source
was polluted and an alternative connection has yet to be made available.
The coastal aquifer provides hundreds of millions of cubic meters of water per
year. In years with exceptionally high rainfall, the aquifer can store large
quantities of water - about two billion cubic meters. By comparison, the
country's two other major freshwater sources - the mountain aquifer and Lake
Kinneret - are capable of storing several hundred million cubic meters, thereby
underscoring the strategic importance of the coastal aquifer when it comes to
freshwater availability.
The quality of water in the coastal aquifer reflects continuous core problems in
dealing with natural resources here. One of these is the inability to invest in
environmental infrastructure, such as sewage treatment centers or installations
for upgrading wells, in order to enable the use of polluted water that undergoes
purification. Another problem lies in planning that does not take into
consideration the environmental impact. In many locations it would have been
possible to build towns and roads in ways that could drain the pollution in an
orderly way, thereby retaining open spaces in which rain water would seep
underground and enhance the aquifer.
As in many other countries, the prevalent approach in recent years here is that
it is possible to deal with pollution problems through technological
alternatives. One preferred option regarding contamination of the groundwater
is creating additional installations for desalinating seawater. However,
desalination plants are expensive and occupy land along the coast. Therefore,
the proper way to deal with contamination of the coastal aquifer is to address
the fundamental causes of pollution, and recognize that the issue requires
long-term planning and monetary investment.
The planning authorities and ministries must establish clear regulations for
expanding towns and commercial/industrial zones in ways that the sewage
produced will not contaminate the environment, as well as intensify enforcement
against many ongoing sources of pollution.
In addition, a multiyear recovery plan must be initiated, one that would include
all the methods deemed appropriate for removing the contaminants in some of the
affected areas so as to limit the amount of pollution reaching the groundwater.
These actions may lead to a gradual improvement in the situation, and may save
this essential reservoir of groundwater in the long term.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/825083.html
By Zafrir Rinat
Last update - 02:12 22/01/2007
Nitrate pollution in the drinking water of a number of communities in
the Sharon area may spread if the overall rise in this type of
pollution continues. "The whole coastal plain is facing exceptional
nitrate levels," Shalom Goldberger, environmental health engineer at
the Health Ministry, said last week.
In a few communities, the ministry has already made special
preparations to allow water use. "In Rishon Letzion a facility to
treat nitrates was established, and in Nes Tziona polluted water has
been diluted with water from another source. We have instructed the
residents of Bet Oved not to drink the water or cook with it, but
residents continue to do so," Goldberg said.
Use of the local tap water for cooking and drinking has been
prohibited for the past few weeks in Moshav Benai Dror in the Sharon
due to nitrates that exceed allowable levels.
Nitrate pollution occurs when sewage and chemical fertilizers
containing nitrate compounds penetrate the water table. Last year's
Hydrological Service report on the situation in 2005 revealed high
concentrations of nitrates in agricultural areas from Binyamina in the
north to Rehovot in the south.
About half the water in the coastal plain aquifer is currently
provided by local suppliers and not by the national water company,
Mekorot. To overcome the pollution these suppliers must either find
ways to purify the water, or connect to the Mekorot system.
In most places where nitrates exceed allowable levels, those levels
are determined by new standards. When the old standards were in place,
no particular health problems associated with exposure to nitrates
were noticed.
Goldberger says that while no immediate danger is posed, standards
must be maintained because the presence of nitrates in the water is a
health problem in general.
Jordan Times
By Hana Namroqa
AMMAN — A new “manifest” system designed to limit random dumping of wastewater
into the Zarqa River, will help address part of the area’s environmental
problems, Minister of Environment Khalid Irani said this week.
“By registering the source of the wastewater and where it is dumped, the
Environment Ministry will have better control over sewage tankers and
consequently limit the haphazard clearance of waste into the river and the
surrounding area,” the minister said during an inspection tour of the river on
Wednesday.
The follow-up tour was organised to check on the river’s main sources of
pollution and take necessary measures accordingly, Environment Ministry
Spokesperson Isa Shboul told The Jordan Times.
Earlier this month, the ministry prepared an integrated emergency plan to
address the pollution problem, which identified the river's main sources of
contamination as wastewater leakage, the Ain Ghazal sewage tanker facility,
nearby factories, car wash stations, flooding manholes and sewer systems, and
the Greater Amman Municipality slaughterhouse.
The plan includes conducting maintenance work on drainage systems in Zarqa and
Amman to prevent rainwater from entering the sewage system, establishing a 21km
sewage pipeline from the west Zarqa pumping station to the Khirbet Al Samra
station between Zarqa and Mafraq governorates, establishing a new
slaughterhouse and studying the relocation of the stone quarries to a new
industrial site.
“The long-term plan will continue for up to 12 years. Solving the river’s
environmental problems requires time, as the roots of the problem go back
decades,” Irani said.
During the tour, the minister checked on eight sources of pollution along the
river. A scrap yard was closed down permanently, a quarry and a cattle farm
will be relocated to another site, while a car wash facility was given two
months to rectify the violations.
Mohammad Shishani, a resident of the Sukhneh area in Zarqa, complained about the
stench from the river and the garbage strewn along its banks.
“Authorities are blaming area residents for polluting the river by connecting
their sewage system to the river, but everyday we see sewage tankers
discharging waste into the water,” Shishani told The Jordan Times.
According to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, 10 per cent of wastewater in
the river is a direct result of illegal connections.
The ministry said it dealt with 167 violations, where citizens connected their
sewage networks to the rainwater drainage system linked to the river.
The emergency plan also seeks to protect the unpolluted parts of the river,
Irani said.
Although some sections of the river are not contaminated, the water is not
potable and can only be used for agricultural purposes, Water Authority
Director in Zarqa Jabr Hmoud told The Jordan Times.
By Sharon Kedmi 25/01/2007
Haaretz
The winning group in the tender for the Tel Aviv light rail has been
announced, but the battle surrounding the excavation method isn't over
yet. TheMarker has found that the Green Party and environmental
factions in Tel Aviv have approached National Infrastructure Minister
Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, urgently requesting the suspension of the
project until the issue of excavation is clarified. They have also
demanded that the water authority be included in the process
immediately, and threaten to turn to the courts if these steps aren't
taken.
The environmentalists are demanding that Ben-Eliezer, as the authority
responsible for the water economy in Israel, intervene immediately.
The concern, TheMarker found, is the deep mining method proposed by
MTS, the company awarded the tender, which could cause environmental
damage due to the large quantities of ground water that will have to
be pumped out during digging.
According to estimates made by rail-engineering consultants, the
mining method MTS proposes involves pumping 50 million cubic meters of
water during the five-year construction period, as compared to about
four million cubic meters in the conventional "cover and cut" method
proposed by tender loser Metro Rail. Additionally, there is a risk of
emission of poisonous subterranean gases along part of the route.
Metro Rail has also approached the tenders committee on the issue. A
discussion among the specialists on the committee, however, concluded,
on the basis of the information available to them, that the deep
mining method poses no problem.
Ben-Eliezer's office confirmed that the protests had been received,
and said they had been forwarded to the authorized entities in the
Water Commission.
By Mohammed Zaatari
Daily Star staff
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
SIDON: The mayor of Sidon, Abdel-Rahman Bizri, has vowed that the Southern port
city's notorious and perennial waste-treatment crisis "will be resolved soon."
Bizri said in a statement issued Monday that efforts to remove the massive dump
were now under way thanks to a donation from Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal.
The $5 million donation was originally made in 2004 by the Alwaleed bin Talal
Humanitarian Foundation but had been withheld due to disagreements between the
foundation and the municipality of Sidon over conditions to be met by the
municipality before it could receive the promised funds.
The statement from Bizri said the municipality had fulfilled the foundation's
conditions by acquiring necessary licenses and conducting an
environmental-impact assessment on a plan for the dump's removal. "The
municipality worked in cooperation with South for Construction [a major
contracting firm] to set up a mechanism that ensures the partial use of the
dump without hampering its elimination process," Bizri said.
"We ensure our Sidon neighbors that the dump treatment will not have any
environmental repercussions on their regions," Bizri said. "On the contrary, we
will work simultaneously on establishing a modern waste-treatment plant."
However, environmental activists told The Daily Star the announcement was an
"exaggeration" and that efforts being carried out were aimed at repairing
previous damage caused by the municipality's negligence, not treatment or
removal of the waste heap.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb
An environmental activist at the dump said the first phase of the removal
process was to reduce the dump to its original size. "Work is being done to
reduce the trash heap to its initial size, since the dump has grown by more
than 40 percent and now covers land that had originally been set aside for the
waste-treatment plant," the activist told The Daily Star.
"Bulldozers working around the dump are doing nothing but repairing what has
been spoiled by the municipality. Several dumps have resulted from the main
one," said the activist, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We are
monitoring the treatment process and awaiting the results."
According to the activist, the reclamation of land for a waste-treatment plant
would take at least another month.
The Sidon dump has been an ongoing crisis for more than 35 years. Over the
decades it has repeatedly caught fire, and in 2005 and 2006 it partially
collapsed into the Mediterranean, sending waste as far as Greece.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=78652
Haaretz
By Zafrir Rinat
Residents of Moshav Bnei Dror, who are unable to use their tap water for
drinking or cooking because it is polluted, are threatening legal action if
they are not either supplied with an alternative water source or reimbursed for
the bottled water they are currently using instead.
The Sharon-area moshav's water was declared unsafe to drink a few weeks ago,
after the level of nitrates in the local well exceeded the permitted maximum.
The Health Ministry had warned the local water corporation a year ago that the
nitrate level was approaching dangerous levels, but the problem has still not
been solved.
In a letter sent yesterday to the health, environment, national infrastructure
and interior ministers, the moshav's lawyer, Nava Sendar, threatened legal
action unless the residents' problem is solved promptly.
"Not one of the authorized bodies is trying to resolve the situation," she
charged.
In her letter to the ministers, Sendar wrote that while the moshav was slated to
be connected to the Mekorot Water Company in June, it was untenable to demand
that residents continue to buy bottled water for the next six months.
The residents would have to purchase the bottled water their own expense.
The problem of high nitrate levels in water has surfaced in a few other
Sharon-area communities. In those areas, too, residents have been forced to
stop using tap water.
Al Jazeera
The lack of wind stops the smog from dispersing [AFP]
Air pollution has killed more than 3,000 people during one month in the Iranian
capital, Tehran, according to a local official.
"Pollution has directly or indirectly caused the deaths of 3,600 people in the
month of Aban [October 23 to November 23]," Mohammad Hadi Heydarzadeh, director
of Tehran's clean air committee, said.
He said that the deaths were caused by heart attacks brought on by the pollution
and that the smog was responsible for 80 per cent of the fatal heart problems in
Tehran.
"It is a very serious and lethal crisis, a collective suicide," he said.
The new figures showed a sharp rise in pollution-related deaths in Tehran -
9,900 people were killed between March 2005 and March 2006.
Carbon monoxide from car exhausts is blamed for the majority of the deaths. 1.3
million ageing cars with poor fuel efficiency are causing respiratory and
cardiac problems for the seven million residents of Tehran.
Half of Iran's six million cars fail to meet global standards and burn twice as
much petrol as a European car. The low cost of petrol keeps the streets packed
with cars and Tehran suffers severe traffic jams during rush hour.
"A real revolution is needed to resolve this problem," Heydarzadeh told
Kargozaran newspaper.
The problem is particularly bad during the winter when a lack of wind and the
cold air means that clouds of smog hang over the city for days on end.
The authorities regularly ask the elderly and children not to leave their homes,
shutting schools to protect the pupils when the pollution is at its peak.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/91192AC2-D3A4-4942-AEE4-CA727EFB2CB1.htm
Daily Star
Thursday, January 11, 2007
BEIRUT: Israel's assault on the Jiyyeh power plant during the war last summer
led to a strict power-rationing schedule, raising concerns about the damage
that private generators may have done to the environment. Many Lebanese chose
to use generators to compensate for electricity shortages, and this decision
could have negative repercussions on their health.
In an article published in the Environment and Development magazine, Environment
Hotline investigated the metal army of generators that has been deployed
throughout the capital in recent months.
Environment Hotline said that a large percentage of these generators were being
operated illegally, with many placed on building rooftops and in lobbies, in
clear violation of a law requiring all generators to be housed away from other
machinery and people.
In addition, high levels of noise and toxic smoke have resulted from generators
being used around the clock.
But the pressing threat that results from the misuse of such machinery is that
of massive noise pollution.
Environment Hotline measured the level of noise produced by one typical
generator, which it found to be operating at 92 decibels. The maximum legal
noise level during daylight hours is 65 decibels.
The Environment Ministry has established strict guidelines concerning the use of
generators, including a regulation requiring all generators to be outfitted with
specific filters to screen toxic fumes. - Environment Hotline
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=78426
Environmental Issue Overrides Outdated IDF Decision FOEME
2006-12-31
Israeli military reverses previous decision against a solid waste facility in
Israeli-controlled parts of the West Bank
Tel Aviv, 31st December 2006
In response to pressure from environmental groups, the Israeli military has
approved the establishment of a landfill to be built on land previously
restricted to Palestinian development.
The new landfill site will be constructed near the village of Dir Dibwan, east
of Ramallah in "Area C," land under full Israeli military control.
The site will replace two antiquated dump sites in Al-Bireh and Ramallah -- both
of which lack basic environmental infrastructure, resulting in pollution of the
Mountain Aquifer's groundwater, as well as air pollution.
"The decision is a victory for the citizens of Ramallah, who have long been
forced to live with the stench, public health hazards and polluted air
generated from the atrocious state of the cities dumps," said Nader Khateeb
Director of FoEME's office in Bethlehem.
Responding to calls by Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME), support for the
site's approval was secured by Mr. Hagai Alon, advisor to Defense Minister
Peretz.
The former objection to the site was justified by the military due to plans to
construct an eastern separation barrier, which would have separated the
proposed waste disposal site from Ramallah and the adjacent village of Dir
Dibwan.
"Despite the fact that the barrier plan was abandoned by the government as early
as 2004, Israeli military objections to the site remained," said Zach Tagar,
Deputy Director at FoEME's office in Tel Aviv. "Reversal of the decision is a
hopeful sign of changes in the New Year. Moreover, the decision facilitates the
advancement of a 14 million Euro German investment in protecting shared ground
water resources by providing a solution to waste disposal for over 350,000
people."
Approximately sixty million cubic meters of sewage and solid waste pollution
seep into the Mountain Aquifer every year, threatening the fresh water supply
for Israelis and Palestinians, both of whom are dependant on the fresh
groundwater resources of the Mountain Aquifer.
For more information or to join a site tour, please contact Zach Tagar at: 03
5605383 (ext. 7) or 057 7492201.
For background information on sewage and solid waste pollution please see the
FoEME publication Seeping Time Bomb at: http://www.foeme.org.
(Tulkarem) Palestine News Network
Thursday, 11 January 2007
The Union of Agricultural Work Committees in the northwestern West Bank's
Tulkarem ended the first phase of a land reclamation project in two villages.
Project Coordinator Abdul Rahim Barhush said, “The reclamation project lasted
seven months and focused on planting sites with 250 nut and fruit trees.” The
United Nations Development Program funded that aspect of the project under the
supervision of the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture.
Khalid Barham of the Agricultural Work Committees said that 10 sites throughout
the governorates of Tulkarem and Qalqilia are working on seed production,
organic pesticides and home gardening.
“The trainees received assistance, agricultural equipment and seedlings with the
help of Italian hydrologists and EU funding.”
Barham explained that 900 farmers were trained on pressing and fundamental
issues in agricultural diversification, such as water resource management, the
use of pesticides and establishing cooperatives.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1428
From: Jordan Times
By Hana Namroqa
AMMAN — The Ministry of Environment has completed an integrated emergency plan
to address the severely polluted Zarqa River, according to a Ministry of Water
and Irrigation official.
“The plan identified the river’s main sources of pollution as wastewater
leakage into the river, the Ain Ghazal sewage tankers’ facility, nearby
factories, car wash stations, flooding manholes and sewer systems and the
Greater Amman Municipality’s slaughterhouse,” Ministry of Environment
Spokesperson Isa Shboul told The Jordan Times.
Following an inspection tour of the Zarqa River last month, Prime Minister
Marouf Bakhit instructed the concerned authorities to immediately start work on
the restoration process in order to rid the river of its stagnant water.
The emergency plan was prepared in cooperation with the ministries of water and
irrigation, interior, health, agriculture, finance, municipal affairs and the
GAM.
It also features “a constant control programme,” which will be carried out by
the environment police and other concerned bodies.
“Under the programme, monitoring centres will be established along the river
bank to control violations and address any reported problems. The Environment
Ministry will organise a tour to the river for officials and media
representatives next week to announce the launch of the programme,” Shboul
added.
Minister of Water and Irrigation Thafer Alem recently said that 10 per cent of
wastewater in the river is a direct result of illegal connections, adding that
the ministry dealt with 167 violations, where citizens connected their sewage
networks to the rainwater drainage system linked to the river.
The Zarqa Governorate, which has a reputation for being one of the country’s
environmental hotspots, is home to 52 per cent of the Kingdom’s industrial
plants.
The pollution levels have become so severe that over recent years nearby
residents have consistently complained about the stench from the river, which
attracts rodents and insects, particularly in the summer months.
Spraying pesticides along the river and cleaning the sewer pipes are among the
immediate measures that were taken to reduce environmental and health problems,
Shboul noted.
He said several future projects for rehabilitating the river will be implemented
in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, such as conducting maintenance work
on drainage systems in Zarqa and Amman to prevent rainwater from entering the
sewage system, establishing a 21km sewage pipeline from the west Zarqa pumping
station to the Khirbet Al Samra station between Zarqa and Mafraq governorates,
establishing a new slaughterhouse and studying the relocation of the stone
quarries to a new industrial site.
The JD50 million projects will be implemented over a seven year period.
http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/homenews/homenews9.htm
From: Stuart Schoenfeld
Subject: WHO measures require 66 percent reduction in Israel air pollution Haaretz
WHO measures require 66 percent reduction in Israel air pollution
By Tzafrir Rinat, Haaretz Correspondent and News Agencies
The World Health Organization published tough new air control regulations
Thursday in an attempt to cut down on air-borne pollutants which kill an
estimated two million people around the world each year.
In a Geneva press conference, the UN group announced it would push for a
worldwide reduction of pollutants from 70 to 20 micrograms per cubic meter.
The current amount of pollutants in micrograms per cubic meter is between 60-76
in Tel Aviv and 47-51 in Haifa, some 65 percent above the new limit.
According to estimates, some 600 people die each year from air pollution-related
diseases in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area alone.
A new law imposing tighter air control regulations called the "clean air bill"
is currently under legislation in the Knesset.
According to the WHO, drastically reducing air pollution in cities could prevent
120,000 deaths a year from respiratory infections, heart disease and lung
cancer.
An estimated 800,000 people die prematurely each year from
outdoor air pollution and a switch to cleaner fossil fuels could cut this toll
by 15 percent, the United Nations agency said.
It issued its first global Air Quality Guidelines, based on consultations with
more than 80 leading scientists over three years, which set voluntary targets
for particulate matter pollution - which can be inhaled into the lungs and
cause tissue damage - sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and ozone.
"We know that this will represent a major challenge for some cities around the
world because it is not so easy to implement those targets," Maria Neira, WHO's
director for public health and the environment, told a news briefing.
"If we reduce the level of pollutants to the standards we
are recommending, the mortality caused by the outdoor pollution will be reduced
by 15 percent," the Spanish doctor said.
Indoor pollution - caused by solid fuels burned for heating and cooking - kills
another 1.2 million, bringing the total number of premature deaths from air
pollution to 2 million.
The worst-polluted cities for which data was available
included Karachi, New Delhi, Kathmandu, Beijing, Lima and Cairo.
They had around 200 micrograms of particulate matter or PM10 per cubic metre -
10 times the new standard, according to Michal Krzyzanowski, a WHO air quality
expert who was technical coordinator for the project.
The WHO's projection for fewer deaths is based mainly on
reducing PM10, caused by burning fossil and other fuels, from a reference point
of 70 micrograms per cubic metre down to 20.
London, which has made tremendous progress against pollution over the past
decades, is roughly in the recommended range of 20 micrograms, according to
Krzyzanowski.
"It should be stressed that health concerns are not limited to the most polluted
cities. Substantial health effects are seen even in the relatively cleaner
cities of Europe or North America where PM levels are three times lower," he
said.
In Europe, Netherlands, Belgium and Milan, Italy, suffer the worst air
pollution, while in the United States it is the north-eastern corridor as well
as Los Angeles, WHO experts said.
Broadly, the pollution comes from combustion of fossil fuels - petrol or solid
fuels - from cars, industry and home fires.
Using incinerators instead of uncontrolled burning of garbage in poor
residential areas was one simple way to reduce emissions from very high to
moderate levels and protect people.
In recent years, Delhi reduced pollution after rickshaws
which had used high-polluting two-stroke engines switched to using
cleaner-burning liquefied natural gas, he said.