Author: Peacock Carter

Several events took place on June 20 across Scotland to celebrate Clean Air Day.

Clean Air Day is the UK’s largest air pollution campaign which takes place on 20 June every year and is coordinated by Environmental Protection Scotland in Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government.

The day, is supported by several organisations including Cleaner Air for Scotland (CAFS) strategy, Cycling Scotland, Energy Saving Trust Scotland, Greener Scotland, Health Protection Scotland, Scottish Transport Emissions Partnership, Sustrans and Transport Scotland.

More than 100 organisations across the length and breadth of Scotland took part in the day’s events, with 20 local authorities from Comhairle nan Eilean Siar to North Ayrshire getting involved.

Those involved ranged from nurseries to larger schools, health boards, active travel hubs and private and public sector organisations.

Glasgow staged a free flagship event which closed off part of George Square and featured many clean air-themed events and activities. Festivities included a BMX track, live music, displays of low emission buses and electric vehicles and information on air quality in Scotland.

Aberdeen organised a public event on similar lines which had stalls from Aberdeen City Council, First Bus, the NHS and air quality specialists Ricardos. First Bus gave away free day passes as part of a national campaign and NHS representatives educated members of the public on how to travel more healthily. There was also three electric and hydrogen vehicles on show.

While in Argyll, pupils at Rhunahaorine Primary School in Tayinloan conducted a traffic survey on the nearby A83 main route to Campbeltown to make a short video promoting the benefits of cleaner air. Plockton High School had a Clean Air Day theme in their classes, with pupils discussing and debating air quality and what can be done to improve it.

Other engagement events included an initiative to encourage active travel organised by Falkirk Active Travel Hub at Forth Valley Royal Hospital and free breakfast vouchers for NHS staff who cycle or walk to work at Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock.

The UK government is consulting on plans to introduce mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid in the UK help prevent neural tube defects in foetuses.

The launch of the 12-week consultation follows years of campaigns urging the Government to make the fortification of flour mandatory.

Neural tube defects, such as spina bifida (abnormal development of the spine) and anencephaly, which affects the brain, affect about 1,000 pregnancies per year in the UK. Over 40% of cases are fatal. Most babies who survive will need continuing care.

There is strong evidence that many neural tube defects can be prevented by increasing women’s intake of folic acid.

Women trying to become pregnant are already advised to take a daily supplement of 400 micrograms of folic acid before they conceive and during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. But about half of pregnancies are unplanned, and women are not always aware they should take the supplement – or forget to.

Fortification is seen as the most effective way of reaching women with the lowest intakes, typically younger woman from deprived areas. 

Mandatory fortification would mean everybody who ate foods such as bread would get more folic acid, but scientists have advised the government the recommended level is safe.

More than 60 countries already add folic acid to flour. When Canada introduced mandatory fortification, in the late 1990s, neural tube defects halved. And when the same change was made in Australia, neural tube defects fell by 14%.

UK milled wheat flour already has the vitamins thiamine and niacin as well as iron and calcium added.

Food waste from Scottish homes even worse for climate change than plastic waste, Zero Waste Scotland warns as it urges everyone to play their part through its new Food Waste Reduction Action Plan.

The agency issued the warning as it began work to implement its new Food Waste Reduction Action Plan, launched with the Scottish Government with the aim of reducing food waste across Scotland by a third by 2025.

When food waste ends up in landfill, it rots, producing methane – one of the most damaging greenhouse gases driving up climate change.  In the short-term methane is many times worse than carbon dioxide.

Iain Gulland, chief executive Zero Waste Scotland, said: “It might seem bizarre but scraping that leftover lasagne, mince or salad from your plate into the bin is seriously damaging the planet, because when those scraps of pasta and lettuce which you never got around to eating end up in landfill, they rot. And as they break down they emit methane, which is many times more harmful in the short-term to our climate than carbon dioxide (CO2).

“Food waste is actually a bigger cause of climate change than plastics. It is still vital that we continue to reduce plastic waste, which remains an extremely serious issue. But as more people ditch single use plastics as awareness grows of the wider impact of plastic waste, including pollution, we will send a strong message on the damage caused by binning leftovers and other wasted food.” 

Only 93,000 tonnes of the food waste collected in Scotland in 2016 was sent to dedicated food waste recycling collections, with most of the remainder sent to landfill, while around 150,000 tonnes went to home composting or ended up in sewage works after going down the drain from kitchen sinks.

Zero Waste Scotland calculated that the carbon footprint of food waste collected from Scottish households that year was nearly three times that of plastic waste collected from people's homes, at roughly 1.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) compared to 0.73MtCO2e.

One of the key reasons why food waste has a far greater impact on global warming is that there is much more of it, with the amount of food waste collected from Scottish households in 2016 roughly double the amount of plastic waste collected. Zero Waste Scotland figures for that year calculated that 456,000 tonnes of food waste was collected in total, compared with 224,000 tonnes of plastic waste.

The Scottish government has also launched a new advertising campaign, entitled Food Gone Bad, to help raise awareness of the impact food waste has on climate change and how to reduce it.

A £30 million project to improve services, and ensure high quality drinking water to more than 54,000 people in parts of Bearsden, Milngavie, Clydebank and Strathblane, will be carried out for Scottish Water by its partners Caledonia Water Alliance (CWA). It is expected this work will take around two years to complete. 

The project will change the source of the water supply from the ageing Burncrooks Water Treatment Works (WTW) in West Stirlingshire to the state-of-the-art Milngavie WTW in East Dunbartonshire.

The works will involve the installation of around 8 miles of new water main, the transfer of supply to Milngavie WTW and the decommissioning of Burncrooks WTW.    

Burncrooks WTW, in the Kilpatrick Hills near Strathblane, was built in the late 1950s and has served the area well.  But it's reaching the end of its working life and is not suitable in the long-term to meet stringent water quality standards.

The state-of-the-art Milngavie WTW was opened in 2007 and already serves about 700,0000 across much of the Greater Glasgow area.

The project will enable the provision of high-quality water to thousands of domestic properties and businesses and a large number of public buildings including more than 30 schools in three local authority areas, and the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank.

The investment will also enable Scottish Water to supply customers with water from more than one WTW which will provide improved resilience and reduce the risk of disruption to normal water supplies.

The main 4.3 miles section of new plastic twin-pipe water main will be installed from Bankell Service Reservoir in the east, to Baljaffray Service Reservoir in the west, following a route up part of Strathblane Road, west along the north of Craigmaddie Reservoir, round the north and west of Mugdock Reservoir, down Mugdock Road to Drumclog Car Park.

It will continue across the south of Mugdock Country Park, crossing the West Highland Way over the Allander Water near Clober, crossing the A809 just south of Craigton village, to Baljaffray Service Reservoir.  

The total of 8 miles of water main will also include a second stretch of 3.5 miles of  250ml pipe, to be installed from near Baljaffray to Carbeth, where it will connect to the existing network. 

This new plastic main will replace an existing stretch of old 21 inch main, which has a history of bursts, and will provide improved security of supply.

More than 80% of the pipe route will be installed on private land, rather than under public roads and footpaths, to reduce inconvenience to the public.

For more information on the project visit Scottish Water project page: Burncrooks Water Improvements

Health Protection Scotland (HPS) published the following gastrointestinal surveillance reports for 2018: 

Hepatitis A 

In 2018, there were 34 cases of Hepatitis A reported to HPS. This is lower than that reported in 2017 when 153 cases were reported. However, these reports in 2017 included 91 cases associated with a foodborne outbreak of Hepatitis A focused in NHS Lanarkshire.​

Hepatitis E 

​​​​In 2018, HPS received 112 reports of Hepatitis E , with a rate of 2.1 cases per 100,000 population. This is a decline of 34.5% and 50.4% when compared with case numbers in 2017 and 2016 respectively.​

​​Listeria monocytogenes 

There were 12 cases of Listeria​monocytogenes reported in 2018, a slight decline on the 17 cases reported in 2017, and reflects the random year on year variation seen in the small number of cases.

Norovirus

​​​In 2018, HPS received 1,491 laboratory reports of norovirus, a rate of 16.3 per 100,000. This was an increase of 514 (52.6%) on the 977 reports received in 2017.​

Shigella

​​In 2018, there were 115 reports of Shigella in Scotland, 112 (97.4%) of which were further speciated. This is an increase when compared with the 38 reports (59.4%) in 2017 and 44 reports (50.6%) in 2016.​

The surveillance reports can be read on the HPS website here.

On the Sunday 5 May roads in the centre of Edinburgh were closed to traffic for the first time as the city joined the Open Streets movement to reduce air pollution.

It is the first city in the UK to join the Open Streets movement, a movement which has seen cities around the world temporarily close some streets to all but pedestrians and non-motorised vehicles on a regular basis.

In Edinburgh, the initiative will take place on the first Sunday of every month as part of an 18-month trial. Streets closed to traffic are in the Old Town, including the Canongate, Cockburn Street and Victoria Street and will be closed between midday and 17:00.

Councillor Lesley Macinnes said: “We’ve seen how successful similar schemes internationally have proved by encouraging active travel, improving air quality and creating a safer, more relaxed atmosphere so I can’t wait to see this take shape in the capital.

“Climate change is a real threat to society, it’s clear that we have to act, and Open Streets is undoubtedly a step in the right direction. We are wholeheartedly committed to creating an accessible, sustainable and people-friendly city.”

Picture: City of Edinburgh Council tweeted a picture of one iconic street devoid of cars

New guidelines have been published for acrylamide in food by Food Standards Scotland in partnership with SFELC Food Safety and Food Standards Sub Committees. 

The guidelines are intended to help authorised officers with the implementation and interpretation of Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2158. 

Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2158 was published following a full Scientific Opinion produced by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on the risks related to the presence of acrylamide in food, and concluded that the current level of acrylamide in food is a concern for public health

The overall aim of the Regulation is to ensure that food businesses put in place steps to mitigate acrylamide formation where practicable to ensure levels in food are As Low As Reasonably Achievable (the ALARA principle) through the application of appropriate mitigation measures by all Food Business Operators (FBOs) along the food chain. 

Acrylamide is a chemical substance formed by a reaction between amino acids and sugars, typically in foods with high starch content, when cooked at high temperatures such as in frying, roasting, toasting and baking. Acrylamide is considered to be a chemical hazard in the food chain and a probable genotoxic carcinogen in humans.

Foods that typically affected are ones that have a high starch content and are cooked at high temperatures such as frying, roasting, toasting and baking. These include French fries, potato crisps, bread and breakfast cereals. 

Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 requires all FBOs to consider chemical contaminant hazards (e.g. acrylamide) within the scope of their Food Safety Management System (FSMS). 

Therefore, Cooksafe has also been updated and now includes an Acrylamide insert to help Food Business Operators identify and reduce acrylamide in products. It is also available in Bengali, Punjabi, Urdu and Cantonese. 

“Guidelines for Local Authorities on the Implementation of Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2158- establishing mitigation measures and benchmarking levels for the reduction of the presence of acrylamide in food” can be accessed here.

The Cooksafe insert can be accessed here.

Environmental Health at East Renfrewshire Council have created a short video in a bid to raise awareness of allergen information requirements for food businesses. 

The video aimed at food businesses and consumers aims to ensure that they are aware of the allergen requirements and they can trust the food they buy and are protected. 

The video can be viewed here.

Following publication of the document titled ‘Guidance for Local Authority Enforcement Officers on the Production of Cheese from Unpasteurised Milk’, by the SFELC Joint Specialist Cheese & Risky Foods Short-Life Working Group in October 2018, a new Version 2 of the guidance has been produced and ratified at the SFELC meeting on Friday 26 April 2019.  

The new version has been updated based on feedback received in March 2019 from Local Authority enforcement officers, Scottish raw milk cheese producers and the Specialist Cheesemakers Association (SCA), with the aim of making the content of the guidance clearer to all involved. 

The guidance will continue to be updated on an on-going basis following any further feedback received from enforcement officers and businesses as more practical experience is gained. 

The document is intended to support a new enforcement approach proposed by SFELC for the inspection and enforcement of food safety controls applied by cheesemakers producing cheese made from unpasteurised milk. 

The revised version can be found on the Food Standards Scotland website.

Clean Air Day Scotland website has now gone live and the toolkits can be downloaded from here. 

Clean Air Day is happening on Thursday 20 June 2019. The website brings together years of experience and expert advice to create lots of free resources which will contribute to the success of Clean Air Day.

At the recent REHIS Annual Environmental Health forum at New Lanark delegates had the pleasure of welcoming Lawson Wight from the Burnright campaign.

Burnright is the national consumer awareness campaign to promote efficient domestic burning.

Many consumers are unaware that the way they use their fuels and fires can make a big difference to air quality. Burnright has created a website with lots of useful information, videos etc. where consumers can learn how to “Get it Right” and make a big difference.

In addition, Burnright has produced an evolving range of materials and resources to help sweeps and solid fuel professionals deliver the right messages.

REHIS president David Duffy said “Lawson’s professional insight and technical awareness gave our delegates an eye opening presentation around wood burning practices. Key messages regarding fuel suitability and the need for correct operation of these units will assist our members when tackling smell and smoke nuisance complaints which they often receive. It is hoped through network sharing that Burnright members across Scotland can be taped into as a technical source of advice for Enforcement Officers throughout Scotland. We are very grateful to Lawson and Burnright for his time and attendance at this year’s Forum.”

Lawson Wight from the campaign said “I was very warmly welcomed by the REHIS team and I’d like to thank them all for the opportunity to present to such an engaged audience. Forging links between EHO’s and solid fuel professionals will really help consumer awareness of efficient domestic burning and air quality. I was particularly grateful for the opportunity to talk to REHIS officers and members at their dinner the night before and I think we all learned a lot.”

He summed up the future potential saying, “Chimney sweeps and fireplace installers engaging with EHO’s have a great opportunity to spread the Burnright messages further and faster. This can make a big difference to local air quality for minimal effort and cost.”

See all the consumer and trade information at www.burnright.co.uk.

Photo: Burnright – REHIS president David Duffy and Burnright’s Lawson Wight at the recent forum

Levels of second-hand smoke in Scotland’s prisons fell by more than 80 percent in the week after smoking was banned, according to new University of Stirling research.

The study confirms the positive impact of the smoke-free policy, introduced in November 2018, on the air quality within Scotland’s 15 prisons. The researchers compared smoke levels to measurements taken in 2016.

The study was led by Stirling’s Institute of Social Marketing (ISM), and involved the University of Glasgow and conducted in partnership with the Scottish Prison Service

Dr Sean Semple, Associate Professor at the ISM said: “We collected more than 110,000 minutes of second-hand smoke measurements from across the prison estate in the week that the smoking ban was introduced – and we compared these readings with measurements taken as part of the Tobacco in Prisons Study (TIPS) research in 2016.

“Our study shows improvements in the levels of second-hand smoke in every prison in Scotland, with an average fall of 81 percent. This is similar to the scale of change observed when pubs became smoke-free in 2006 – and the concentrations of fine particles in prison air has now reduced to levels similar to those measured in outdoor air in Scotland.

“This research confirms that exposure to second-hand smoke has been drastically reduced and, ultimately, this will have a positive impact on the health of prison staff and prisoners.”

Smoking has been banned in most enclosed public spaces in Scotland since 2006, however, prisoners were still permitted to smoke in their cells as long as their doors were closed. This situation changed on November 30, 2018, when smoking was banned in all prisons in Scotland.

It was estimated about 72% of Scottish prisoners smoked regularly before the ban was introduced.

The researchers used air quality monitors to measure fine particulate matter in each prison since 2016 and did so again during the week when the ban came into force.

The results showed that airborne levels of fine particles declined substantially in every prison between 2016 and December 3, 2018, the first full working day following the introduction of the ban. The overall median reduction in particle concentrations was 81 percent across all prisons.

A Scottish Prison Service spokesman said "All Scottish prisons went smoke-free on November 30 2018, and there have been no significant incidents as a result.

"This amazing achievement is a testament to the contribution made by all of our staff, especially those on the front line, and the cooperation of those in our care."

Debbie Sigerson, Organisational Lead for Tobacco in NHS Health Scotland said: “Smoking rates in prisons were much higher than they are outside. It was anticipated that creating a smoke free environment in prison would contribute to addressing this health inequality, and that the health of people who live and work there would be improved.

“We are delighted that the results from this study, early on in the implementation of smoke free prisons, shows that one factor that impacts on that harm – exposure to second hand smoke – has significantly reduced. Everyone has a right to live in a smoke free Scotland and today’s results show that we are one step further along the way to getting there.”

The study The impact of implementation of a national smoke-free prisons policy on indoor air quality: results from the Tobacco in Prisons Study was published in the British Medical Journal’s Tobacco Control and is the first of its kind to examine second-hand tobacco smoke concentrations across an entire prison estate where smoking is prohibited in all establishments.