Under the Clean Air Act, states are generally preempted from adopting state emission standards for mobile source emissions, except that California is afforded a special exemption due to its unique air quality problems. Other states may elect to adopt the more stringent California vehicle emission standards, rather than rely on the federal standards. If a state adopts California’s emissions standards, they must do so identically.

Delaware is one of the states that has adopted the California standards, see 7 Del. Admin. C. 1140, but it has not yet adopted California’s zero-emission vehicle standards, known as “Advanced Clean Car II,” which seek to restrict and later ban the sale of most new vehicles powered by gasoline and diesel. In March 2022, Governor Carney directed DNREC to begin the process of adopting the Advanced Clean Car II standards.

In November and December 2022, DNREC received public input and comment regarding the adoption of these standards, including holding several public workshops. Under these regulations, the sale of traditionally fueled light-duty passenger cars, trucks, and SUVs would be rapidly scaled down in Delaware starting in late 2025, culminating with a total ban on the sale of new gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles by model year 2035. Once the proposed regulatory language is finalized, DNREC will promulgate the draft proposed regulatory language and hold a public hearing, likely in early 2023. DNREC expects that the Secretary’s decision/order regarding the adoption of the new regulations will be issued in mid-2023.

[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here

After settling a lawsuit and investigating a complaint related to smoking and the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act, the Cascade County health board is reviewing their own regulations pertaining to smoking shelters and enforcement.

The Montana Legislature amended the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act in 2005 related to smoking.

The law prohibits the use of tobacco products in all public schools and any indoor area, room or vehicle that the general public is allowed to enter or that serves as a place of work, according to the City-County Health Department.

CCHD finds no violation in investigation of complaint against downtown cigar lounge

Bars and casinos were granted a temporary exception and had until Oct. 1, 2009 to comply.

In 2015, the county board of health adopted its own local regulations on smoking shelters.

In 2016, Totem Beverages, also known as The Do Bar, sued the county health board.

CCHD investigating cigar club complaint

CCHD had issued a January 2016 notice to Totem, citing alleged violations of the smoking shelter local regulations. The Do Bar had been inspected multiple times between 2012 and 2014 and was not cited for violations of the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act, according to court documents.

In December 2019, the Montana Supreme Court reversed a decision by the district court and upheld the CCHD Board of Health’s regulations regarding the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act and smoking shelters.

County health board, The Do Bar settle smoke shack lawsuit

The Supreme Court issued its opinion in mid-November 2019 and remanded part of the case back to the district court for further proceedings regarding the claim of selective enforcement by Totem Beverages.

The decision essentially affirmed the local health board’s authority to establish regulations related to the law and to enforce those regulations.

In January 2022, the health board voted to accept a settlement with Totem, paying the company $5,000 and withdrew their 2016 abatement notice.

State Supreme Court upholds local regulations on smoking shelters

As part of the settlement, Totem agrees to prohibit smoking in the covered patio area of The Do Bar and to place signage in the covered patio area indicating smoking is prohibited in that area.

The health board’s outside counsel, Jordan Crosby, told the board in November 2021 that she saw no concern with withdrawing the abatement order since The Do Bar hasn’t been allowing smoking in that area and it’s a good business decision to settle since though the county has good defenses for the bar’s claim of selective enforcement, it would cost the county more to continue litigating the case.

In December 2019, the Montana Supreme Court reversed a decision by the district court and upheld the CCHD Board of Health’s regulations regarding the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act and smoking shelters.

Health board selects officers; county receives one application for health officer so far

The Supreme Court issued its opinion in mid-November 2019 and remanded part of the case back to the district court for further proceedings regarding the claim of selective enforcement by Totem Beverages.

The decision essentially affirmed the local health board’s authority to establish regulations related to the law and to enforce those regulations.

While the case was being litigated, the county didn’t do much enforcement of the local regulations.

“We didn’t feel it was appropriate to follow up on complaints,” under the county’s regulations, Carey Ann Haight, chief of the civil division in the county attorney’s office, told the health board during their Dec. 4, 2019 meeting.

The county did follow up on complaints that came through the state’s complaint system though, she said in 2019.

County appeals court decision over health department governing body

Since the court validated the local regulation, Haight said the county could start investigating complaints under the local regulations again.

Haight told the health board in 2019 that the court’s decision meant that if the county’s health officials are in an establishment and notice something that gives them concern, the health department can proceed with an investigation and they’ll also follow up on anonymous complaints. The county will also go back to reviewing plans for smoking shelters.

County reviewing court decision on health department oversight

During the health board’s Jan. 4 meeting, Haight and CCHD officials reviewed the enforcement options for the board.

Haight said the board could update their regulations or become more proactive with inspections and enforcement.

She said that if they choose to be more proactive on enforcement, she’d recommend a public information campaign and that the board should prepare for more litigation.

Haight said that since the smoking shelter regulations were approved before the Legislature changed the law on governing bodies for local health departments, she didn’t see that as an issue if the regulation remains unchanged.

Judge rules on city-county dispute over health department management

If the board opted to change the regulations, they’d need approval from the governing body, which doesn’t technically exist currently as the county and city are in litigation over the makeup of that body.

The current CCHD regulations include inspections, which haven’t been done over the last few years during the Totem litigation.

Haight said there would likely be a learning curve since new establishments have opened and some are under new ownership.

County, city still have no agreement over management of CCHD

She said the board could set a date by which the board would expect the community to have reviewed and addressed any noncompliance issues before CCHD resumes inspections.

But, she said the CCHD sanitarians who would perform those inspections are already swamped and the division is short-staffed, so adding smoking shelter inspections to their tasks “may not be reasonable as a practical matter.”

Haight said that other communities haven’t had issues with compliance with the smoking rules.

Dr. Ray Geyer, who recently retired as an infectious disease doctor at the Great Falls Clinic, said “that makes me feel that we’re backwards and need to be moving into that thought that smoking is illegal in these establishments.”

Temporary agreement between city-county for CCHD management expiring; little movement on new agreement

Haight told the board that the state created an online database where people can report smoking violations and enforcement was a complaint driven process.

She said those were anonymous and the county hadn’t received a complaint through that system in years.

She said that smoking shelters were an issue in 2015 and 2016 but may not be as much of an issue now.

Wade Stout, the prevention specialist at CCHD, said they get a few local complaints annually.

County developing interview process for new health officer; legal dispute between city and county over health department management ongoing

Haight said there may be establishments that aren’t compliant with the regulations, but they aren’t getting complaints about them.

Board members asked Rhonda Knudsen, the new head of CCHD’s environmental health division, what it would take to enforce the regulations.

She said she didn’t know how they’d enforce it and hadn’t had a chance to review the regulations before the meeting.

Knudsen said her some of her questions included would an establishment have to get CCHD approval before constructing a smoke shelter and where there are existing shelters they don’t know about.

She said it would always seem as though CCHD was picking on an establishment, which was a key issue in the Totem lawsuit as that company alleged selective enforcement by CCHD.

County Commissioner Joe Briggs, a health board member, said that the only way to avoid the appearance of selective enforcement would be to make the smoke shelter inspection part of the normal food and beverage inspections.

“We don’t want to put out people looking for problems,” Briggs said. “If you’ve got a regulation, you’ve got an obligation to enforce it.”

He said that since CCHD is already understaffed, the logical solution would be to make smoke shelters part of the regular inspection process when sanitarians are already visiting an establishment.

He said if CCHD received a complaint, they’d instruct staff to investigate.

Briggs said he didn’t support changing the regulations as it would likely encourage more litigation.

Great Falls Mayor Bob Kelly, a health board member, asked staff to work on how to enforce the existing regulations through regular inspections and the complaint process.

Haight said enforcement isn’t a problem until an establishment gets a violation and they could end up in court fighting about it.

Like this:

Like Loading…

[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here

The V60 Cross Country, while not flashy, is a solid and sensible automobile that’ll do what you ask of it and delivers a certain high-end, can-do Scandinavian chic.

2023 Volvo V60 Cross Country T5

Volvo

It’s a 5-door, 5-seat all-road estate car – not an SUV and not a station wagon. With all-wheel drive, Off Road mode, high ground clearance, Hill Descent Control and rear air suspension, we found the V60 Cross Country great for traction and overall handling based on a week’s test, all of it in foul weather. Pricing starts at $48,000 and it comes in two trim levels: Plus and Ultimate. Our tester started at $63, 585.

2023 Volvo V60 Cross Country T5

Volvo

Looks

The DNA is Volvo-nerdy but handsome, with clean lines and sharp details. It offers a healthy 8.3 inches of ground clearance.

Inside

The luxury aspect of the badge becomes apparent when you climb aboard, with clean, spare, tasteful lines, attention to detail, genuine materials and that gorgeous jewel of a gearshift that isn’t a wheel or a button – it’s a shift you can find and operate without looking. Are you listening, Lexus, Genesis, everybody? No more wheels, and no more pinkie-sausage steering wheel-mounted “shifts.”

That beautiful shift.

Volvo

The (optional) Volvo shift, by the way, is genuine Swedish crystal crafted exclusively for Volvo Cars by Orrefors. This is something you can brag about while people are riding in the car even though you’ve never heard of Orrefors – it sounds like a cookie. A panoramic roof lets light flood in, creating a natural, spacious feel for everyone in the cabin.

2023 volvo v60 cross country

Volvo

There’s also an air purifier system preventing up to 95 per cent of hazardous “PM 2.5 particles” from entering the cabin. For people with allergies or asthma who’ve ever driven up the tree-lined Palisades parkway in New Jersey at the height of spring, here’s your chance to shut the windows and breath some pollen-free air.

2023 Volvo V60 Cross Country T5

Volvo

Engine: “Powertrain technology”

The V60 Cross Country is powered by Volvo’s “mild hybrid” powertrain, mated to a 250-hp turbocharged four-cylinder engine with an 8-speed automatic transmission.The 48 volt mild hybrid variants are based on both the gas and diesel powertrains. All-wheel drive is standard on all Cross Country models. The mild hybrid technology offers drivers smoother take-offs and up to 15 per cent fuel savings and emission reductions in real-world driving. Mileage is around 41 MPG combined city/highway. This is a big paragraph for such a dinky engine.

2023 Volvo V60 Cross Country T5

Volvo

Handling

It does not take off like a shot, but it handles quite well and you feel a sharpness in wheel as you roll. Brakes were on-point, as was visibility. You will not be tempted to push this ride – it’s not that kind of machine. You’ll enjoy a basic solidity providing confidence on the road even in heavy snow and slush.

Connectivity and infotainment

The Volvo V60 Cross Country comes equipped with an infotainment system jointly developed with Google featuring built-in Google apps and services.

2023 volvo v60 cross country

Volvo

We found it frequently disconnected our Droid after shutting off the car and dashing into stores, or took its sweet time connecting again upon startup in mornings. But once we connected, the sound was rich and beautiful. The heat practically burned up my feet and hands (like I like) with the blower, the steering-wheel heater and heated seat. If there’s anything I can’t stand, it’s a weak heater. This one could fry an egg. Thanks, Volvo.

During model year 2023, the V60 Cross Country will be enabled to receive larger software and operating system updates over the air.

Storage

It’s roomy enough, although I would have liked the driver’s seat to retract further back than it did. The cargo area will fit your drums, strollers, camping stuff or what-have-you. Fold the seats down and you’ll get 50.9 cubic feet of space, which is not monster-sized compared to others in this class. You can also purchase a pod that mounts on the roof.

Safety and driver assistance

Volvo, above all, is noted as one of the safest vehicles you can possible fender-bend in. The company says part of the cars’ overall solidity is due to the use of boron steel, which is actually a thing you can look up and you probably will because people who buy Volvos tend to be eggheads who google “Boron Steel.”

As of model year 2023, the V60 Cross Country is equipped with Volvo Cars’ latest Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) sensor platform – a modern, scalable active safety system that consists of an array of radars, cameras and ultrasonic sensors.

This platform enables the development and deployment of active safety systems, such as the detection of other road users, automatic braking and collision avoidance. Through the Pilot Assist function, it also allows for gentle driver support from standstill up to highway speeds, but without the ridiculous overkill of some such systems.

Conclusion: This is a fine offering from a company who doesn’t make a bad car.

[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here

As gas bills continue to climb, Chicagoans are struggling to keep up with prices, and there’s no relief in sight. Yet, cheaper and cleaner alternatives for heating our homes and cooking our food are within reach.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration has developed a blueprint for equitably electrifying buildings with the help of local businesses, community, and environmental justice advocates. What we need now is the political will to put that plan into action.

It comes at a time when Peoples Gas announced a $402 million rate-hike request, a 60% increase over the rates approved by state regulators in 2015. This will undoubtedly make it harder for many in Chicago’s Black and Brown communities, who are already struggling, to keep up with their bills.

The increases are due to both the rising cost of gas and fixed charges used to fund a Peoples Gas pipeline modernization project, which will take more than a decade to finish and cost an estimated $8 billion to $11 billion, astronomically outstretching the original budget of less than $2 billion. Such a project will be obsolete by the time it is finished. 

A new analysis by Energy Futures Group for the Natural Resources Defense Council shows that switching to electricity buildings rather than laying more gas pipes would result in cost savings as well as health and environmental benefits too substantial to ignore.

These benefits are urgently needed. The same neighborhoods struggling with energy affordability are also hit hardest by poor air quality because of polluting industries and their location near expressways with heavy vehicle traffic. Residents of these communities, unsurprisingly, have higher rates of respiratory health issues than the rest of the city.

Poor air quality is also a problem in their homes. Recent studies by Stanford and Harvard universities demonstrated how gas stoves can leak methane even when they are turned off, and how other toxic chemicals — including benzene, hexane, and toluene — are introduced into a home simply by having a working gas stove.

Gas stoves and heaters create indoor air pollution that circulates and impacts lung health, especially for those with asthma. And poor building materials, lack of insulation and utility shut-offs mean it’s not uncommon for people to rely on stoves for space heating in the cold winter months.

The daily threat to our health and financial security from relying on gas are real.

In addition, our buildings are a huge source of carbon pollution because they rely on gas for heating, cooking, and drying clothes. Chicago’s buildings contribute more to carbon pollution than all of the city’s cars and trucks combined.

Any long-term solution to the climate crisis for Chicago will have to include a transition away from fossil fuels at the level of every building. And if the transition is done well, it will also address urgent affordability and health concerns.

That’s why advocates are pushing for solutions that include stronger standards for phasing out fossil fuels in new construction and reducing carbon emissions and energy use in existing buildings with community oversight to ensure the transition happens in an equitable way.

The Lightfoot administration recently released a report with recommendations for a fossil fuel phaseout which include great ideas from business, community and environmental justice leaders.

We have the blueprint for policies that will make the transition happen, but in order to ensure it happens equitably, it will take voices from communities that are bearing the brunt of the biggest costs — both to our wallet and health.

Chicago’s environmental justice leaders have been working on these issues for decades and know best how to ensure these policies reach their neighborhoods. The city can leverage crucial partnerships by creating an oversight process that empowers community leaders and other stakeholders with the authority as well as the technical and financial resources to meaningfully guide the transition toward cleaner, healthier and more affordable homes.

It’s clear we can’t burden our communities with billions of dollars for an expensive labyrinth of pipes that will soon become obsolete. We can’t wait for change. Chicago’s leaders must act to make our city’s buildings cleaner, healthier and cheaper to maintain now. We stand ready to work with the city to make it happen.

Courtney Hanson is deputy director of People for Community Recovery. Gina Ramirez is Midwest outreach manager for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The Sun-Times welcomes letters to the editor and op-eds. See our guidelines.

The views and opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Chicago Sun-Times or any of its affiliates.

[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here

Frustrated and concerned families want to know why they were not notified immediately about dangerous levels of carbon dioxide in a nursery-to-Grade 9 school at Brokenhead Ojibway Nation that sent nearly a dozen people to hospital Friday.

One woman says her eight-year-old daughter has been sick since school resumed after the Christmas break; she’s now wondering if the exhaustion, dizziness, headaches and vomiting were caused by unsafe conditions at Sergeant Tommy Prince School.

“It’s been a roller-coaster and a half,” said Chasity Simard.

Dangerous levels of carbon dioxide were detected Friday at Sergeant Tommy Prince School at Brokenhead Ojibway Nation. (Jessica Lee / Winnipeg Free Press)

The school was evacuated Friday afternoon and initial details about the early dismissal at the building, located about 70 kilometres north of Winnipeg, were released to members of the First Nation via the community’s radio station and school Facebook page.

“School is closing for health & safety purposes with respect to air quality levels/air quality. Buses will be leaving ASAP,” principal Patsy Bercier wrote on social media at 2:45 p.m.

At about 10:30 a.m. Friday, the First Nation’s health services office posted information about CO2 poisoning — without any context or explanation attached — on its Facebook page.

It was not until midday Sunday that Brokenhead’s main Facebook page announced classes were being cancelled due to high CO2 levels detected inside the school building.

Simard said she contacted several school staff members to find out what was going on Friday and learned serious health concerns related to air quality led multiple employees to seek medical treatment.

It was then Simard said she began to question the symptoms her daughter has experienced this month, all of which she had previously chalked up to general illness and fatigue after the holidays.

Shared Heath confirmed 11 patients visited emergency departments across the Interlake-Eastern and Winnipeg health regions on Friday and were all treated and released.

Sparse information from school officials Friday led to rumours and concerns among some in the community that the evacuation had occurred due to a carbon monoxide leak, potentially more dangerous than higher concentrations of CO2.

Both are colourless and odourless gases; CO2 spreads a sharp, acidic odour in high concentrations. Headaches and dizziness are among the symptoms a patient will experience if they become poisoned. Significant exposure to high amounts of CO2 can lead to unconsciousness and death.

Simard said her daughter reported smelling “a really gross, stinky smell” in her classroom Friday.

“The fact that I could’ve lost my daughter, it breaks me. She doesn’t know why I’ve been like this, crying for the past three days,” Simard said Monday, adding she wants to take her daughter to the doctor and plans to keep the eight-year-old home indefinitely.

CO2 levels reached “a strength considered to be toxic air quality” and that resulted in a shutdown because the building was deemed unsafe, according to the Sunday letter signed by Bercier and Wendell Sinclair, a band councillor who is also the community’s director of education.

The notice states the school was outfitted with air purifier units for each furnace earlier in the school year and the equipment “was not completed to a proper safe running condition causing a lack of fresh intake into (the) building.”

A notice stated the school was outfitted with air purifier units for each furnace earlier in the year, but was not completed properly, causing a lack of fresh air intake into the building. (Jessica Lee / Winnipeg Free Press)

The executive director of Manitoba’s First Nations education resource centre and school system, which is in charge of operating the school, indicated new HVAC infrastructure was installed over the summertime.

Charles Cochrane said work is underway to ensure the school’s indoor air is safe and CO2 sensors are being checked regularly. Cochrane dismissed claims there was a lag in providing families with information, saying there was no urgency to send a detailed letter because children were not in school on Saturday or Sunday.

Neither the school administrators’ letter nor a second letter Sunday from the school system outlined CO2 poisoning symptoms, encouraged families to seek medical attention after the exposure or noted community members visited the hospital.

Brokenhead Chief Gordon Bluesky said he has heard from a handful of people who are upset about how the situation was handled and is aware several individuals went to the hospital in the wake of the incident.

Further investigation is required to determine how the school’s response failed community members, Bluesky said.

“We have to ensure all parties are following the processes and procedures that are laid out in front of them because if we don’t do that, we would be negligent,” he added.

“Our No. 1 priority is the health and safety of our community, and our children, being our most vulnerable, need to be protected and we’re going to take steps to ensure that something like this doesn’t happen again.”

[email protected]

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie

[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here

Spex•Crete™ DC Lightweight Flooring Renovation Job Photo Compilation

Spex•Crete™ is supplying Spex•Lite® 6724 Ultra Light Filler Beads to Source One Flooring, Inc. for a 400,000+ square foot building renovation project in D.C.

Source One is very grateful for the work on this project by the Spex•Crete™ team. We look forward to the future, continuing to configure new installation design methods with Spex•Crete™ products”

— Mr. Charles Bandy III, Source One Flooring, Inc.

WESTLAKE, OH, UNITED STATES, January 16, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ — Spex•Crete™ Commercial Underlayments announced that it is supplying Spex•Lite® 6724 Ultra Light Filler Beads to Source One Flooring, Inc. for a 400,000+ square foot building renovation project in Washington, D.C.

This large metropolitan renovation project came with many challenging opportunities that needed to be overcome that few flooring contractors have the ability to manage. Jeff Shine, Z. Abbas and Charles Bandy III of Source One Flooring, Inc. were willing and able to take on a project of this magnitude to solve their client’s needs and bring innovative lightweight floor leveling solutions to the industry. Source One and its vendor partners have proven a best practice installation system for lightweight floor leveling solution for large renovation projects in congested urban environment.

During the design phase of this project, Mr. Bandy contacted Spex•Crete™ Commercial Underlayments and presented a flooring challenge. Mr. Bandy needed a lightweight flooring solution to stay within the flooring dead load weight specification for his project. Source One Flooring required a lightweight deep fill product that had a compressive strength profile of ~1,000 psi and a density range from 62-66 pounds per cubic foot. From its portfolio of lightweight flooring solutions, the Spex•Crete™ team presented Spex•Lite® 6724 to Mr. Bandy and his team.

Spex•Lite® 6724 is an ultra lightweight additive for self-leveling underlayments. The benefits of mixing Spex•Lite® 6724 into the self-leveling underlayment are that it significantly decreases the system weight, doesn’t add to water demand of the system and provides an easy to handle, lightweight deep fill flooring underlayment that can adapt instantly to the varying depths and obstructions. For this project, Mr. Bandy used Spex•Lite® 6724 with Uzin NC 157, a self-leveling underlayment with indoor air quality advantages, and achieved a ~50% weight reduction of the self-leveler. This reduction of flooring dead load put the lightweight underlayment system back in specification.

Working on such a large renovation project required a lot of logistics coordination. On-site storage was limited, delivery windows were tight, and many other contractors were working in the building simultaneously. The Spex•Crete™ team worked closely with Mr. Bandy to coordinate the delivery of the Spex•Lite® 6724, and the Source One Flooring team managed the installation in sections as they became available. Due to the jobsite restrictions, the lightweight flooring underlayment of Spex•Lite® 6724 and Uzin NC 157 was barrel mixed, placed and gauge raked to the appropriate depths. Once the lightweight underlayment system was placed and ready to top, the Source One Flooring Team capped it with a layer of Uzin NC 157.

Reflecting on the project, Mr. Bandy commented: “Spex•Crete™ has supported this project with a tremendous amount of effort! There were no restrictions on time for customer service, many late nights on the phone with representatives from Spex•Crete™ to make sure they fulfilled our needs. I cannot say enough about their customer support. One example being I needed an emergency delivery of Spex•Lite® 6724 Beads to the jobsite the next day. I knew this was a farfetched request, the possibility of Spex•Crete™ making this happen was slim to none. I had to try because the client (General Contractor) wanted this area installed. I spoke with Doug from Spex•Crete™ for less than five minutes, and within thirty minutes, Doug called me back with a plan to assist our team. Projects in the District of Columbia can have major logistical nightmares, but Doug with the assistance of his team undoubtedly will always look to serve their client.

Source One is very grateful for the work performance that was shown on this project by the Spex•Crete™ team. We look forward to the future, continuing to configure new installation design methods with Spex•Crete™ products on new projects”.

For more information, please contact David Schabel ([email protected]). SpexCrete can be reached at 440-462-1500, M-F 8:00AM – 5:00PM EST.

About Source One Flooring, Inc.:

Source One Flooring is an innovative provider of commercial flooring solutions in the D.C. Metro area and beyond. Its vision is to redefine the flooring industry standards by delivering the highest level of contentment to its clients. Source One Flooring is committed to its founding principles of establishing relationships, delivering exceptional workmanship and strategic planning. Source One Flooring is proud to be recognized as one of the new leaders in the Flooring industry.

For more information about Source One Flooring. Inc, please visit the company’s website at: www.sourceonefloorinc.com or call 703-444-4600, M-F, 8:00AM – 5:00PM EST.

About Spex•Crete™ Commercial Underlayments:

Spex•Crete™ is a custom formulator and supplier of Lightweight Flooring Underlayment Systems and Lightweight Additives. Core products include the Spex•Crete™ 350 SS ULU (Super-Set Ultra Lightweight Underlayment), Spex•Crete™ 70 (lightweight leveler), Spex•Crete™ 5000 SLU (Self-Leveling Underlayment), Spex•Crete™ 5000 W SLU (Wear Surface), Water Based Bonding Agent, and many lightweight additives such as the Spex•Crete™ G5 LWA (lightweight sand alternative) and Spex•Lite® 6724
(Ultra Lightweight Additive).

For more information, project support and purchases, please call the Spex•Crete™ Team at 440-462-1500 M-F, 8:00AM – 5:00PM EST or visit www.SpexCrete.com.

David L Schabel
SpexCrete
+1 440-462-1500
[email protected]
Visit us on social media:
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
YouTube

You just read:

News Provided By

January 16, 2023, 22:00 GMT

EIN Presswire’s priority is source transparency. We do not allow opaque clients, and our editors try to be careful about weeding out false and misleading content.
As a user, if you see something we have missed, please do bring it to our attention. Your help is welcome. EIN Presswire, Everyone’s Internet News Presswire™,
tries to define some of the boundaries that are reasonable in today’s world. Please see our
Editorial Guidelines
for more information.

Submit your press release

[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here

Air pollution is the largest environmental health risk in Europe, causing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, contributing to poor health and even premature death. There are multiple factors that contribute to poor air quality such as PM2.5, formaldehyde, and nitrogen dioxide, which by Dr. Chunli Cao, CEO of Healthy Air Technology, examines in this article.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is caused by road transport, which emits NO2 close to the ground. It’s primarily concentrated in densely populated areas, resulting in population exposure. Other important contributors of NO2 are combustion processes in industry and the energy supply. In Europe, the highest concentrations were found in large cities with high traffic volumes.

The maps show the number of years of life lost per country attributable to air pollution (PM2.5 left and NO2 right).

What is Nitrogen Dioxide exactly?

Nitrogen oxides are common air pollutants, usually referring to nitrogen monoxide and nitrogen dioxide, often expressed as NOX. Nitric oxide is a colorless, odorless gas that quickly turns into nitrogen dioxide in the air. Therefore, it is mainly nitrogen dioxide that exists in the air for a long time and poses a threat to human health.

Nitrogen dioxide is corrosive, highly oxidizing, and easily soluble in water. Under the action of sunlight, nitrous acid and nitric acid can be formed. Nitrogen dioxide rapidly destroys lung cells, which can lead to emphysema and pneumonia, causing acute asthma.

Nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere undergoes a series of chemical reactions to form nitric acid, which becomes a component of acid rain. With the increase of the number of motor vehicles in cities, the proportion of nitric acid in acid rain continues to rise. Nitrogen dioxide is also one of the main pollutants that cause urban photochemical smog pollution.

High-temperature combustion is the main source of nitrogen dioxide at low altitudes. Vehicle exhaust, boiler combustion, and kitchen fume emissions will all produce nitrogen dioxide. Nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere will enter the room through leaks in buildings, open doors and windows and ventilation systems.

To further reduce global public health risks, the World Health Organization (WHO) revised released the “Global Air Quality Guidance Values (2021)” (AQG 2021). The guideline document proposes the guideline value levels (AQG) of six major air pollutants including NO 2, based on the results of scientific research to determine the minimum concentration value of air pollution at which people are exposed to air pollution and cause health risks.

The AQG applies to both indoor and outdoor environments and based on new evidence of the association between long-term NO 2 exposure and all-cause and respiratory disease mortality, the AQG changed the annual mean target for NO 2 from 40 µg/m³ to 10 µg/m³; The daily average target value is 25µg/m 3.

AQG is mainly aimed at infants, susceptible populations with cardiopulmonary and metabolic diseases and other diseases related to air pollution exposure. Many studies have revealed that for countries and regions with relatively serious air pollution (including China), the air pollution standards formulated according to the old WHO AQG have limited health protection effects on susceptible populations, and more stringent AQG will better protect vulnerable populations. Infected people are protected from the effects of air pollution.

An air purification research institution in the UK once carried out an experiment called “air backpack”, which contained a tester for nitrogen dioxide in the air. Two groups of primary school students were asked to take different routes to and from school with “air backpacks” on their backs.

The results showed that most of the students chose the route of walking more to and from school because the “air backpacks” told them that they inhaled less nitrogen dioxide. Industrially developed countries such as the United Kingdom attach great importance to nitrogen dioxide pollution. Most other countries still have difficulty reaching the previous guidance value, and it is even more difficult to catch up with the new AQG.

Removal of nitrogen dioxide in indoor air, reaching the daily average target value of 25µg/m 3 , may become the next outlet in the air purification industry. Infants and young children, family members suffering from cardiopulmonary and metabolic diseases, please pay attention to the new opponent of air pollution, nitrogen dioxide.

Last week, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a plan to ban the sale of new gas stoves which cannot be ‘made safe’ due to fears over indoor nitrogen dioxide pollution. 

Top image: Tim Foster

Subscribe to our newsletter

[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here

I live in the Bay Area, famous for its mild weather, a place where climate change feels a bit abstract – the problem of people residing in distant lands. It’s easy to scroll through images of the increasing weather disasters – cyclones, tornados, blizzards, floods, mud slides, rising seas and wildfires – feeling horror but also a little smug at the luck of living in the land of year-round shorts and relentless sunshine.

But our luck changed on New Year’s Eve, when a line of killer storms began to assault California, soaking us with 24tn gallons of water, killing 19 people and causing more than 1bn dollars in damages.

While it’s true that Californians have been living under a historic, 20-year drought, the water shortage has never seemed quite real: there’s always water in the tap.

This same attitude of remove prevails regarding the record number of drought-induced wildfires in our state – most occur in remote areas, out of sight. When our family vacation at Lake Tahoe was cut short by a wildfire in 2021, we simply drove home to clean air – until the smoke followed us, blackening the sky at midday and toxifying the air. Even then, our discomfort was short-lived – we bought air purifiers and masks. There’s always a fix, a hack, a workaround. I snapped photos of my daughter walking to school under the eerie orange sky as a souvenir of this blip in our lives. A few days later, our blue sky returned, as seemingly reliable as the tourists mobbing Fisherman’s Wharf.

These past two weeks, however, have brought the planetary emergency into our living room. The disaster images come from our neighboring towns, affecting people and places we know.

Rain has been so rare in my kids’ lifetime, that even now, at 13 and 16, they will race outside to dance with joy whenever it falls from the sky. They understand, at a primal level, that water is life, just as air is life. As a household, we try to conserve water by landscaping with drought-tolerant plants and collecting the cold water that first jets from the shower in buckets to water them.

So when the first drenching rain came on New Year’s Eve, I felt a deep gratitude. Our reservoirs would be replenished. Our parched earth would be quenched. But then the celestial spigot kept gushing, day and night, and now we are drowning. At one point, 90% of California was under a flood watch. The “bomb cyclone” yanked 15 giant fronds from the palm tree in our yard in one fell swoop and dashed them onto the street like match sticks. Friends have been without power for days. But these experiences pale compared to the heartbreaking ordeals of some, including the mother whose five-year-old son was pulled from her arms by a flash flood or the parents whose toddler was crushed by a falling tree.

Although eight in 10 Californians say they worry about climate change, their responses to the crisis often baffle me. Despite continued warnings to conserve water, some wealthy homeowners insist on keeping their emerald lawns with a to hell with the rest of you obstinance, depleting a resource that we all depend on.

And now, while thousands of Californians have evacuated their homes due to rising water, others have treated the storms as an amusement, surfing beneath the Golden Gate Bridge, kayaking on surging rivers and flooded city streets.

This disparity of effect and reaction reminds me of Lars Von Trier’s brilliant film Melancholia. When the characters learn that a rogue planet is set to collide with earth – decimating life – their responses couldn’t be more dissimilar. One kills himself, another chooses wine and denial, a third is fascinated by the wisps of electricity that rise from her fingers in the charged atmosphere.

After the water recedes and the mud is cleaned up the bodies retrieved, when things go back to “normal”, what wisdom will we draw from this collective experience? What will we do to try to stave off more severe storms in the future? Will we make changes in our daily lives that sacrifice convenience for sustainability? Will we demand that our governments and corporations implement policies to reduce greenhouse gases?

The extent to which climate change affects you or I is largely based on geography and dumb luck. Today California is getting hammered; tomorrow, your area may be. We all live in the same planetary neighborhood. What remains to be seen is if how we, as global citizens, will unite in our response to a crisis that affects us all. We can’t live in a La La land of workarounds and denial forever: eventually, lethal weather will come for us all.

• Julia Scheeres is a California-based journalist and a founder of Sustainabar, which makes zero-waste bars of common household products

[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here

On December 23, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) announced a settlement with transportation company CSX. The settlement addressed a series of air pollution violations caused by the company after a severe explosion occurred at its Baltimore facility in December 2021. 

The explosion occurred at a CSX coal terminal on Benhill Avenue in Baltimore on December 30, 2021, several hundred feet outside the Curtis Bay community.

Videos of the incident, still on YouTube, show a massive explosion sending flames up into the sky that can be seen right outside the plant, along with a shockwave that followed. At 11:47 a.m., local Baltimore firefighters tweeted, “Shockwave could be felt Citywide” and “Hazmat, Special Rescue Units & Fireboats on scene. STAY AWAY FROM THE AREA!”

Plumes of smoke rise over the Curtis Bay neighborhood in southeast Baltimore, December 30, 2021. [Photo: Baltimore Firefighters IAFF Local 734]

The Baltimore Sun, reporting on the explosion a few days afterward, said that the explosion resulted from ignition as coal moving into a transfer tower within the facility met with the methane and dust in the atmosphere.

The settlement required CSX to pay a penalty of $15,000 to MDE and $100,000 to the South Baltimore Community Land Trust. The non-profit trust is partnered with the Curtis Bay Community Association to help fund a community project to rehabilitate a vacant building for use as an environmental education and training center. 

Early last year, investigations were launched by both federal and local authorities to look into how the explosion happened. These revealed CSX’s negligence in ensuring a safe environment for the workers and the community. Following the investigations, Curtis Bay residents also took separate legal action against CSX.

In June, the Baltimore City Council held one of two city hearings into what caused the explosion at the terminal facility. CSX refused to send representatives and emphasized in statements the economic contributions the company brought to the city. CSX spokeswoman Cindy Schild told the Sun the facility was only shut down for “a couple of weeks,” and reopened in February 2022.

In July, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fined CSX $121,000 following a separate investigation. They cited nine violations that contributed to the hazardous environment that led to the explosion. 

A couple of months after OSHA’s report, the city of Baltimore held a second hearing on the blast. A CSX official told CBS News the explosion was due to “inadequate ventilation [which] led to the accumulation of methane.” Baltimore city officials ended the hearing by signaling they would seek to suspend CSX’s operations in Curtis Bay.

Data published in the US Energy Information Administration in 2017 showed that CSX’s coal piers located in Baltimore are the second largest exporters of coal on the United States’ east coast, accounting for about 29 million short tons of coal a year.

CSX’s pollution of the air has been one of many consistent complaints from residents living near the facility. 

A board member of the Curtis Bay Community Association told the World Socialist Web Site, “The bay hosts about 70 facilities of concern, from heavy manufacturing to chemical and pesticide manufacturing, oil, gas, coal, and hazardous waste. A lot of different things.” These hazardous materials “impact on people’s ability to breathe clean air, drink water and not be exposed to any kind of chemicals.”

The neighborhood has brought its own lawsuit against the corporation, alleging environmental negligence, private nuisance and trespass through its various violations.

“[There] used to be three neighboring communities [to Curtis Bay] but they were all bought out or forced out by corporations who wanted less liability for killing people,” the community member explained.

The resident thought the state’s settlement with CSX was “a weak action,” explaining “the pushback by CSX” and attempts to confuse the issue by claiming “that it’s [coal dust] from another coal facility nearby. CSX will confuse everything to the point where the government will back off.”

The sum total of the fines raised against CSX is a drop in the bucket compared to the total revenue of the company last year. In October, CSX announced their third quarter financial results showing the company reached $3.90 billion , an 18 percent increase from 2021. 

CSX workers were among the nearly 120,000 railroad workers who voted last year to take strike action against the corporations overseeing their harsh conditions of exploitation. The US federal government, acting on behalf of big business and with the support of the unions, intervened to force through a substandard contract and deprive workers of their constitutional right to hold strike action.

Residents of the Curtis Bay community also showed up in support of picketing CSX railroaders in October, an action that was organized by the Railroad Workers Rank-and-File Committee (RWRFC). When asked why, the Curtis Bay resident said, “We’ve seen the connection between CSX and other railroads are attacking labor to drive down costs and profit more.” 

Connecting CSX’s contempt for residents with the broader railroad struggle, the resident said, “We don’t just have a railroad, but a railroad with an exploding coal terminal that is off-limits from oversight and accountability. It felt like a parallel with what’s going on with railroaders.” The resident stated that the federal government’s intervention against the workers was “unconscionable.”

Sign up for the Railroad Workers Newsletter!

[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here

Public health experts worldwide are calling for better Indoor Air Quality (IA) claiming it should be made a public health priority.

The call to action began when the UK’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said decades of progress in curbing external air pollution must be matched with a similar push to tackle airborne contaminants in indoor environments.

He said it was crucial to ensure that indoor air quality was now made a public health priority alongside a need to go even further with efforts to also reduce external pollution sources.

Professor Whitty said it was technically possible to reduce exposure to air pollution in a range of environments.

Whitty said the negative impacts of poor indoor air quality also needed to be better understood and considered in policy and health initiatives.

This consideration needed to include an improved focus on how the design of buildings and ventilation systems can tackle poor IAQ.

He said the need to improve indoor air quality created a “major engineering challenge” that required the specification and operation of effective ventilation that could also minimise energy use and heat loss.

“This is a priority for reducing indoor air pollution while achieving net zero carbon,” Whitty said.

He called for increased research into the most effective ways to reduce air pollution. “This should include researching methods for reducing contaminants formed both inside or outside a building or environment,” Whitty said.

“There has been far less research and investment in IAQ in comparison to outdoor pollution.  Air pollution has improved and will continue improving provided we are active in tackling it. We can and should go further – and it is technically possible to do so.”

He noted that the definition of indoor air pollution can be split into two notable varieties. This included the ingress of pollutants into the indoor environment and contaminants that are emitted in a building itself.

“Inequality in indoor exposure to pollutants is linked to the quality of housing (new build or retrofitted) as well as location – whether the housing is located near busy or congested roads, or industrial sites,” he said.

“Indoor activities of cooking, heating and use of building materials, cleaning and personal care products can emit NO2, carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) indoors.

“These indoor pollutants can also be impacted by higher occupancy levels in a building, along with a lack of adequate ventilation.”

Adequate ventilation can be defined both in terms of the use of mechanical solutions, as well as passive measures such as opening windows or doors.

“Both of these measures can conversely increase heat loss and also allow outdoor pollutants into a building without additional design consideration,” Whitty said.

Other important considerations that determine IAQ levels of a building were measures needed to improve energy efficiency.

“These can include the increased use of insulation and other methods to make properties more airtight,” Whitty said.

“This can increase indoor pollution concentrations from indoor sources if there is not also adequate ventilation for indoor pollutants to leave the building.”

Professor Whitty said there was a range of disparities in exposure risks to both indoor and external air pollution.

These disparities included evidence of a significant increase in concentration of contaminants such as PM2.5, NO2 and VOCs in low income housing following retrofit work that has increased air tightness in buildings.

“In homes that are not owner-occupied, residents may have less agency to improve indoor air quality, for example, through interventions to reduce damp and mould. There is evidence that children growing up in homes with mould are between 1.5 and three times more prone to coughing and wheezing,” he said.”

The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) came out in support of the call to action.

BESA chief executive David Frise praised Professor Whitty for taking on board several of the lessons learned about the role of building ventilation during the pandemic. 

“Poorly ventilated indoor spaces were shown to significantly increase the risk of infection transmission,” Frise said.

“Better ventilation and air filtration are also proven to enhance health and well-being (including mental health), improve sleep quality, and boost productivity. 

“The case for increased investment in ventilation solutions is persuasive and the intervention of the country’s top medical official could be a real turning point for investment in ventilation as it should make anyone who has responsibility for conditions inside buildings sit up and take notice.” 

World Health Organisation (WHO) child health advocate Rosamund Adoo Kissi-Debrah said that people would continue to die unless governments and the ventilation industry worked together to improve IAQ. 

The WHO has established that 3.8 million premature deaths worldwide are linked to poor indoor air every year out of a total of 8.7 million from general air pollution.

[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here