Engineers for a better environment

"The page has now been turned" said European Community Delegation head Ronald Gallimore at the opening of the Chamber of Engineers' 12th annual conference.

The capping of Maghtab and the Gozo sewage treatment plant are among several infrastructure projects lined up for EU structural funding. The proposed projects will present opportunities for engineers but the real key to success lies in networking with chambers in other EU states.

The EU delegation is ready to assist engineers through the Malta Business Bureau and other offices. The Chamber of Engineers would also be running a help desk.

Stricter environmental regulations, tougher enforcement procedures and higher adherence costs present a challenge which is a direct result of EU accession. Who better to meet this challenge than the engineers working on the design stage of any product or process?

Rural Affairs and Environment Minister George Pullicino urged engineers to consider social and environmental aspects and avoid decisions with a negative impact.

Government is open to ideas coming from the engineering profession, he said. Engineers hold an important role in industry, reducing emissions and minimising waste.

Environment Impact Assessments (EIA's) on major projects are soon to take into account the impact of excessive water and energy use and how much waste is produced.

This is a field where engineers will be needed to ease the way toward targets through more sustainable technologies. Making fundamental changes will require a joint effort from scientific, technical and legal organisations.

Sixth Framework priorities

Through the Sixth Framework research programme Europe is progressing from pure research to learning how to put research into practice.

EU members get first preference for funding under the research programme within the Sixth Framework, followed by non-member Mediterranean countries, states of the former USSR after that, the rest of the world.

Although the budget for the research programme has increased, difficult choices have to be made or the money will be spread too thinly. Overcoming fragmentation is a challenge in itself when contemplating the structure of a Union of 25 or more members.

Creating networks of excellence is an area of funding involving more than just research. These networks aim to overcome fragmentation by changing structures.

Integrated projects, another funded area, are large partnerships of 40 or more institutions with €13 million to spend over five years. The third category of funding is for specific targeted research projects.

The Sixth Framework budget for projects related to sustainable development lies somewhere between the sum allotted for biotechnology at the higher end and the figure tagged for the development of nano-technology.

Funds are also given to projects on food safety and creating a knowledge-based society where citizens and governments have enough information to act on projects.

A call is being made for proposals in the three chosen areas for next year's work programme. This will circle around climate-related issues (e.g. hydrogen as a fuel from renewable sources), biodiversity in coastal zones (including links to tourism) and the use of waste water.

Candidate countries have recently been given the same rights as members within the Framework including intellectual property rights. The results are shared to some degree with the partners but owned by the project managers and protected for future business applications.

The new framework has expanded to allow participation by any legal entity rather than only those engaged in research. For example, teachers' associations would now be eligible for funding an activity which aims to communicate the importance of wind energy to students.

The head of the EU's administration and finance unit, DG Research-Environment, Dr Martin Bohle-Carbonell, urged participants to keep in mind funding which can end in research activities originating outside the research budget.

He noted Ireland's successful tapping of the structural fund to build a new marine research vessel as part of a subvention grant to overcome deficits. Another possibility is a mobility scheme to bring researchers back to their country of origin after there has been a brain drain.

Agents of change

Senior Engineer Christopher Ciantar, the driving engine behind Progett Skart, asked engineers to start putting waste management at the heart of some key decisions.

"Identify a manufacturing process and measure the waste generated," he said, adding that Government could help provide this service but the engineer had an obligation to report to the regulator on how much waste is being produced and how much of it is recycled. "This information can only come from you", he told the engineers present.

Engineers are in the driving seat but are they importing or designing products that are over-packaged? Is the product designed for ease of collection? How easily can it be disassembled for reuse? Choice of material is key and should, where possible, include waste from another company.

A change in design could reduce the harmful effects on the environment. Discussions with engineers during the EIAs can take up to two years for a large project. During this time changes can be proposed for improvements leading to better energy efficiency and less waste.

Planning Officer Rachel Portelli described the procedures and policies of the assessment stage. On average 20 EIAs are commissioned every year, involving around ten consultancy firms.

MEPA is currently finalising a register of consultants to include four grades. Top level is EIA co-ordinator, followed by the grade of senior impact assessor for those with experience in conducting environmental assessments. Junior impact assessors would have experience in their field while a temporary certificate could be issued to students who have just graduated.

"When the technology is new we get support from foreign consultants" Ms Portelli confirmed.

Progett Gardjola

Eyes and ears for radio waves, Progett Gardjola has been set up by one of the mobile phone operators, in association with the university's Department of Communications and Computer Engineering.

The aim is to inform the general public about radiation from phone and multi-user masts. People seem to be conscious that most exposure to electro-magnetic radiation from these sources occurs on rooftops. In some cases they have stopped their children from playing on the roof.

Presentations by engineer Stefan Galea from Vodafone together with the Malta National Laboratory and Malta Communications Authority, provided little evidence to back the public's fears.

Readings for both public and occupational exposure were found to be well below the required safety limit based on US and Canadian standards.

The national lab was commissioned by the Malta Communications Authority to monitor the amount of emissions radiating from 150 phone masts.

So far 57 have been tested. The lab does testing on demand for a small fee and intends to increase surprise audits and spot-checks in public gardens.

No figures are available for reflectivity of local building materials. Recommendations made in a report issued jointly by three ministries in 2000 still await implementation. The situation stands to be reviewed once the third generation of mobile phones comes on the market.

Engineering energy use

"Burn less fuel, burn lighter fuel and plant more trees" - this was the message from Enemalta chairman Robert Ghirlando. The energy corporation is in the process of designing better burners for the power stations.

Oxides have a negative effect on health. Incomplete combustion leaves oxygen available to form oxides. High temperatures are also likely to produce nitrogen oxides which can be reduced by lowering the boiler temperature.

Using low-sulphur fuel oil would cost four to five million liri extra every year. "Technically there is no reason why we should not do it", Professor Ghirlando said.

Energy Minister Ninu Zammit mentioned the Sicily-Malta pipeline again last week. Enemalta has been looking at the idea for some time but the economics are still unclear. Prof. Ghirlando sees natural gas as the ultimate solution to our energy-related emission problems.

The corporation is ensuring that suppliers report the level of benzene in every petrol shipment, which they must do. Previously the corporation had been sending samples for testing. Test results for the past 18 months show that the unleaded petrol imported was below the one per cent limit.

While pollution reduction in cars has been dramatic through the introduction of better design the increase in car use has nullified any result.

Professor Edward Mallia of the university's Physics Department spoke of the good local potential for hydrogen from photovoltaics or a mains-connected wind farm.

The first hydrogen filling station was opened in Iceland last month. Hydrogen-driven cars and hydrogen production from renewable energy are the chicken and the egg for Malta as engineers puzzle over which should come first.

Enemalta is still uncertain about the stability of the grid if wind turbines are connected to it. Professor Mallia would like to see studies carried out first.

It is hoped that this might be chosen among final year engineering students as the subject for their dissertation. Engineers at Enemalta have the appropriate software to carry it out but are now busy with other projects.

Professor Mallia earmarked some areas where possibilities existed for more efficient energy use in buildings. Energy consumption in lighting can be cut down by installing sensors and dimmers.

Perspex domes in buildings and air-conditioner fans exposed to full sunlight should be avoided. Engineers are in a position to insist on least-cost planning.

They can recommend against energy intensive solutions such as the dark-coloured membranes used on rooftops which overheat buildings and increase the demand for air-conditioning.

New developments such as the ones planned for Tigné and Manoel Island offer great possibilities to incorporate more environment-friendly design at the building stage, Professor Mallia said.

The advantages of VRF air-conditioning over a traditional water-chilled system were discussed by Felice Giandolini, technical director of Mitsubishi Electric.

Chamber president Alexander Tranter concluded that engineers must keep ahead of the game in an increasingly globalised and competitive world.

Progett Gardjola: www.mbo.mt
Malta Communications Authority: www.mca.org.mt
Powerwatch: www.powerwatch.org.uk
World Health Organisation: www.who.int/inf-fs/en/fact193.html
ICNIRP: www.icnirp.de