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Popovic I, Soares Magalhaes R, Yang S, Yang Y, Yang BY, Dong GH, Wei X, Van Buskirk J, Fox G, Ge E, Marks G, Knibbs L. Long-term exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) and attributable pulmonary tuberculosis notifications in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China: a health impact assessment. BMJ Open 2024; 14:e082312. [PMID: 38834325 PMCID: PMC11163650 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-082312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (≤2.5 µm (PM2.5)) has been associated with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) notifications or incidence in recent publications. Studies quantifying the relative contribution of long-term PM2.5 on TB notifications have not been documented. We sought to perform a health impact assessment to estimate the PM2.5- attributable TB notifications during 2007-2017 in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), China. METHODS PM2.5 attributable TB notifications were estimated at township level (n=358), stratified by age group and summed across NHAR. PM2.5-associated TB-notifications were estimated for total and anthropogenic PM2.5 mass and expressed as population attributable fractions (PAFs). The main analysis used effect and uncertainty estimates from our previous study in NHAR, defining a counterfactual of the lowest annual PM2.5 (30 µg/m3) level, above which we assumed excess TB notifications. Sensitivity analyses included counterfactuals based on the 5th (31 µg/m3) and 25th percentiles (38 µg/m3), and substituting effect estimates from a recent meta-analysis. We estimated the influence of PM2.5 concentrations, population growth and baseline TB-notification rates on PM2.5 attributable TB notifications. RESULTS Over 2007-2017, annual PM2.5 had an estimated average PAF of 31.2% (95% CI 22.4% to 38.7%) of TB notifications while the anthropogenic PAF was 12.2% (95% CI 9.2% to 14.5%). With 31 and 38 µg/m3 as counterfactuals, the PAFs were 29.2% (95% CI 20.9% to 36.3%) and 15.4% (95% CI 10.9% to 19.6%), respectively. PAF estimates under other assumptions ranged between 6.5% (95% CI 2.9% to 9.6%) and 13.7% (95% CI 6.2% to 19.9%) for total PM2.5, and 2.6% (95% CI 1.2% to 3.8%) to 5.8% (95% CI 2.7% to 8.2%) for anthropogenic PM2.5. Relative to 2007, overall changes in PM2.5 attributable TB notifications were due to reduced TB-notification rates (-23.8%), followed by decreasing PM2.5 (-6.2%), and population growth (+4.9%). CONCLUSION We have demonstrated how the potential impact of historical or hypothetical air pollution reduction scenarios on TB notifications can be estimated, using public domain, PM2.5 and population data. The method may be transferrable to other settings where comparable TB-notification data are available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Popovic
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland, Australia
- UQ Spatial Epidemiology Laboratory, School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, Australia
| | - Ricardo Soares Magalhaes
- UQ Spatial Epidemiology Laboratory, School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, Australia
- Children's Health and Environment Program, UQ Children's Health Research Center, The University of Queensland, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Shukun Yang
- Department of Radiology, The First People's Hospital in Yinchuan, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, Ningsia, China
| | - Yurong Yang
- Department of Pathogenic Biology & Medical Immunology, School of Basic Medical Science, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, Ningxia, China
| | - Bo-Yi Yang
- Environmental Epidemiology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Guang-Hui Dong
- Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health Risk Assessment, Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Xiaolin Wei
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Joseph Van Buskirk
- Public Health Unit, Sydney Local Health District, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Public Health, The University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine and Health, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Gregory Fox
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Erjia Ge
- University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Guy Marks
- South Western Sydney Clinical School, University of New South Wales, The University of Sydney, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia
- Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Glebe, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Luke Knibbs
- Public Health Research Analytics and Methods for Evidence, Public Health Unit, Sydney Local Health District, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Zhao Q, Zhao J, Zhang W, Hu X, Zhang J, Xue W, Jiang L, Zhang J, Liu X, Jiang H, Huo R, Zhang Z. Revealing Inter-regional Environmental Inequities Hidden in China's Energy Transition. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:11852-11862. [PMID: 37526712 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c02913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/02/2023]
Abstract
Energy transition is an important way to control air pollution, but it may conflict with the economic goal of alleviating regional inequality due to its inherently different cost burdens. As one of the effective measures of energy transition, this paper takes small coal-fired boiler (SCB) upgrading as an example to explore the regional mismatch between upgrading costs and health benefits. Here, we construct a boiler-level inventory of SCB upgrades for the North China Plain (NCP) during 2013-2017 and propose an integrated modeling framework to quantify the spatial contribution of economic costs and health benefits associated with SCB upgrading. We find that although the total health benefits could offset the total costs for the entire region, the developed municipalities (Beijing and Tianjin) are likely to gain more health benefits from less-developed neighboring provinces at lower costs. These developed municipalities contribute only 14% to the total health benefits but gain 21% of the benefits within their territories, 56% of which come from neighboring provinces. Their benefits are approximately 5.6 times their costs, which is much higher than the 1.5 benefit-cost ratio in neighboring provinces. Our findings may be useful in shaping more equitable and sound environmental policies in China or other regions of the world with serious coal-related air pollution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiong Zhao
- College of Management and Economics, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Jing Zhao
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Planning and Policy Simulation, Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, Beijing, 100012, China
- The Center for Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Regional Environment and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, Beijing 100012, China
| | - Wei Zhang
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Planning and Policy Simulation, Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, Beijing, 100012, China
- The Center for Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Regional Environment and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, Beijing 100012, China
| | - Xi Hu
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Planning and Policy Simulation, Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, Beijing, 100012, China
- The Center for Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Regional Environment and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, Beijing 100012, China
| | - Jing Zhang
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Planning and Policy Simulation, Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, Beijing, 100012, China
- The Center for Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Regional Environment and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, Beijing 100012, China
| | - Wenbo Xue
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Planning and Policy Simulation, Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, Beijing, 100012, China
- Center of Air Quality Simulation and System Analysis, Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, Beijing 100012, China
| | - Ling Jiang
- School of Government, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Jian Zhang
- School of Government, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Xin Liu
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Planning and Policy Simulation, Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, Beijing, 100012, China
- Center of Air Quality Simulation and System Analysis, Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, Beijing 100012, China
| | - Hongqiang Jiang
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Planning and Policy Simulation, Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, Beijing, 100012, China
- The Center for Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Regional Environment and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, Beijing 100012, China
| | - Ruixue Huo
- Department of Oncology, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai 200123, P.R. China
| | - Zengkai Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Fujian 361102, China
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Yang J, Chen X, Yamamoto Y. The final 28 Days:Prenatal exposure to air pollution and child anthropometric outcomes. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2023; 342:118289. [PMID: 37279606 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Revised: 05/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
This study examines the health consequences of prenatal exposure to air pollution by combining child health data from an original survey with the Air Pollution Index (API) from official Chinese statistics. Our results show that exposure to air pollution in late trimester (four-week windows before delivery) is negatively associated with health outcomes in children in the short and long terms. One standard deviation increase in the API in the final 28 days before delivery decreased birth weight and length by 0.388 and 0.458, respectively, in z-scores and lowered the weight-for-age and height-for-age by 0.370 and 0.441, respectively, in z-scores at 13-15 years post-exposure. Although the timing of exposure and its consequences have been the subject of debate in existing literature, our results focus on four-week windows and demonstrate that exposure during the late pregnancy period may have adverse health effects on children. We conducted analyses that accounted for potential covariates and omitted variables, and our results remain robust and statistically significant. We also found gender heterogeneous effects that girls are more vulnerable to fetal air pollution exposure than boys. Our findings uncover fetal and child health risks regarding air pollution and reinforce the importance of policies for mitigating air pollution in developing countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Yang
- Global Research Centre for Advanced Sustainability Science, University of Toyama, Japan
| | - Xintong Chen
- Graduate School of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences, Nagasaki University, Japan
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Zhang Y, Shi M, Chen J, Fu S, Wang H. Spatiotemporal variations of NO 2 and its driving factors in the coastal ports of China. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 871:162041. [PMID: 36754320 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2022] [Revised: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) is one of the major air pollutants in coastal ports of China. Understanding the spatiotemporal varying effects of driving factors of NO2 is vital for the implementation of differentiated air pollution control measures for different port areas. Based on the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite data, we adopted a Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression (GTWR) model to explore the influences of meteorological and socioeconomic factors on the NO2 Vertical Column Concentrations (VCDs) in coastal ports of China from 2015 to 2021. The results indicate that NO2 VCD in most ports has decreased since 2016 and the ports with serious NO2 pollution are mainly distributed in northern China. The associations between NO2 VCD levels and their drivers exhibit obvious spatiotemporal heterogeneity. Higher wind speed and relative humidity are more helpful to alleviate NO2 pollution in ports of the Bohai Rim and the Pearl River Delta. Cargo throughput has more closely associated with NO2 pollution in Beibu Gulf in recent years, yet there is no significant association found for Shanghai ports. The positive relationship between transportation emissions and NO2 VCD is more significant in southern ports. This work provides some implications for the formulation of targeted emission reduction policies for different ports along the Chinese coast.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Zhang
- College of Transport and Communications, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Meiyu Shi
- College of Transport and Communications, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Jihong Chen
- College of Management, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518073, China; Shenzhen International Maritime Institute, Shenzhen 518081, China; Business School, Xi'an International University, Xi'an 710077, China.
| | - Shanshan Fu
- College of Transport and Communications, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Huizhen Wang
- Business School, Xi'an International University, Xi'an 710077, China
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Chang Y, Ai Z, Ye J, Ma G. A cost-effectiveness assessment of the operational parameters of central HVAC systems during pandemics. BUILDING SIMULATION 2023; 16:667-682. [PMID: 37101942 PMCID: PMC10040913 DOI: 10.1007/s12273-023-1000-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
The present study develops a cost-effectiveness assessment model to analyze the performance of major operational parameters of central HVAC systems in terms of airborne transmission risk, energy consumption, and medical and social cost. A typical multi-zone building model with a central HVAC system is built numerically, and the effect of outdoor air (OA) ratio (from 30% to 100%) and filtration level (MERV 13, MERV 16, and HEPA) are assessed under the conditions of five climate zones in China. Compared with the baseline case with 30% OA and MERV 13 filtration, the airborne transmission risk in zones without infector is negligibly reduced with the increase in OA ratio and the upgrade of filtration level, owing to their slight modification on the equivalent ventilation rate of virus-free air. However, depending on climate zone, a 10% increase in OA ratio results in 12.5%-78.6% and 0.1%-8.6% increase in heating and cooling energy consumption, respectively, while an upgrade of filtration level to MERV 16 and HEPA results in an increase of 0.08%-0.2% and 1.4%-2.6%, respectively. Overall, when compared to the use of 100% OA ratio and HEPA filtration, the application of 30% or 40% OA ratio and MERV 13 filtration would save annually an energy and facility related cost of $29.4 billion in China, though giving an increase of approximately $0.1 billion on medical and social cost from the increased number of confirmed cases. This study provides basic method and information for the formulation of cost-effective operational strategies of HVAC systems coping with the airborne transmission, especially in resource-limited regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yufan Chang
- Department of Building Environment and Energy, College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan, China
- National Center for International Research Collaboration in Building Safety and Environment, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Zhengtao Ai
- Department of Building Environment and Energy, College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan, China
- National Center for International Research Collaboration in Building Safety and Environment, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Jinjun Ye
- Department of Building Environment and Energy, College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan, China
- National Center for International Research Collaboration in Building Safety and Environment, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Guochuan Ma
- China Southwest Architectural Design and Research Institute, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
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Liu X, Guo C, Wu Y, Huang C, Lu K, Zhang Y, Duan L, Cheng M, Chai F, Mei F, Dai H. Evaluating cost and benefit of air pollution control policies in China: A systematic review. J Environ Sci (China) 2023; 123:140-155. [PMID: 36521979 DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2022.02.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Revised: 02/19/2022] [Accepted: 02/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
China has put great efforts into air pollution control over the past years and recently committed to its most ambitious climate target. Cost and benefit analysis has been widely used to evaluate the control policies in terms of past performance, future reduction potential, and direct and indirect impacts. To understand the cost and benefit analysis for air pollution control in China, we conducted a bibliometric review of more than 100 studies published over the past two decades, including the current research progress, most commonly adopted methods, and core findings. The control target in cost and benefit analysis has shifted in three stages, from individual and primary pollution control, moving to joint prevention of multiple and secondary pollutants, and then towards synergistic control of air pollution and carbon. With the expansion of the research scope, the integrated assessment model has gradually demonstrated the necessity for long-term ex-anti policy simulation, especially for dealing with complex factors. To ensure long-term air quality, climate, public health, and sustainable economic development, substantial evidence from published studies has suggested that China needs to continue its efforts in the upstream adjustment of the energy system and industrial structure with multi-regional and -sector collaboration. This cost and benefit review paper provides decision-makers with the fundamental information and knowledge gaps in air pollution control strategies in China, and direction for facing future challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyuan Liu
- Laboratory of Energy & Environmental Economics and Policy, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Chaoyi Guo
- Laboratory of Energy & Environmental Economics and Policy, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Yazhen Wu
- Laboratory of Energy & Environmental Economics and Policy, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Chen Huang
- Laboratory of Energy & Environmental Economics and Policy, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Keding Lu
- Laboratory of Energy & Environmental Economics and Policy, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Yuanhang Zhang
- Laboratory of Energy & Environmental Economics and Policy, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Lei Duan
- School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Miaomiao Cheng
- Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
| | - Fahe Chai
- Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
| | - Fengqiao Mei
- Laboratory of Energy & Environmental Economics and Policy, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
| | - Hancheng Dai
- Laboratory of Energy & Environmental Economics and Policy, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
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Du J, Sun L. A benefit allocation model for the joint prevention and control of air pollution in China: In view of environmental justice. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2022; 315:115132. [PMID: 35489189 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2021] [Revised: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The benefit allocation of fair and justice is an inevitable guarantee for the long-term operation of the joint prevention and control of air pollution (JPCAP). The ignorance of interest demands of various governance subjects in the existing benefit allocation mechanism results in the widespread "free rider" behavior in the joint control and unsatisfactory effects of JPCAP. Given this, it is imperative to build a reasonable benefit allocation model. The innovation of this paper is proposing a benefit allocation model of JPCAP to achieve the symmetry between control costs and benefits based on environmental justice. The control objectives and total benefits of JPCAP are calculated through the adjustment of optimal removal rates. The interest demands of various control subjects and benefit compensation scheme are clarified by adopting an improved Shapley method, which comprehensively considers factors affecting environmental justice. An empirical analysis is conducted on SO2 governance in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) and its surrounding areas. The results show that the benefit allocation model based on environmental justice can not only accurately evaluate the benefits of joint control, but also effectively achieve the symmetry between control costs and benefits. This study provides a scientific and reasonable theoretical basis for the benefit allocation of SO2 control and can be extended to the researches and practices of other air pollutants control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Du
- School of Economics and Management, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, 300401, Tianjin Province, China.
| | - Liwen Sun
- School of Economics and Management, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, 300401, Tianjin Province, China.
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Saqib N. Nexus between the renewable and nonrenewable energy consumption and carbon footprints: evidence from Asian emerging economies. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2022; 29:58326-58340. [PMID: 35364794 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-19948-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The study examined the dynamic nexus between carbon footprints, nonrenewable energy and renewable energy consumption, financial development and economic growth, and combating climate change by using a dataset of selected 13 Asian emerging economies (Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam) from 1995 to 2020. This study empirical analysis uses the second generation of panel cointegration techniques to compensate for cross-sectional dependency and slope heterogeneity. The mean group, the common correlated effects mean group, and the augmented mean group are used to estimate the long-run equations. The findings suggest that economic growth and nonrenewable energy consumption exacerbate environmental degradation, but renewable energy consumption mitigates the total adverse effects on the environment over time. Additionally, economy-specific findings examine how the impact of nonrenewable energy and renewable energy consumption on the carbon footprint depends on energy consumption level. Furthermore, the Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality test reveals a statistically significant bidirectional correlation between financial development, carbon footprints, economic growth, and consumption of nonrenewable energy and renewable energy. Finally, the study says that Asian emerging economies should use more renewable energy and be more efficient in order to reduce their carbon footprints.
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Affiliation(s)
- Najia Saqib
- Finance Department, College of Business Administration, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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9
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Spatiotemporal Distribution Patterns and Exposure Risks of PM2.5 Pollution in China. REMOTE SENSING 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/rs14133173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
The serious pollution of PM2.5 caused by rapid urbanization in recent years has become an urgent problem to be solved in China. Annual and daily satellite-derived PM2.5 datasets from 2001 to 2020 were used to analyze the temporal and spatial patterns of PM2.5 in China. The regional and population exposure risks of the nation and of urban agglomerations were evaluated by exceedance frequency and population weight. The results indicated that the PM2.5 concentrations of urban agglomerations decreased sharply from 2014 to 2020. The region with PM2.5 concentrations less than 35 μg·m−3 accounted for 80.27% in China, and the average PM2.5 concentrations in 8 urban agglomerations were less than 35 μg·m−3 in 2020. The spatial distribution pattern of PM2.5 concentrations in China revealed higher concentrations to the east of the Hu Line and lower concentrations to the west. The annual regional exposure risk (RER) in China was at a high level, with a national average of 0.75, while the average of 14 urban agglomerations was as high as 0.86. Among the 14 urban agglomerations, the average annual RER was the highest in the Shandong Peninsula (0.99) and lowest in the Northern Tianshan Mountains (0.76). The RER in China has obvious seasonality; the most serious was in winter, and the least serious was in summer. The population exposure risk (PER) east of the Hu Line was significantly higher than that west of the Hu Line. The average PER was the highest in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (4.09) and lowest in the Northern Tianshan Mountains (0.71). The analysis of air pollution patterns and exposure risks in China and urban agglomerations in this study could provide scientific guidance for cities seeking to alleviate air pollution and prevent residents’ exposure risks.
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Long-Term Benefits of Coastline Ecological Restoration in China. JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/jmse10040541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Coastline ecological restoration is a critical approach for improving the coastal ecological environment and natural disaster mitigation capacity. Zhejiang Province, with the longest coastline in China, has carried out a three-year action of coastline remediation and restoration, expecting to complete the 300-km coastline restoration by 2020 as part of China’s coastline restoration project. We developed a cost–benefit framework synthesizing the ecosystem services (ES) analysis pattern and input-output approach to evaluate Zhejiang’s coastline ecological restoration projects. The results showed that the average value of ecosystem services (VES) of coastline restoration in Zhejiang was approximately 11,829 yuan/m, which was lower than the average VES of natural coastline. Obviously, damaged natural coastline could cause VES degradation, which cannot make up for the loss in a short time. In an optimistic scenario, coastline ecological restoration projects would deliver enormous well-being to Zhejiang and even China. Our results suggested that making decisions should be based on the net value after accounting for costs (NES), because ignoring costs might mislead planners to overstate the perceived benefits. The study provided a realistic data basis and method for coastline restoration projects in terms of the design, implementation and effectiveness evaluation to achieve sustainable development.
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Fang L, He P, Tian C, Yao Y, Chen H. Beyond the ceremony: Mega-event, air quality and political career. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0262470. [PMID: 35108314 PMCID: PMC8809592 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper examines whether mega-events-initiated planning regulations improved air quality in Chinese cities and explores the driving forces of the enforcement of such regulations. Using the 2008 Beijing Olympics as an example, we find that mega-events serve as an opportunity for cities to combat air pollution. The 2008 Olympics prompted a handful of Chinese cities to cut pollution and sustain a blue sky: Cities with air quality regulated for the Olympics cut their Air Pollution Index by about 16 points during the Games, compared to non-regulated cities, and 60% of that effect remained four years after the event. These achievements are obtained through effective mobilization of city leaders by associating air quality with their political careers. This study reveals that 1) a mega-event may improve urban environmental quality beyond the host cities and the event period, and 2) successful implementation of environmental regulations hinges on incentivizing local leaders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Fang
- Departmen of Urban and Regional Planning, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America
| | - Pan He
- School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, United Kindom
| | - Chuanhao Tian
- School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Center of Social Welfare and Governance, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yao Yao
- School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Hongjie Chen
- School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
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12
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Yumin L, Shiyuan L, Ling H, Ziyi L, Yonghui Z, Li L, Yangjun W, Kangjuan L. The casual effects of COVID-19 lockdown on air quality and short-term health impacts in China. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2021; 290:117988. [PMID: 34428699 PMCID: PMC8377358 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2020] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 08/14/2021] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
The outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) has forced China to lockdown many cities and restrict transportation, industrial, and social activities. This provides a great opportunity to look at the impacts of pandemic quarantine on air quality and premature death due to exposure to air pollution. In this study, we applied the difference-in-differences (DID) model to quantify the casual impacts of COVID-19 lockdown on air quality at 278 cities across China. A widely used exposure-response function was further utilized to estimate the short-term health impacts associated with changes in PM2.5 due to lockdown. Results show that lockdown has caused drastic reduction in air pollution level in terms of all criteria pollutants except ozone. On average, concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2 and CO are estimated to drop by 14.3 μg/m3, 22.2 μg/m3, 17.7 μg/m3, 2.9 μg/m3, and 0.18 mg/m3 as the result of lockdown. Cities with more confirmed cases of COVID-19 are related to stronger responses in air quality, despite that similar lockdown measures were implemented by the local governments. The improvement of air quality caused by COVID-19 lockdown in northern cities is found to be smaller than that of southern cities. Avoided premature death associated with PM2.5 exposures over the 278 cities was estimated to be 50.8 thousand. Our results re-emphasize the effectiveness of emission controls on air quality and associated health impacts. The high cost of lockdown, still high level of air pollution during lockdown and smaller effects in northern cities implies that source-specific mitigation policies are needed for continuous and sustainable reduction of air pollution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Yumin
- SILC Business School, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 201800, China
| | - Li Shiyuan
- SILC Business School, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 201800, China
| | - Huang Ling
- School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China.
| | - Liu Ziyi
- School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China
| | - Zhu Yonghui
- School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China
| | - Li Li
- School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China
| | - Wang Yangjun
- School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China
| | - Lv Kangjuan
- SILC Business School, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 201800, China
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Moon H, Yoo SH, Huh SY. Monetary valuation of air quality improvement with the stated preference technique: A multi-pollutant perspective. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 793:148604. [PMID: 34328998 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2021] [Revised: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Air pollution is an important global issue, and governments are making efforts to reduce air pollutant emissions. The elaborate calculation of the social costs of air pollution is essential for justifying the substantial public expenditure on air pollution control policies. This study aims to derive the monetary value of reducing different kinds of air pollutants through the public's willingness to pay (WTP). A choice experiment survey is conducted to examine the public perception of air quality improvement, and the collected stated preference data are analysed with the hierarchical Bayesian logit model. The analysis results show that the public valuation of the emission reduction differs for individual pollutants. On average, the monetary value of one ton of emission reduction follows the order of PM2.5, PM10, SOx, TSP, NOx, and VOC. Based on the elicited WTP, the economic feasibility of the two air pollutant reduction plans of the South Korean Government is assessed. The benefit-to-cost ratio of the plans is 0.61 and 0.66, respectively, based on the mean WTP, indicating that they are not economically feasible at the moment. Implications for the efficient budget allocation of air pollution control policies are provided based on the results.
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Affiliation(s)
- HyungBin Moon
- Graduate School of Management of Technology, Pukyong National University, 45 Yongso-ro, Nam-gu, Busan 48513, South Korea.
| | - Seung-Hoon Yoo
- Department of Energy Policy, Seoul National University of Science & Technology, 232 Gongneung-Ro, Nowon-Gu, Seoul 01811, South Korea.
| | - Sung-Yoon Huh
- Department of Energy Policy, Seoul National University of Science & Technology, 232 Gongneung-Ro, Nowon-Gu, Seoul 01811, South Korea.
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14
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Zhang G, Yan H, Li T, Zhu Y, Zhou S, Feng Y, Zhou W. Relation analysis on emission control and economic cost of SCR system for marine diesels. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 788:147856. [PMID: 34134387 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2020] [Revised: 04/04/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
In order to meet the IMO Tier III emissions regulations and reduce environmental pollution, many ocean-going vessels have installed the marine SCR system to reduce NOx emissions. However, the investment cost and operation cost of the marine SCR system, as well as the factors affecting the SCR cost are still the problems that need to be studied. In this paper, MAN S46 diesel engine matched SCR system was taken as the research object, and a cost calculation model of Marine SCR system based on cost analysis method has been proposed. The relationship between SCR system cost and some factors such as unit capacity, unit running time and inlet NOx concentration have been analyzed. The research we have done suggests that operating time, NOx inlet concentration, and emission limits are the three main important factors in the operating cost of an SCR system. Among the various secondary costs of operating costs, the reducing agent cost, fuel increase cost, and indirect annual cost account for 60%, 24%, and 7%, respectively. Moreover, the results suggest that the unit denitration cost of the matched SCR system is highly affected by the power of the diesel engine and annual running time. This study demonstrated clearly the relationship between emission control and economic cost of SCR system for marine diesels and was expected to provide a theoretical basis for sustainable development in marine environmental protection policies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangwei Zhang
- College of Power and Energy Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, China; China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation Diesel Engine Co., Ltd, Qingdao, China
| | - Haoyu Yan
- College of Power and Energy Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, China
| | - Tinghui Li
- College of Power and Energy Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, China.
| | - Yuanqing Zhu
- College of Power and Energy Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, China.
| | - Song Zhou
- College of Power and Energy Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, China
| | - Yongming Feng
- College of Power and Energy Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, China
| | - Weihao Zhou
- College of Power and Energy Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, China
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15
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Liu Y, Zhou B, Wang J, Zhao B. Health benefits and cost of using air purifiers to reduce exposure to ambient fine particulate pollution in China. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2021; 414:125540. [PMID: 33684813 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2020] [Revised: 02/03/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the cost-effectiveness of possible interventions to reduce air pollution levels is crucial to developing sustainable mitigation and adaption strategies. Although people spend more than 80% of their time indoors, the role of air purifiers in mitigating personal exposure to indoor PM2.5 of outdoor origin has not yet been quantified, especially in under-developed regions. Here, we performed a comprehensive simulation at the 10 km × 10 km geographical resolution in mainland China to quantify the health benefits and costs of indoor air purification in four intervention scenarios, S1 to S4, where target indoor PM2.5 concentrations were 35, 25, 15, and 10 μg/m3. In intervention scenarios S1 to S4, 93,200 (95% uncertainty interval 78,900-113,600), 115,300 (97,700-140,800), 163,400 (138,300-198,800), and 207,900 (176,300-251,800) deaths that cost 82, 175, 438, and 798 billion Chinese Yuan can be avoided and 93%, 80%, 53%, and 26% of the cities have a positive net monetary benefit. We found that achieving indoor PM2.5 concentration of 35 or 25 μg/m3 using air purifiers is cost-effective at reducing PM2.5 related deaths and PM2.5 concentration of 25 μg/m3 is a suitable indoor PM2.5 target for China. Multifaceted efforts are necessary to ensure equitable access to air purifiers and the knowledge to effectively operate them to make sure the benefits reach the whole population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yumeng Liu
- Department of Building Science, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Bin Zhou
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London W2 1PG, United Kingdom; MRC Centre for Environment and Health, Imperial College London, London W2 1PG, United Kingdom
| | - Jianghao Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Sustainable Urbanization Lab, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Bin Zhao
- Department of Building Science, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Indoor Air Quality Evaluation and Control, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
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Cost-Benefit Evaluation on Promising Strategies in Compliance with Low Sulfur Policy of IMO. JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/jmse9010003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
According to the amendment of the “International Convention for the Marine Prevention of Pollution from Ships” (MARPOL), Annex VI stating that the sulfur content in marine fuel oil cannot exceed 0.5 wt. % came into effect in 2020. This study uses cost-benefit analysis method to evaluate the feasibility and implementation benefits of those strategies. A container ship serving on the ship route is selected as a representative. It is found that the very low-sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) strategy has a higher total incremental cost than the scrubber strategy in the first 4.14 years, but then, the trend is reversed. After this container ship is equipped with a scrubber, the pollutant emission reduction is 5% higher than the condition of VLSFO only in the first year. The SOx and PM emission reduction rates of VLSFO strategy are higher than that of the scrubber strategy by 9% and 25%, respectively, within five years. In addition, during 3.3 years after the scrubber is installed, the cost-benefit ratio is higher than that of the VLSFO strategy. Hence, the scrubber for the ocean route container ships is merely a short-term compliance strategy within 3.3 years. In contrast, the low sulfur fuel oil strategy that less pollutant is emitted is a compliance strategy for periods longer than 3.3 years.
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Huang L, Liu Z, Li H, Wang Y, Li Y, Zhu Y, Ooi MCG, An J, Shang Y, Zhang D, Chan A, Li L. The Silver Lining of COVID-19: Estimation of Short-Term Health Impacts Due to Lockdown in the Yangtze River Delta Region, China. GEOHEALTH 2020; 4:e2020GH000272. [PMID: 32838101 PMCID: PMC7361223 DOI: 10.1029/2020gh000272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2020] [Revised: 06/26/2020] [Accepted: 06/30/2020] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
The outbreak of COVID-19 in China has led to massive lockdowns in order to reduce the spread of the epidemic and control human-to-human transmission. Subsequent reductions in various anthropogenic activities have led to improved air quality during the lockdown. In this study, we apply a widely used exposure-response function to estimate the short-term health impacts associated with PM2.5 changes over the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region due to COVID-19 lockdown. Concentrations of PM2.5 during lockdown period reduced by 22.9% to 54.0% compared to pre-lockdown level. Estimated PM2.5-related daily premature mortality during lockdown period is 895 (95% confidential interval: 637-1,081), which is 43.3% lower than pre-lockdown period and 46.5% lower compared with averages of 2017-2019. According to our calculation, total number of avoided premature death aassociated with PM2.5 reduction during the lockdown is estimated to be 42.4 thousand over the YRD region, with Shanghai, Wenzhou, Suzhou (Jiangsu province), Nanjing, and Nantong being the top five cities with largest health benefits. Avoided premature mortality is mostly contributed by reduced death associated with stroke (16.9 thousand, accounting for 40.0%), ischemic heart disease (14.0 thousand, 33.2%), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (7.6 thousand, 18.0%). Our calculations do not support or advocate any idea that pandemics produce a positive note to community health. We simply present health benefits from air pollution improvement due to large emission reductions from lowered human and industrial activities. Our results show that continuous efforts to improve air quality are essential to protect public health, especially over city-clusters with dense population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ling Huang
- School of Environmental and Chemical EngineeringShanghai UniversityShanghaiChina
- Key Laboratory of Organic Compound Pollution Control Engineering (MOE)Shanghai UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Ziyi Liu
- School of Environmental and Chemical EngineeringShanghai UniversityShanghaiChina
- Key Laboratory of Organic Compound Pollution Control Engineering (MOE)Shanghai UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Hongli Li
- School of Environmental and Chemical EngineeringShanghai UniversityShanghaiChina
- Key Laboratory of Organic Compound Pollution Control Engineering (MOE)Shanghai UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Yangjun Wang
- School of Environmental and Chemical EngineeringShanghai UniversityShanghaiChina
- Key Laboratory of Organic Compound Pollution Control Engineering (MOE)Shanghai UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Yumin Li
- SILC Business SchoolShanghai UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Yonghui Zhu
- School of Environmental and Chemical EngineeringShanghai UniversityShanghaiChina
- Key Laboratory of Organic Compound Pollution Control Engineering (MOE)Shanghai UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Maggie Chel Gee Ooi
- Department of Civil EngineeringUniversity of Nottingham MalaysiaSemenyihSelangorMalaysia
- Institute of Climate Change (IPI), National University of Malaysia (UKM)BangiSelangorMalaysia
| | - Jing An
- School of Environmental and Chemical EngineeringShanghai UniversityShanghaiChina
- Key Laboratory of Organic Compound Pollution Control Engineering (MOE)Shanghai UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Yu Shang
- School of Environmental and Chemical EngineeringShanghai UniversityShanghaiChina
- Key Laboratory of Organic Compound Pollution Control Engineering (MOE)Shanghai UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Dongping Zhang
- School of Environmental and Chemical EngineeringShanghai UniversityShanghaiChina
- Key Laboratory of Organic Compound Pollution Control Engineering (MOE)Shanghai UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Andy Chan
- Department of Civil EngineeringUniversity of Nottingham MalaysiaSemenyihSelangorMalaysia
| | - Li Li
- School of Environmental and Chemical EngineeringShanghai UniversityShanghaiChina
- Key Laboratory of Organic Compound Pollution Control Engineering (MOE)Shanghai UniversityShanghaiChina
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18
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Analyses of air pollution control measures and co-benefits in the heavily air-polluted Jinan city of China, 2013-2017. Sci Rep 2020; 10:5423. [PMID: 32214211 PMCID: PMC7096483 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-62475-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2019] [Accepted: 03/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
China has made great efforts in air pollution control since 2013. However, there is a lack of evaluation of environmental, health and economic co-benefits associated with the national and local air pollution control measures at a city level. We analyzed local air pollution control policies and implementation in Jinan, one of the most heavily air-polluted cities in China between 2013 and 2017. We assessed the changes in exhaust emissions, air quality, mortality and morbidity of associated specific-diseases, and related economic benefits. We also projected the future scenarios of PM2.5 concentration dropped to 15 μg/m3. There were significant decreases in exhaust emissions of SO2 and NOx in Jinan during the study period. Annual reductions in ambient air pollution were 72.6% for SO2, 43.1% for PM2.5, and 34.2% for PM10. A total of 2,317 (95%CI: 1,533-2,842) premature deaths and 15,822 (95%CI: 8,734-23,990) related morbidity cases had been avoided in 2017, leading to a total of US$ 317.7 million (95%CI: 227.5-458.1) in economic benefits. Decreasing PM2.5 concentrations to 15 μg/m3 would result in reductions of 70% in total PM2.5-related non-accidental mortality and 95% in total PM2.5-related morbidity, which translates into US$ 1,289.5 million (95%CI: 825.8-1,673.6) in economic benefits. The national and local air pollution control measures have brought significant environmental, health and economic benefits to a previously heavy polluted Chinese city.
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19
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Spatial Assessment of Health Economic Losses from Exposure to Ambient Pollutants in China. REMOTE SENSING 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/rs12050790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Increasing emissions of ambient pollutants have caused considerable air pollution and negative health impact for human in various regions of China over the past decade. The resulting premature mortality and excessive morbidity caused huge human economic losses to the entire society. To identify the differences of health economic losses in various regions of China and help decision-making on targeting pollutants control, spatial assessment of health economic losses due to ambient pollutants in China is indispensable. In this study, to better represent the spatial variability, the satellite-based retrievals of the concentrations of various pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, O3, NO2, SO2 and CO) for the time period from 2007 to 2017 in China are used instead of using in-situ data. Population raster data were applied together with exposure-response function to calculate the spatial distribution of health impact and then the health impact is further quantified by using amended human capital (AHC) approach. The results which presented in a spatial resolution of 0.25° × 0.25°, show the signification contribution from the spatial assessment to revealing the spatial distribution and variance of health economic losses in various regions of China. Spatial assessment of overall health economic losses is different from conventional result due to more detail spatial information. This spatial assessment approach also provides an alternative method for losses measurement in other fields.
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20
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Maranzano P, Fassò A, Pelagatti M, Mudelsee M. Statistical Modeling of the Early-Stage Impact of a New Traffic Policy in Milan, Italy. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:E1088. [PMID: 32046370 PMCID: PMC7037004 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17031088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2019] [Revised: 01/23/2020] [Accepted: 02/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Most urban areas of the Po basin in the North of Italy are persistently affected by poor air quality and difficulty in disposing of airborne pollutants. In this context, the municipality of Milan started a multi-year progressive policy based on an extended limited traffic zone (Area B). Starting on 25 February 2019, the first phase partially restricted the circulation of some classes of highly polluting vehicles on the territory, in particular, Euro 0 petrol vehicles and Euro 0 to 3 diesel vehicles, excluding public transport. This is the early-stage of a long term policy that will restrict access to an increasing number of vehicles. The goal of this paper is to evaluate the early-stage impact of this policy on two specific vehicle-generated pollutants: total nitrogen oxides (NO x ) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), which are gathered by Lombardy Regional Agency for Environmental Protection (ARPA Lombardia). We use a statistical model for time series intervention analysis based on unobservable components. We use data from 2014 to 2018 for pre-policy model selection and the relatively short period up to September 2019 for early-stage policy assessment. We include weather conditions, socio-economic factors, and a counter-factual, given by the concentration of the same pollutant in other important neighbouring cities. Although the average concentrations reduced after the policy introduction, this paper argues that this could be due to other factors. Considering that the short time window may be not long enough for social adaptation to the new rules, our model does not provide statistical evidence of a positive policy effect for NO x and NO 2 . Instead, in one of the most central monitoring stations, a significant negative impact is found.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Maranzano
- Department of Statistics and Quantitative Methods (DISMEQ), University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milano, Italy
| | - Alessandro Fassò
- Department of Management, Information and Production Engineering (DIGIP), University of Bergamo, 24044 Dalmine, Italy;
| | - Matteo Pelagatti
- Department of Economics, Management and Statistics (DEMS), University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy;
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Yu X, Li C, Chen H, Ji Z. Evaluate Air Pollution by Promethee Ranking in Yangtze River Delta of China. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:ijerph17020587. [PMID: 31963273 PMCID: PMC7013759 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17020587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2019] [Revised: 01/01/2020] [Accepted: 01/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
A series of problems that are related to population, resources, environment, and ecology have emerged in recent years with the advancement of industrialization and urbanization in China. Especially, air pollution has become a severe trouble that directly endangers the health of residents. Accordingly, it is a need to make the assessment of air quality among cities, so that corresponding measures can be taken. For this purpose, ten major cities are selected as the research objects in Yangtze River Delta. Additionally, this study gathers and processes the data of five main air pollutants PM2.5, PM10, SO2, O3, and NO2, respectively. Furthermore, the maximizing deviation method is used to obtain the respective weight of these pollutants and the preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluations (PROMETHEE) is introduced into the assessment of air quality among ten cities. As a result, the ranking of air quality in Ningbo, Wenzhou, Shanghai, and Shaoxing was at the fore from 2014 to 2017. Meanwhile, the performance of Ningbo has always kept the top two and Shaoxing’s ranking has risen since 2015. In addition, the air quality of Changzhou, Suzhou and Hangzhou was at an average level in the past four years. Moreover, the performance of Nanjing, Wuxi, and Zhenjiang was terrible when compared to other cities. Some useful suggestions have been proposed to control air quality based on the ranking results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaobing Yu
- School of Management Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China; (C.L.); (H.C.); (Z.J.)
- Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +86-187-9587-6056
| | - Chenliang Li
- School of Management Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China; (C.L.); (H.C.); (Z.J.)
| | - Hong Chen
- School of Management Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China; (C.L.); (H.C.); (Z.J.)
| | - Zhonghui Ji
- School of Management Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China; (C.L.); (H.C.); (Z.J.)
- Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
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22
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A Study of the Socioeconomic Forces Driving Air Pollution Based on a DPSIR Model in Henan Province, China. SUSTAINABILITY 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/su12010252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The 3D spatiotemporal distribution (spatial and annual-month-daily temporal) features of the air quality index (AQI), air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, CO, and O3-8h), and air pollution risks (R) from 2003 to 2018 were investigated to understand the severity of air pollution in Henan province. The multiyear ascending trends for AQI and R values, with a peak in 2015, were observed in 2003 to 2018 since the annual population-weighted average concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, NO2, and O3-8h were always higher than the CAAQs II from 2013 to 2017 in Henan province. Changes in the monthly moving average AQI values in Henan province conformed to a U-shaped pattern, with the highest values in the winter (from December to February) and the lowest in the summer (from June to August). Triple peaks for AQI values of 8:00‒10:00 a.m., 6:00‒8:00 p.m., and 2:00‒4:00 p.m. in the representative municipalities corresponded with the morning and evening traffic tendencies and photochemical process. A spatial analysis indicated that there were decreasing trends for air pollution from northwest to southeast in Henan province. Data on 48 concrete parameters were collected from 2003 to 2017 to construct a driving force‒pressure‒state‒influence‒response (DPSIR) model for assessing the socioeconomic forces driving air pollution in this province. It was the too-rapid growth of the driving force index (DFI), induced by urban development and population growth (UDPG), economic growth and change of industrial structure (EGCIS), and energy consumption growth and structure change (ECGSC), that led to a direct increase in the atmospheric pollution burden, i.e., total emissions from air pollution and industrial emissions, which are linearly correlated to values of UDPG and ECGSC, respectively (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the prediction models for AQI and R values in Henan province, with the growth rates being 4.251 DFI−1 and 0.0816 DFI−1, respectively, were simulated by multiple linear regression analysis. Therefore, the integrated risks of air pollution in Henan province were originally driven by DFI.
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Optimization of Transportation Routing Problem for Fresh Food by Improved Ant Colony Algorithm Based on Tabu Search. SUSTAINABILITY 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/su11236584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
With the continuous improvement of people’s living standards and their increasing demand for fresh food, the cold chain logistics industry has developed rapidly. One of the biggest challenges to today’s cold chain logistics is to offer fresh food while minimizing CO2 emissions. The fresh degree and CO2 emissions are involved in the vehicle routing optimization problem in the cold chain logistics. In order to meet the quality requirement for fresh agricultural products and low carbon logistics, a novel routing optimization model considering the costs of quality deterioration and carbon emissions (Low Carbon and Freshness Degrees Vehicle Routing Problem (LCFD-VRP)) for cold chain distribution was established in this study. This model takes into account the fixed cost, fuel cost and time window penalty cost. An improved ant colony algorithm (IACA) is used to optimize the whole vehicle distribution routing with its strong global search ability. Tabu Search (TS) algorithm is used to search the single vehicle distribution routing with its good local search ability. An IACA combined with TS (IACATS) was proposed to solve the above LCFD-VRP model. The practicability of the model and the effectiveness of the above improved algorithm are verified using a real case study. The results of Zhoushan Dayang Refrigerated Logistics Co., Ltd. showed that, compared with the traditional algorithm, IACATS could reduce the dispatching of two refrigerated vehicles, thus lowering the total cost by 4.94%, shortening the actual transportation distance by 5.50% and cutting the total CO2 emissions by 8.9%. Therefore, the LCFD-VRP model can effectively help to achieve the low carbon emissions, multi-variety and low-cost distribution of fresh agricultural products. The proposed model and IACATS algorithm would be used to optimize VRP in cold chain enterprises. The results of this study also provide management suggestions for cold chain enterprises to effectively balance economic cost and environmental cost.
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Du JL, Liu Y, Forrest JYL. An interactive group decision model for selecting treatment schemes for mitigating air pollution. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2019; 26:18687-18707. [PMID: 31055752 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-019-05072-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2019] [Accepted: 04/02/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Air pollution has caused huge losses of life and property. So, how to choose a practically effective scheme to m.itigate air pollution is of great significance. However, such a selection problem of treatment schemes represents really a group negotiation process of many decision makers (DMs), involving a variety of fuzzy information and preferences. To successfully address this selection problem, this paper proposes a novel group negotiation decision model by jointly employing various approaches, such as hesitant fuzzy set, grey target, grey incidence analysis, and graph model for conflict resolution (GMCR). Then, this model is used to determine the equilibrium schemes for treating air pollution. It is expected that this work provides a method for Chinese government to introduce programs to target air pollution control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun-Liang Du
- School of Business, Jiangnan University, Jiangsu, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Yong Liu
- School of Business, Jiangnan University, Jiangsu, Wuxi, 214122, China.
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Qin G, Tao F, Li L. A Vehicle Routing Optimization Problem for Cold Chain Logistics Considering Customer Satisfaction and Carbon Emissions. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2019; 16:ijerph16040576. [PMID: 30781502 PMCID: PMC6406631 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16040576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2019] [Revised: 02/13/2019] [Accepted: 02/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Under fierce market competition and the demand for low-carbon economy, cold chain logistics companies have to pay attention to customer satisfaction and carbon emissions for better development. In order to simultaneously consider cost, customer satisfaction, and carbon emissions in the cold chain logistics path optimization problem, based on the idea of cost–benefit, this paper proposes a comprehensive cold chain vehicle routing problem optimization model with the objective function of minimizing the cost of unit satisfied customer. For customer satisfaction, this paper uses the punctuality of delivery as the evaluation standard. For carbon emissions, this paper introduces the carbon trading mechanism to calculate carbon emissions costs. An actual case data is used with a cycle evolutionary genetic algorithm to carry out computational experiments in the model. First, the effectiveness of the algorithm and model were verified by a numerical comparison experiment. The optimization results of the model show that increasing the total cost by a small amount can greatly improve average customer satisfaction, thereby obtaining a highly cost-effective solution. Second, the impact of carbon price on total costs, carbon emissions, and average customer satisfaction have also been numerically analyzed. The experimental results show that as carbon price increases, there are two opposite trends in total costs, depending on whether carbon quota is sufficient. Increasing carbon price within a certain range can effectively reduce carbon emissions, but at the same time it will reduce average customer satisfaction to a certain extent; there is a trade-off between carbon emissions and customer satisfaction. This model enriches the optimization research of cold chain logistics distribution, and the study results complement the impact research of carbon price on carbon emissions and customer satisfaction. Finally, some practical managerial implications for enterprises and government are offered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaoyuan Qin
- College of Mechanical Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China.
| | - Fengming Tao
- College of Mechanical Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China.
| | - Lixia Li
- College of Mechanical Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China.
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Ji W, Zhou B, Zhao B. Potential reductions in premature mortality attributable to PM 2.5 by reducing indoor pollution: A model analysis for Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei of China. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2019; 245:260-271. [PMID: 30439636 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.10.082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2018] [Revised: 09/07/2018] [Accepted: 10/17/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND China has one of the highest PM2.5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter smaller than 2.5 μm) pollution levels in the world. It might still be long before air quality reaches the National Class II standard of 35 μg/m3. OBJECTIVE We aim to estimate the potential reduction in premature mortality by reducing indoor PM2.5 levels in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region and compare it with reducing outdoor levels. METHODS We combined PM2.5 transport model and the Global Burden of Disease (2016) methodology to estimate potential reductions in premature mortality attributable to PM2.5 by reducing indoor PM2.5 to National Class I standard of 15 μg/m3, and compared with reducing outdoor PM2.5 to Government 2020 Interim target of 64 μg/m3 or National Class II standard of 35 μg/m3. RESULTS A total of 74,000 (95% confidence interval (CI): 43,000-111,000) premature deaths were attributable to PM2.5 exposure in 2013. Thirty percent, or 22,000 (95% CI: 17,000-32,000) deaths, would have been averted if indoor PM2.5 had reached the National Class I standard. The benefit is greater than that from reaching the Government 2020 Interim target for outdoor PM2.5 [22%, or 16,000 (95% CI: 12,000-23,000), deaths], although still smaller than that from reaching the National Class II standard [42%, or 31,000 (95% CI: 24,000-45,000), deaths]. CONCLUSIONS Reaching the National Class I level of indoor PM2.5 at current outdoor pollution levels could bring considerable health benefits, which are comparable to those from reaching the Government 2020 Interim target for outdoor PM2.5. MAIN FINDINGS The avertable premature deaths gained from cleaning indoor PM2.5 to National Class I standard level would be greater than reducing outdoor PM2.5 to Government 2020 Interim target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenjing Ji
- Department of Building Science, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Bin Zhou
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK; MRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Bin Zhao
- Department of Building Science, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Indoor Air Quality Evaluation and Control, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
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Lu Y, Wang Y, Zuo J, Jiang H, Huang D, Rameezdeen R. Characteristics of public concern on haze in China and its relationship with air quality in urban areas. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 637-638:1597-1606. [PMID: 29801253 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2018] [Revised: 04/27/2018] [Accepted: 04/27/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Severe air pollution associated with the rapid urbanization is a pressing issue in China. Moreover, the public awareness of environmental protection in China is awakening, which poses enormous pressure on governments to enforce environmental regulations. The study of environmental problems from the public perspective plays a crucial role in effective environmental governance. The Baidu search engine is the China's largest search engine. The search index of haze based on Baidu search engine reflects the public concern on air quality in China. The aim of this study is to uncover important relationships between public concern and air quality monitoring data based on the case study of haze pollution crisis in China. The results indicate that: (1) the year 2013 is the turning point of the public concern on air quality in China; (2) according to daily data analysis, the search index of haze has increased progressively with increased PM2.5 concentration with a time lag of 0-4 days and the lag time has a declining tendency from 2013 to 2017; (3) according to annual data analysis, the public concern showed a weak correlation with air quality and they showed an opposite temporal trend. However, when the long-term annual trend was removed, the strong positive correlation emerges between the fluctuation parts of the search index of haze and monitoring data of air quality. This indicates the public is more sensitive to the short-term fluctuation of air quality. The results of this paper provide statistical evidence on the evolution of public concern on air quality from 2013 to 2017. This study will help policy makers to better understand the patterns of the public's perception of environmental problems and consequently improve the government's capability to deal with these challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaling Lu
- China-Australia Centre for Sustainable Urban Development, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Planning and Policy Simulation, Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning, Beijing, China
| | - Yuan Wang
- China-Australia Centre for Sustainable Urban Development, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
| | - Jian Zuo
- School of Architecture & Built Environment, Entrepreneurship, Commercialisation and Innovation Centre (ECIC), The University of Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
| | - Hongqiang Jiang
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Planning and Policy Simulation, Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning, Beijing, China.
| | - Dacang Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Science and Natural Resource Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Raufdeen Rameezdeen
- School of Natural and Built Environments, University of South Australia, Adelaide 5000, Australia
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Sun L, Zhu J, Che Y, Li Q, Guo W, Wu C. Fabrication of high-performance polytetrafluoroethylene microporous membranes filled with nano-alumina. HIGH PERFORM POLYM 2018. [DOI: 10.1177/0954008318804034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
In this article, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) microporous membranes with excellent tensile strength and good wear durability were successfully fabricated by the addition of nano-alumina (Al2O3). The friction and mechanical behavior of PTFE microporous membranes with different nano-Al2O3 contents were investigated by Martindale abrasion tester, dynamic mechanical analysis, and universal testing machine. Scanning electron microscopy was applied to analyze the surface, longitudinal section, and worn surface of the microporous membranes. Results demonstrated that nano-Al2O3 particles were dispersed into the “node” structures of PTFE microporous membranes and acted as the skeleton, leading to the increasing of the tensile strength remarkably. The wear rate reduced significantly with the addition of nano-Al2O3 and was affected by nano-Al2O3 content. Additionally, the wear mechanism of the microporous membranes was also discussed based on the study results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lewen Sun
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Polymeric Materials, Key Laboratory of Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Material Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jufang Zhu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Polymeric Materials, Key Laboratory of Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Material Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yanchao Che
- Shanxi Funuo New Material Technology Co., Ltd, Taiyuan, People’s Republic of China
| | - Qiuying Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Polymeric Materials, Key Laboratory of Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Material Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
| | - Weihong Guo
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Polymeric Materials, Key Laboratory of Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Material Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
| | - Chifei Wu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Polymeric Materials, Key Laboratory of Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Material Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
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Liu Y, Zhang Y, Li C, Bai Y, Zhang D, Xue C, Liu G. Air pollutant emissions and mitigation potential through the adoption of semi-coke coals and improved heating stoves: Field evaluation of a pilot intervention program in rural China. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2018; 240:661-669. [PMID: 29775943 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.04.110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2017] [Revised: 04/19/2018] [Accepted: 04/23/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Pollutant emissions from incomplete combustion of raw coal in low-efficiency residential heating stoves greatly contribute to winter haze in China. Semi-coke coals and improved heating stoves are expected to lower air pollutant emissions and are vigorously promoted by the Chinese government in many national and local plans. In this study, the thermal performance and air pollutant emissions from semi-coke combustion in improved heating stoves were measured in a pilot rural county and compared to the baseline of burning raw coal to quantify the mitigation potential of air pollutant emissions. A total of five stove-fuel combinations were tested, and 27 samples from 27 different volunteered households were obtained. The heating efficiency of improved stoves increased, but fuel consumption appeared higher with more useful energy output compared to traditional stoves. The emission factors of PM2.5, SO2, and CO2 of semi-coke burning in specified improved stoves were lower than the baseline of burning raw coal chunk, but no significant NOx and CO decreases were observed. The total amount of PM2.5 and SO2 emissions per household in one heating season was lower, but CO, CO2, and NOx increased when semi-coke coal and specified improved stoves were deployed. Most differences were not statistically significant due to the limited samples and large variation, indicating that further evaluation would be needed to make conclusions that could be considered for policy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yafei Liu
- Biomass Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Center, College of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
| | - You Zhang
- Biomass Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Center, College of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Chuang Li
- Biomass Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Center, College of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Yun Bai
- Biomass Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Center, College of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Daoming Zhang
- Biomass Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Center, College of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Chunyu Xue
- Biomass Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Center, College of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China.
| | - Guangqing Liu
- Biomass Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Center, College of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
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Huang J, Pan X, Guo X, Li G. Health impact of China's Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan: an analysis of national air quality monitoring and mortality data. Lancet Planet Health 2018; 2:e313-e323. [PMID: 30074894 DOI: 10.1016/s2542-5196(18)30141-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 308] [Impact Index Per Article: 51.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2018] [Revised: 05/13/2018] [Accepted: 06/05/2018] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND To mitigate the serious levels of air pollution in China, the State Council of China issued the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan (APPCAP) in 2013. This policy is a milestone in air quality control in China. We aimed to evaluate the effects of the APPCAP on long-term air quality management and the related health impacts in China. METHODS We did an analysis of national air quality monitoring and mortality data to estimate the health impact of the APPCAP from 2013 to 2017 in 74 key cities in China. Changes in mortality and in years of life lost (YLL), an indicator that considers life expectancy at death, were calculated to assess the health impact of air quality management during the 5-year period. FINDINGS Between 2013 and 2017, annual average concentrations of PM2·5 decreased by 33·3% (95% CI 16·3-50·3), PM10 by 27·8% (8·0-47·5), sulphur dioxide by 54·1% (28·2-80·0), and carbon monoxide by 28·2% (3·1-53·3) in the 74 key cities. However, no significant change was seen in annual average concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (9·7% reduction; 95% CI -23·0 to 42·4) or ozone (20·4% increase; -30·1 to 71·0). In 2017, as a result of substantial improvements in air quality, there were 47 240 (95% CI 25 870-69 990) fewer deaths and 710 020 (420 230-1 025 460) fewer YLL in the 74 key cities in China than in 2013. INTERPRETATION Substantial reductions in mortality and YLL related to control of ambient air pollution were achieved from 2013 to 2017 in China, indicating appreciable effectiveness of China's APPCAP. However, emissions control efforts for ozone and nitrogen dioxide should be strengthened in the future. FUNDING National Natural Science Foundation of China and the National Key Research and Development Program of China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Huang
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, Peking University School of Public Health, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaochuan Pan
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, Peking University School of Public Health, Beijing, China
| | - Xinbiao Guo
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, Peking University School of Public Health, Beijing, China
| | - Guoxing Li
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, Peking University School of Public Health, Beijing, China.
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Liu Y, Wu J, Yu D, Hao R. Understanding the Patterns and Drivers of Air Pollution on Multiple Time Scales: The Case of Northern China. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2018; 61:1048-1061. [PMID: 29564496 DOI: 10.1007/s00267-018-1026-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2017] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
China's rapid economic growth during the past three decades has resulted in a number of environmental problems, including the deterioration of air quality. It is necessary to better understand how the spatial pattern of air pollutants varies with time scales and what drive these changes. To address these questions, this study focused on one of the most heavily air-polluted areas in North China. We first quantified the spatial pattern of air pollution, and then systematically examined the relationships of air pollution to several socioeconomic and climatic factors using the constraint line method, correlation analysis, and stepwise regression on decadal, annual, and seasonal scales. Our results indicate that PM2.5 was the dominant air pollutant in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, while PM2.5 and PM10 were both important pollutants in the Agro-pastoral Transitional Zone (APTZ) region. Our statistical analyses suggest that energy consumption and gross domestic product (GDP) in the industry were the most important factors for air pollution on the decadal scale, but the impacts of climatic factors could also be significant. On the annual and seasonal scales, high wind speed, low relative humidity, and long sunshine duration constrained PM2.5 accumulation; low wind speed and high relative humidity constrained PM10 accumulation; and short sunshine duration and high wind speed constrained O3 accumulation. Our study showed that analyses on multiple temporal scales are not only necessary to determine key drivers of air pollution, but also insightful for understanding the spatial patterns of air pollution, which was important for urban planning and air pollution control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yupeng Liu
- Center for Human-Environment System Sustainability (CHESS), State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology (ESPRE), Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Jianguo Wu
- Center for Human-Environment System Sustainability (CHESS), State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology (ESPRE), Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
- School of Life Sciences and School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | - Deyong Yu
- Center for Human-Environment System Sustainability (CHESS), State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology (ESPRE), Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
| | - Ruifang Hao
- Center for Human-Environment System Sustainability (CHESS), State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology (ESPRE), Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
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Kamimura A, Armenta B, Nourian M, Assasnik N, Nourian K, Chernenko A. Perceived Environmental Pollution and Its Impact on Health in China, Japan, and South Korea. J Prev Med Public Health 2018; 50:188-194. [PMID: 28605887 PMCID: PMC5495686 DOI: 10.3961/jpmph.17.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2017] [Accepted: 04/17/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives Environmental pollution is a significant global issue. Both objective (scientifically measured) environmental pollution and perceived levels of pollution are important predictors of self-reported health. The purpose of this study was to compare the associations between perceived environmental pollution and health in China, Japan, and South Korea. Methods Data were obtained from the East Asian Social Survey and the Cross-National Survey Data Sets: Health and Society in East Asia, 2010 (n=7938; China, n=3866; Japan, n=2496; South Korea, n=1576). Results South Koreans perceived environmental pollution to be the most severe, while Japanese participants perceived environmental pollution to be the least severe. Although the Japanese did not perceive environmental pollution to be very severe, their self-rated physical health was significantly related to perceived environmental pollution, while the analogous relationships were not significant for the Chinese or Korean participants. Better mental health was related to lower levels of perceived air pollution in China, as well as lower levels of perceived all types of pollution in Japan and lower levels of perceived noise pollution in South Korea. Conclusions Physical and mental health and individual socio-demographic characteristics were associated with levels of perceived environmental pollution, but with different patterns among these three countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akiko Kamimura
- Department of Sociology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Bianca Armenta
- Department of Sociology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Maziar Nourian
- Department of Sociology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Nushean Assasnik
- Department of Sociology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Kimiya Nourian
- Department of Sociology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Alla Chernenko
- Department of Sociology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
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Disentangling the Complex Effects of Socioeconomic, Climatic, and Urban Form Factors on Air Pollution: A Case Study of China. SUSTAINABILITY 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/su10030776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Moustafa K. A clean environmental week: Let the nature breathe. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2017; 598:639-646. [PMID: 28454036 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.04.068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2016] [Revised: 04/09/2017] [Accepted: 04/10/2017] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
High levels of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere and toxic pollutants in air, water and food have serious repercussions on all life's systems, including living beings, environment and economy. Everyone on the Earth is concerned by pollution in some way or another, no matter where and how the pollution is produced as airborne and foodborne pollutants could circulate around the world in different ways, through for example climate components (wind, rain) and/or import and export of foodstuffs. Similarly to living beings that take advantage of day-night circadian rhythms to recover after diurnal hardships, the environment in its entirety could also be seen as a complex living system that needs regular breaks to assimilate or ingest toxic pollutants produced during intensive and continuous industrial processes. If greenhouses gas emissions and pollution rates continue to increase at the same rates as they are nowadays, uncontrollable climate effects might be inevitable and the air quality in some crowded cities in the world might be hardly respirable in the future. A global "Clean Environmental Week" is discussed as an attempt toward reducing air pollution and CO2 emissions through the interruption or reduction of industrial polluting activities regularly, for a week or so per year, to let the nature 'breathe' and recover from environmentally challenging pollutions. A clean environmental period of 10 days per year could reduce CO2 emissions by about one billion tons of CO2 per annum.
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Huang C, Moran AE, Coxson PG, Yang X, Liu F, Cao J, Chen K, Wang M, He J, Goldman L, Zhao D, Kinney PL, Gu D. Potential Cardiovascular and Total Mortality Benefits of Air Pollution Control in Urban China. Circulation 2017; 136:1575-1584. [PMID: 28882886 DOI: 10.1161/circulationaha.116.026487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2016] [Accepted: 05/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Outdoor air pollution ranks fourth among preventable causes of China's burden of disease. We hypothesized that the magnitude of health gains from air quality improvement in urban China could compare with achieving recommended blood pressure or smoking control goals. METHODS The Cardiovascular Disease Policy Model-China projected coronary heart disease, stroke, and all-cause deaths in urban Chinese adults 35 to 84 years of age from 2017 to 2030 if recent air quality (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 µm, PM2.5) and traditional cardiovascular risk factor trends continue. We projected life-years gained if urban China were to reach 1 of 3 air quality goals: Beijing Olympic Games level (mean PM2.5, 55 μg/m3), China Class II standard (35 μg/m3), or World Health Organization standard (10 μg/m3). We compared projected air pollution reduction control benefits with potential benefits of reaching World Health Organization hypertension and tobacco control goals. RESULTS Mean PM2.5 reduction to Beijing Olympic levels by 2030 would gain ≈241,000 (95% uncertainty interval, 189 000-293 000) life-years annually. Achieving either the China Class II or World Health Organization PM2.5 standard would yield greater health benefits (992 000 [95% uncertainty interval, 790 000-1 180 000] or 1 827 000 [95% uncertainty interval, 1 481 00-2 129 000] annual life-years gained, respectively) than World Health Organization-recommended goals of 25% improvement in systolic hypertension control and 30% reduction in smoking combined (928 000 [95% uncertainty interval, 830 000-1 033 000] life-years). CONCLUSIONS Air quality improvement in different scenarios could lead to graded health benefits ranging from 241 000 life-years gained to much greater benefits equal to or greater than the combined benefits of 25% improvement in systolic hypertension control and 30% smoking reduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Huang
- From Department of Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medicine Science, Beijing (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing, China (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); Division of General Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York (A.E.M.); Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York (A.E.M., L.G.); Division of General Medicine, University of California at San Francisco (P.G.C.); Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (K.C.); Department of Epidemiology, Capital Medical University Beijing Anzhen Hospital and Beijing Institute of Heart, Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, China (M.W., D.Z.); Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); and Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, New York, New York (P.L.K.)
| | - Andrew E Moran
- From Department of Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medicine Science, Beijing (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing, China (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); Division of General Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York (A.E.M.); Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York (A.E.M., L.G.); Division of General Medicine, University of California at San Francisco (P.G.C.); Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (K.C.); Department of Epidemiology, Capital Medical University Beijing Anzhen Hospital and Beijing Institute of Heart, Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, China (M.W., D.Z.); Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); and Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, New York, New York (P.L.K.)
| | - Pamela G Coxson
- From Department of Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medicine Science, Beijing (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing, China (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); Division of General Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York (A.E.M.); Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York (A.E.M., L.G.); Division of General Medicine, University of California at San Francisco (P.G.C.); Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (K.C.); Department of Epidemiology, Capital Medical University Beijing Anzhen Hospital and Beijing Institute of Heart, Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, China (M.W., D.Z.); Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); and Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, New York, New York (P.L.K.)
| | - Xueli Yang
- From Department of Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medicine Science, Beijing (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing, China (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); Division of General Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York (A.E.M.); Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York (A.E.M., L.G.); Division of General Medicine, University of California at San Francisco (P.G.C.); Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (K.C.); Department of Epidemiology, Capital Medical University Beijing Anzhen Hospital and Beijing Institute of Heart, Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, China (M.W., D.Z.); Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); and Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, New York, New York (P.L.K.)
| | - Fangchao Liu
- From Department of Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medicine Science, Beijing (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing, China (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); Division of General Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York (A.E.M.); Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York (A.E.M., L.G.); Division of General Medicine, University of California at San Francisco (P.G.C.); Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (K.C.); Department of Epidemiology, Capital Medical University Beijing Anzhen Hospital and Beijing Institute of Heart, Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, China (M.W., D.Z.); Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); and Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, New York, New York (P.L.K.)
| | - Jie Cao
- From Department of Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medicine Science, Beijing (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing, China (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); Division of General Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York (A.E.M.); Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York (A.E.M., L.G.); Division of General Medicine, University of California at San Francisco (P.G.C.); Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (K.C.); Department of Epidemiology, Capital Medical University Beijing Anzhen Hospital and Beijing Institute of Heart, Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, China (M.W., D.Z.); Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); and Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, New York, New York (P.L.K.)
| | - Kai Chen
- From Department of Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medicine Science, Beijing (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing, China (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); Division of General Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York (A.E.M.); Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York (A.E.M., L.G.); Division of General Medicine, University of California at San Francisco (P.G.C.); Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (K.C.); Department of Epidemiology, Capital Medical University Beijing Anzhen Hospital and Beijing Institute of Heart, Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, China (M.W., D.Z.); Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); and Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, New York, New York (P.L.K.)
| | - Miao Wang
- From Department of Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medicine Science, Beijing (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing, China (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); Division of General Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York (A.E.M.); Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York (A.E.M., L.G.); Division of General Medicine, University of California at San Francisco (P.G.C.); Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (K.C.); Department of Epidemiology, Capital Medical University Beijing Anzhen Hospital and Beijing Institute of Heart, Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, China (M.W., D.Z.); Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); and Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, New York, New York (P.L.K.)
| | - Jiang He
- From Department of Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medicine Science, Beijing (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing, China (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); Division of General Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York (A.E.M.); Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York (A.E.M., L.G.); Division of General Medicine, University of California at San Francisco (P.G.C.); Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (K.C.); Department of Epidemiology, Capital Medical University Beijing Anzhen Hospital and Beijing Institute of Heart, Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, China (M.W., D.Z.); Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); and Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, New York, New York (P.L.K.)
| | - Lee Goldman
- From Department of Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medicine Science, Beijing (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing, China (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); Division of General Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York (A.E.M.); Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York (A.E.M., L.G.); Division of General Medicine, University of California at San Francisco (P.G.C.); Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (K.C.); Department of Epidemiology, Capital Medical University Beijing Anzhen Hospital and Beijing Institute of Heart, Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, China (M.W., D.Z.); Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); and Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, New York, New York (P.L.K.)
| | - Dong Zhao
- From Department of Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medicine Science, Beijing (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing, China (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); Division of General Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York (A.E.M.); Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York (A.E.M., L.G.); Division of General Medicine, University of California at San Francisco (P.G.C.); Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (K.C.); Department of Epidemiology, Capital Medical University Beijing Anzhen Hospital and Beijing Institute of Heart, Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, China (M.W., D.Z.); Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); and Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, New York, New York (P.L.K.)
| | - Patrick L Kinney
- From Department of Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medicine Science, Beijing (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing, China (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); Division of General Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York (A.E.M.); Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York (A.E.M., L.G.); Division of General Medicine, University of California at San Francisco (P.G.C.); Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (K.C.); Department of Epidemiology, Capital Medical University Beijing Anzhen Hospital and Beijing Institute of Heart, Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, China (M.W., D.Z.); Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); and Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, New York, New York (P.L.K.)
| | - Dongfeng Gu
- From Department of Epidemiology, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medicine Science, Beijing (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing, China (C.H., X.Y., F.L., J.C., D.G.); Division of General Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York (A.E.M.); Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York (A.E.M., L.G.); Division of General Medicine, University of California at San Francisco (P.G.C.); Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (K.C.); Department of Epidemiology, Capital Medical University Beijing Anzhen Hospital and Beijing Institute of Heart, Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, China (M.W., D.Z.); Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA (J.H.); and Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, New York, New York (P.L.K.).
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36
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Spatio-temporal variations of PM 2.5 concentrations and the evaluation of emission reduction measures during two red air pollution alerts in Beijing. Sci Rep 2017; 7:8220. [PMID: 28811594 PMCID: PMC5557902 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-08895-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2017] [Accepted: 07/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
To effectively improve air quality during pollution episodes, Beijing released two red alerts in 2015. Here we examined spatio-temporal variations of PM2.5 concentrations during two alerts based on multiple data sources. Results suggested that PM2.5 concentrations varied significantly across Beijing. PM2.5 concentrations in southern parts of Beijing were higher than those in northern areas during both alerts. In addition to unfavorable meteorological conditions, coal combustion, especially incomplete coal combustion contributed significantly to the high PM2.5 concentrations. Through the CAMx model, we evaluated the effects of emission-reduction measures on PM2.5 concentrations. Through simulation, emergency measures cut down 10% - 30% of the total emissions and decreased the peaks of PM2.5 concentrations by about 10-20% during two alerts. We further examined the scenario if emergency measures were implemented several days earlier than the start of red alerts. The results proved that the implementation of emission reduction measures 1-2 days before red alerts could lower the peak of PM2.5 concentrations significantly. Given the difficulty of precisely predicting the duration of heavy pollution episodes and the fact that successive heavy pollution episodes may return after red alerts, emergency measures should also be implemented one or two days after the red alerts.
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Investigation of Indoor Air Quality and the Identification of Influential Factors at Primary Schools in the North of China. SUSTAINABILITY 2017. [DOI: 10.3390/su9071180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Over 70% of a pupil’s school life is spent inside a classroom, and indoor air quality has a significant impact on students’ attendance and learning potential. Therefore, the indoor air quality in primary school buildings is highly important. This empirical study investigates the indoor air quality in four naturally ventilated schools in China, with a focus on four parameters: PM2.5, PM10, CO2, and temperature. The correlations between the indoor air quality and the ambient air pollution, building defects, and occupants’ activities have been identified and discussed. The results indicate that building defects and occupants’ activities have a significant impact on indoor air quality. Buildings with better air tightness have a relatively smaller ratio of indoor particulate matter (PM) concentrations to outdoor PM concentrations when unoccupied. During occupied periods, the indoor/outdoor (I/O) ratio could be larger than 1 due to internal students’ activities. The indoor air temperature in winter is mainly determined by occupants’ activities and the adiabatic ability of a building’s fabrics. CO2 can easily exceed 1000 ppm on average due to the closing of windows and doors to keep the inside air warmer in winter. It is concluded that improving air tightness might be a way of reducing outdoor air pollutants’ penetration in naturally ventilated school buildings. Mechanical ventilation with air purification could be also an option on severely polluted days.
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38
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Li G, Lei Y, Ge J, Wu S. The Empirical Relationship between Mining Industry Development and Environmental Pollution in China. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2017; 14:ijerph14030254. [PMID: 28257126 PMCID: PMC5369090 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph14030254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2016] [Accepted: 02/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
This study uses a vector autoregression (VAR) model to analyze changes in pollutants among different mining industries and related policy in China from 2001 to 2014. The results show that: (1) because the pertinence of standards for mining waste water and waste gas emissions are not strong and because the maximum permissible discharge pollutant concentrations in these standards are too high, ammonia nitrogen and industrial sulfur dioxide discharges increased in most mining industries; (2) chemical oxygen demand was taken as an indicator of sewage treatment in environmental protection plans; hence, the chemical oxygen demand discharge decreased in all mining industries; (3) tax reduction policies, which are only implemented in coal mining and washing and extraction of petroleum and natural gas, decreased the industrial solid waste discharge in these two mining industries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerui Li
- School of Humanities and Economics Management, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China.
- Key Laboratory of Carrying Capacity Assessment for Resource and Environment, Ministry of Land and Resources, Beijing 100083, China.
| | - Yalin Lei
- School of Humanities and Economics Management, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China.
- Key Laboratory of Carrying Capacity Assessment for Resource and Environment, Ministry of Land and Resources, Beijing 100083, China.
| | - Jianping Ge
- School of Humanities and Economics Management, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China.
- Key Laboratory of Carrying Capacity Assessment for Resource and Environment, Ministry of Land and Resources, Beijing 100083, China.
| | - Sanmang Wu
- School of Humanities and Economics Management, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China.
- Key Laboratory of Carrying Capacity Assessment for Resource and Environment, Ministry of Land and Resources, Beijing 100083, China.
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Guo H, Ling ZH, Cheng HR, Simpson IJ, Lyu XP, Wang XM, Shao M, Lu HX, Ayoko G, Zhang YL, Saunders SM, Lam SHM, Wang JL, Blake DR. Tropospheric volatile organic compounds in China. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2017; 574:1021-1043. [PMID: 27668854 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.09.116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2016] [Revised: 09/13/2016] [Accepted: 09/15/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Photochemical smog, characterized by high concentrations of ozone (O3) and fine particles (PM2.5) in the atmosphere, has become one of the top environmental concerns in China. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), one of the key precursors of O3 and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) (an important component of PM2.5), have a critical influence on atmospheric chemistry and subsequently affect regional and global climate. Thus, VOCs have been extensively studied in many cities and regions in China, especially in the North China Plain, the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta regions where photochemical smog pollution has become increasingly worse over recent decades. This paper reviews the main studies conducted in China on the characteristics and sources of VOCs, their relationship with O3 and SOA, and their removal technology. This paper also provides an integrated literature review on the formulation and implementation of effective control strategies of VOCs and photochemical smog, as well as suggestions for future directions of VOCs study in China.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Guo
- Air Quality Studies, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Z H Ling
- School of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - H R Cheng
- School of Resource and Environmental Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - I J Simpson
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - X P Lyu
- Air Quality Studies, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - X M Wang
- Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - M Shao
- College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - H X Lu
- Air Quality Studies, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - G Ayoko
- Discipline of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
| | - Y L Zhang
- Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - S M Saunders
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - S H M Lam
- Pacific Environment Limited, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - J L Wang
- Department of Chemistry, National Central University, Taiwan
| | - D R Blake
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
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40
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Fang D, Wang Q, Li H, Yu Y, Lu Y, Qian X. Mortality effects assessment of ambient PM2.5 pollution in the 74 leading cities of China. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2016; 569-570:1545-1552. [PMID: 27395080 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.06.248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2016] [Revised: 06/18/2016] [Accepted: 06/30/2016] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution is currently a most severe and worrisome environmental problem in China. However, current knowledge of the health effects of this pollution is insufficient. OBJECTIVES This study aims to provide an overall understanding regarding the long-term mortality effects of current PM2.5 pollution in China and the potential health benefits of realizing the goals stipulated in the ongoing action plan of Air Pollution Prevention and Control (APPC) and the targets suggested by the WHO. METHODS Three typical causes and all-cause of PM2.5-related mortality were considered. The log-linear exposure-response function was adopted, and a meta-analysis was used to determine the exposure-response coefficients, based on newly available data in China and abroad. RESULTS In the 74 leading cities of China, approximately 32% of the reported deaths, with a mortality rate of 1.9‰, were associated with PM2.5 in 2013, in which deaths from cardiovascular, respiratory and lung-cancer causes accounted for 20% of the reported deaths, with a mortality rate of 1.2‰. The regional difference is remarkable for the mortalities and proportions of the different causes. If the PM2.5 concentration goals of the APPC plan, the first interim and the guideline targets of the WHO could be achieved, the PM2.5-related all-cause mortality would be reduced by 25%, 64% and 95%, respectively, compared with that of 2013. CONCLUSIONS PM2.5 pollution in China has incurred great health risks that are even worse than those of tobacco smoking. The health benefits of the APPC plan could be outstanding, although there is still great potential to improve future air quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Die Fang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Qin'geng Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China; Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology (CICAEET), Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China.
| | - Huiming Li
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Yiyong Yu
- Nanjing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center, Nanjing 210013, China
| | - Yan Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Xin Qian
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China; Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology (CICAEET), Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
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41
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Yaqubi M, Shahraki J, Sabouhi Sabouni M. On dealing with the pollution costs in agriculture: A case study of paddy fields. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2016; 556:310-318. [PMID: 26998602 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.02.193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2015] [Revised: 02/27/2016] [Accepted: 02/27/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The main purpose of this study is to evaluate marginal abatement cost of the main agricultural pollutants. In this sense, we construct three indices including Net Global Warming Potential (NGWP) and Nitrogen Surplus (NS), simulated by a biogeochemistry model, and also an Environmental Impact Quotient (EQI) for paddy fields. Then, using a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model, we evaluate environmental inefficiencies and shadow values of these indices. The results show that there is still room for improvement at no extra cost just through a better input management. Besides, enormous potential for pollution reduction in the region is feasible. Moreover, in paddy cultivation, marginal abatement cost of pesticides and herbicides are much bigger than nitrogen surplus and greenhouse gasses. In addition, in the status quo, the mitigation costs are irrelevant to production decisions. Finally, to deal with the private pollution costs, market-based instruments are proved to be better than command-and-control regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morteza Yaqubi
- Faculty of Management and Economics, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Sistan and Baluchestan Zahedan, Iran.
| | - Javad Shahraki
- Faculty of Management and Economics, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Sistan and Baluchestan Zahedan, Iran.
| | - Mahmood Sabouhi Sabouni
- Department of Agricultural Economics, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Azadi Square, Mashhad, Iran.
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