102

News

Air in Denmark’s capital getting cleaner

Lucie Rychla
February 29th, 2016


This article is more than 8 years old.

It’s all thanks to filters that eliminate 95 percent of bus emissions

The special filters have been installed on buses that operate on the 1A, 2A and 6A line (photo: Leif Jørgensen)

Public buses in Copenhagen and Frederiksberg have been polluting markedly less thanks to brand new filters that eliminate 95 percent of particulate matters and nitrogen dioxide.

Over the past six months, some 300 buses have been fitted with more efficient filtering systems that significantly contribute to cleaner air in the capital.

The cleaner buses operate, for instance, on the 1A, 2A and 6A routes, which run through some of the most congested and polluted zones in the city.

And although they have been in operation for less than six months, they have already driven over 3.5 million km.

The filters were mostly financed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that invested 74 million kroner into the project, while the City of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg Municipality contributed with 9 and 1 million kroner respectively.

Cleaner air initiatives
“In addition to cleaner buses, we have launched a scheme that focuses on scrapping some of the oldest and most polluting burners,” stated Michel Shilling, the deputy director at EPA.

“And we have also increased control efforts regarding shipping emissions, so that the air in the capital and in the rest of Denmark will be even cleaner.”

By reducing air pollution, the new buses will help to eliminate one of the most serious sources of lung cancer and respiratory diseases in the capital.


Share

Most popular

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to receive The Daily Post

















Latest Podcast

A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”