Search Results for: Environmental Health⊂mit=Search

BY MARK ROWE, in Bristol, England

A NEW generation of biofuels is set to radically overhaul the non-fossil fuel market, providing opportunities and challenges for the automotive manufacturing industry, with many innovations emerging from Europe. Until recently, the question of biofuels has been limited, mainly, to biodiesel and bioethanol made from crops such as cereals, soybean and palm oil.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN research network Eureka has developed inorganic antibacterial chemical additives for incorporation into polypropylene fibres for sports and protective clothing, including mixes with natural fibres.

BASTEX project additives are artificial, bound to the fibres by a special carrier.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL and MARK ROWE

THE INSTITUTE of Nanotechnology, in Stirling, Scotland, has released a new compendium of groundbreaking research, with many studies focusing on the use of nanotechnology in environmental health. The research covers commercial and academic developments in using nanoparticles, for instance in antibacterial, self-decontamination and anti-fouling coatings; antimicrobial capsules and surfaces; making surfaces easy to clean conventionally; self-cleaning glass; eliminating odours; and other uses.…

BY MARK ROWE

SAFETY testing of nanotechnology-based food ingredients is likely to prove difficult for environmental health officers, according to a leading expert in the field. In many cases, officers will be almost entirely reliant on the good faith of food manufacturers when it comes to the verification and approval of products for the consumer market.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A SOPHISTICATED computer programme uniting the wide range of water quality monitoring demanded by the European Union’s (EU) water framework directive, is one of two British projects securing Euro 2.4 million funding from the EU LIFE-Environment programme this year.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has announced it will spend Euro 28.3 million on research to fight bird flu, which remains a threat to European Union (EU) environmental health. The studies will examine the flu’s microbiological mode of attack, human and livestock vaccine development, better diagnosis and early warning systems.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

RUSSIA’S President Vladimir Putin has signalled a tough fight with the European Union (EU) over oncoming talks about a future energy deal, as the European Commission has mapped out the key elements it would like to see in place.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) is moving towards supporting environment-friendly road transport, rather than dedicating resources to promoting public transport, a European Parliament debate organised by the Automobile and Society Forum, has heard. The European Commission is currently reviewing its 2001 transport white paper and its working papers have noted "disappointment" over the results of the EU’s pro-public transport policies.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

The European Parliament has welcomed a proposal by the European Commission in Brussels to cut the number of premature deaths caused by air pollution in EU cities by 40% over the twenty years to 2020 but says that still more needs to be done.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

AN UNLIKELY alliance linking the European timber industry and environmentalists has called for caution in increasing the role of biomass in Europe’s energy mix. The Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) and the Worldwide Find for Nature (WWF) have recommended that the energy sector’s exploitation of biomass grow sustainably.…