'Middle East increasingly aware of pollution dangers'

Manama: New attempts to minimise negative effects on the environment have increased demand for air pollution control equipment in the Middle East, a Qatar-based analysis has concluded.

An impressive increase in the number of projects in the cement, metals, desalination, petrochemicals, and power sectors has fuelled the need for more equipment, the study, An Analysis of Middle East Air Pollution Control Equipment Market, said.

According to the study, prepared by the Frost and Sullivan research service, the Middle East air pollution control equipment market is likely to grow at a compound annual rate of 8.44 per cent until 2014, Qatari daily The Peninsula reported.

High-level urbanisation is leading to rapid industrialisation, causing escalating concern over its effects on the environment. New regulations, guidelines, and legislations are on the anvil to curb air pollution in the Middle East, the study said.

A comprehensive emission inventory of ozone precursors has been constructed at the regional and local levels and various methodologies have been employed covering all activity sectors and scales such as direct knowledge of industrial processes, statistical data combined with emission factors and road traffic emissions models.

"Qatar has launched many studies to monitor and control air pollution as phenomenal economic and industrial growth that lead to an increase in environmental challenges. A Qatar Air Quality Modeling System (QAQM) was developed by Qatar Petroleum (QP) and Total Research Centre - Qatar (TRC-Q) to clarify the causes of the high ozone levels in Qatar’s lower atmosphere," the report said.

The study has collected outputs from the model simulations validated against meteorology and air quality data collected from various monitoring stations in Qatar. TRC-Q is currently building on the experience to develop new technologies as an answer to the environmental challenges resulting from the extraordinary growth in Qatar.

Qatar University has also launched a project to architect, design, and develop an innovative solution using wireless sensor networks to monitor air quality, The Peninsula reported.