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New
Lankan study on vehicle emissions The survey
is conducted by employing a state-of-the-art technology which is
known as "Remote Sensing" jointly developed and commercialized
by Denver University of USA and Environmental Systems Products Holdings
Inc. (ESP) of Tucson in State of Arizona, USA respectively, the
ISB said in a statement. The major cost
of the project amounting to around Rs. 6 million is also funded
by USAEP (United States Asian Environmental Partnership Programme)
while the Sri Lankan counterparts (ISB and Hayleys) bear part of
the local expenses. The project is supervised by Air Resources Management
Centre (AirMac) which has been set up mainly to address ambient
air quality issues. AirMac is represented by both state and private
sector organizations such as the Ministry of Environment and Natural
Resources, Ministry of Transport, Highways and Civil Aviation, Motor
Traffic Commissioner's Department, Department of Police, Central
Environmental Authority, University of Moratuwa, Motor Vehicle Importers'
Association, Motor Spare Parts Dealers' Association, Private Bus
Owners' Association, etc. ISB said that
understanding the emission characteristics (level and composition
of emission and the type of vehicles responsible of such emissions)
of the vehicle fleet (buses, lorries, cars, vans, jeeps, and three
wheelers run on diesel, petrol and LPG) in Sri Lanka will be the
main objective of this project. It will provide vital information
for policy makers to set emission standards and vehicle cut off
points before implementing the mandatory vehicle emission control
regulations, which will come into effect soon. The technology
adopted for the remote sensing does not require the physical sampling
of exhaust gases from stationary vehicles as in conventional gas
analysis. Instead, the relative strength of pollution parameters
(Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen, Un-burnt Hydrocarbon,
Opacity in reference to the ambient condition) are measured through
the changes of wave frequencies of a set of beams consisting of
non-dispersive infra red (IR) and ultra violet (UV) when it is subjected
to the exhaust plume of moving vehicles (Non-intrusive measurements).
Along with emission parameters, the vehicle identification is digitally
recorded in the form of a picture capturing the vehicle number plate.
The advantage of this system is that the measurement can be performed
within a fraction of a second without stopping of vehicles which
allows the collection of data of around 5,000 to 6,000 vehicles
a day (within eight hours) on a busy road. The project
team intends to collect data of around 100,000 vehicles (about 7
to 8 percent of the total vehicle population) from Colombo and three
major cities; Kandy, Galle and Kurunegala within a period of three
months. Once the data collection is completed which is now in progress,
survey data will be matched with the database of the Registrar of
Motor Vehicles to understand the emission characteristics of vehicle
fleet. In addition to this information, the project team believes
that the data could be used for various other analyses important
for many related disciplines. The project team intends to complete the project before end June this year as a request has already been received from India to carry out a similar survey in a few major cities under the sponsorship of USAEP. ITI
help to expand pasta range Earlier the
ITI provided assistance to the bakery sector as well as to spice
grinding mill owners by conducting two well attended workshops in
the first quarter of the year. The Food Product
Development Group of the Agro and Food Technology Division of the
Institute will hold a workshop on "Pasta Products" on
April 29 for the benefit of potential entrepreneurs who plan to
embark into this area as well as those already manufacturing the
product and are interested in diversifying their product range.
The pasta products that include noodles, macaroni, spaghetti and
short pasta are popular among all age groups due to the convenience
and versatility of the product. The one-day
workshop will consist of lectures on principles involved in pasta
making, quality control, good manufacturing practices, 5S concept
and introduction to HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control
Point) with special reference to this sector of industry. Practical
demonstrations will be conducted on the preparation of noodles,
other pasta products and vegeroni, which is a macaroni incorporating
vegetables. "Vegeroni will be a boon to the busy housewife who will not have the hassle of cleaning and cutting vegetables with an additional advantage of being able to prepare a balanced meal within a very short time," ITI said. Seminars
on Direct Marketing It will be conducted by Ramsden - Winner of the 'Educator of the Year' award from the Institute of Direct Marketing - UK. London-based Ramsden is a founder member of the Institute of Direct Marketing and Educator of the Year 2003. More details on the course content can be obtained from PBN Direct on 075-358693. Emirates
among winners in Skytrax survey In the 2003
Airline of the Year Survey, carried out by Skytrax Research (UK),
Emirates won the overall Silver Award, coming a close second to
Cathay Pacific, with Singapore Airlines third. Malaysia Airlines,
Qantas, British Airways, Swiss, Thai Airways, Air New Zealand and
Austrian Airlines completed the top 10 line-up. Emirates, which won the overall Airline of the Year title in 2001 and 2002, was also voted Best Economy Class and Best Airline - Middle East this year. The margin of results in the 2003 survey was particularly close amongst the top three places, with Cathay Pacific capturing 2.39 per cent of the nominations, Emirates with 2.3 per cent and Singapore Airlines with 2.29 per cent. |
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