Air Pollution

It is somewhat artificial to consider air, water, and soil pollution separately because their effects are interchangeable. Chemicals emitted into the air eventually combine with rain or snow and settle down to become water and land pollutants. On the other hand, volatile chemicals from soil or those that enter lakes and rivers evaporate to become air pollutants. Pesticides sprayed on land are carried by the wind to become transient air pollutants that eventually settle somewhere on land or water. For discussion purposes, however, some systematic division appears to be advisable. Although the problems of air pollution have been recognized for many decades, they were once considered to be only of local significance, restricted to industrial urban areas. With the current recognition of the destruction of stratospheric ozone, the greenhouse effect, worldwide forest destruction, and the acidification of lakes and coastal waters, air pollution assumes global significance. The sources of urban air pollution are . power generation . transportation . industry, manufacturing, and processing . residential heating . waste incineration Except for waste incineration, all of these pollution sources depend on fossil fuel and, to a lesser degree, on fuel from renewable resources such as plant material. Therefore, all of them produce essentially the same pollutants, although the quantity of each substance may vary from source to source. The principal incineration-generated pollutants are carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), a mixture of nitrogen oxides (NOx), a mixture of hydrocarbons, referred to as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), suspended particulate matter (SPM) of varying sizes, and metals, mostly bound to particles. Waste incineration, in addition, produces some chlorinated dioxins and furans that are formed on combustion of chlorine-containing organic substances Most of these air pollutants originate from geophysical, biological, and atmospheric sources. Their contribution to total air pollution is globally significant. This fact should not lead us into complacency about anthropogenic air pollution. In nature, a steady state has been established between emission and disposition of biogenic pollutants. Life on earth developed in harmony with these external influences.

2021 ◽  
Vol Special Issue (1) ◽  
pp. 01-16
Author(s):  
Jaspreet Kaur ◽  
Charu Jhamaria

Rapid and unplanned industrialization and urbanization have led to an increase in air pollutants in the urban areas are not new phenomena. Findings of several pieces of research have shown that at every stage of life beginning from the effect on developing embryo till an older age. A strong relationship has been reported between urban air pollutants with a wide variety of diseases like respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, adverse effects on the nervous system, endocrine system, prevalence of diseases like diabetes, premature births, etc. Highly susceptible groups are the children and elderly, making this problem a serious concern worldwide. Inhalation of an increasing amount of particulate matter with a variety of toxic chemicals adhered to its surface and gaseous pollutants emitted from various sources initiate complex chemical reactions in the body giving rise to several diseases. The particles move through the upper respiratory tract showing its effect in the form of pulmonary inflammation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), moving further affects the heart rate variability (HRV), Ischemic heart disease, crosses the Blood-brain barrier (BBB) leading to mental and behavior disorder as well as insulin resistance leading to diabetes. The health impacts of poor air quality are serious which require urgent attention. This comprehensive review article aims to provide comprehensive information that can be useful for environmentalists, researchers, engineers, and policymakers for incorporating the data for implementing robust action to combat the problem of increasing urban air pollution.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 362-377
Author(s):  
Jaspreet Kaur ◽  
Charu Jhamaria

Rapid and unplanned industrialization and urbanization have led to an increase in air pollutants in the urban areas are not new phenomena. Findings of several pieces of research have shown that at every stage of life beginning from the effect on developing embryo till an older age. A strong relationship has been reported between urban air pollutants with a wide variety of diseases like respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, adverse effects on the nervous system, endocrine system, prevalence of diseases like diabetes, premature births, etc. Highly susceptible groups are the children and elderly, making this problem a serious concern worldwide. Inhalation of an increasing amount of particulate matter with a variety of toxic chemicals adhered to its surface and gaseous pollutants emitted from various sources initiate complex chemical reactions in the body giving rise to several diseases. The particles move through the upper respiratory tract showing its effect in the form of pulmonary inflammation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), moving further affects the heart rate variability (HRV), Ischemic heart disease, crosses the Blood-brain barrier (BBB) leading to mental and behavior disorder as well as insulin resistance leading to diabetes. The health impacts of poor air quality are serious which require urgent attention. This comprehensive review article aims to provide comprehensive information that can be useful for environmentalists, researchers, engineers, and policymakers for incorporating the data for implementing robust action to combat the problem of increasing urban air pollution.


2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 858-863
Author(s):  
Mihaela Oprea ◽  
Marius Olteanu ◽  
Radu Teodor Ianache

Fine particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 �m (i.e. PM2.5) is an air pollutant of special concern for urban areas due to its potential significant negative effects on human health, especially on children and elderly people. In order to reduce these effects, new tools based on PM2.5 monitoring infrastructures tailored to specific urban regions are needed by the local and regional environmental management systems for the provision of an expert support to decision makers in air quality planning for cities and also, to inform in real time the vulnerable population when PM2.5 related air pollution episodes occur. The paper focuses on urban air pollution early warning based on PM2.5 prediction. It describes the methodology used, the prediction approach, and the experimental system developed under the ROKIDAIR project for the analysis of PM2.5 air pollution level, health impact assessment and early warning of sensitive people in the Ploiesti city. The PM2.5 concentration evolution prediction is correlated with PM2.5 air pollution and health effects analysis, and the final result is processed by the ROKIDAIR Early Warning System (EWS) and sent as a message to the affected population via email or SMS. ROKIDAIR EWS is included in the ROKIDAIR decision support system.


Author(s):  
Karolin Kokaz ◽  
Peter Rogers

Recent economic expansion and population growth in developing countries have had a big impact on the development of large cities like Delhi, India. Accompanied by Delhi’s rapid spatial growth over the last 25 years, urban sprawl has contributed to increased travel. The vehicle fleet projected at current growth rates will result in more than 13 million vehicles in Delhi in 2020. Planning and managing such a rapidly growing transport sector will be a challenge. Choices made now will have effects lasting well into the middle of the century. With such rapid transport growth rates, automobile emissions have become the fastest increasing source of urban air pollution. In India, most urban areas, including Delhi, already have major air pollution problems that could be greatly exacerbated if growth of the transport sector is managed unwisely. The transport plans designed to meet such large increases in travel demand will have to emphasize the movement of people, not vehicles, for a sustainable transportation system. Therefore, a mathematical model was developed to estimate the optimal transportation mix to meet this projected passenger-km demand while satisfying environmental goals, reducing congestion levels, and improving system and fuel efficiencies by exploiting a variety of policy options at the minimum overall cost or maximum welfare from transport. The results suggest that buses will continue to satisfy most passenger transport in the coming decades, so planning done in accordance with improving bus operations is crucial.


Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 431
Author(s):  
Ayako Yoshino ◽  
Akinori Takami ◽  
Keiichiro Hara ◽  
Chiharu Nishita-Hara ◽  
Masahiko Hayashi ◽  
...  

Transboundary air pollution (TAP) and local air pollution (LAP) influence the air quality of urban areas. Fukuoka, located on the west side of Japan and affected by TAP from the Asian continent, is a unique example for understanding the contribution of LAP and TAP. Gaseous species and particulate matter (PM) were measured for approximately three weeks in Fukuoka in the winter of 2018. We classified two distinctive periods, LAP and TAP, based on wind speed. The classification was supported by variations in the concentration of gaseous species and by backward trajectories. Most air pollutants, including NOx and PM, were high in the LAP period and low in the TAP period. However, ozone was the exception. Therefore, our findings suggest that reducing local emissions is necessary. Ozone was higher in the TAP period, and the variation in ozone concentration was relatively small, indicating that ozone was produced outside of the city and transported to Fukuoka. Thus, air pollutants must also be reduced at a regional scale, including in China.


Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 496
Author(s):  
Kyung Hwan Kim ◽  
Kyung-Hwan Kwak ◽  
Jae Young Lee ◽  
Sung Ho Woo ◽  
Jong Bum Kim ◽  
...  

In this work, a 2-D gridded air pollution map with a high resolution of 50 × 50 m2 was proposed to help the exposure assessment studies focusing on the association between air pollutants and their health effects. To establish a reliable air pollution map in a 2 × 2 km2 urban area, a mobile monitoring procedure and a data process were developed. Among the various vehicle-related air pollutants, the particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (pPAH) was chosen as a sensitive indicator. The average pPAH concentration on major roads (293.1 ng/m3) was found to be 35 times higher than that at a background location (8.4 ng/m3). Based on the cell-based pPAH concentrations, the 50 × 50 m2 cells in the air pollution map were categorized into five pollution levels. The higher air pollution levels were generally shown by the cells close to the major traffic emission points. The proposed map can be used to make various policies regarding land use and traffic flow control in urban areas. Estimation of the personal exposure level to air pollutants is possible at a reliable location using the highly resolved 2-D gridded air pollution map in exposure assessment studies.


Author(s):  
Weicong Fu ◽  
Ziru Chen ◽  
Zhipeng Zhu ◽  
Qunyue Liu ◽  
Cecil van den Bosch ◽  
...  

Air pollution has become a critical issue in the urban areas of southeastern China in recent years. A complete understanding of the tempo-spatial characteristics of air pollution can help the public and governmental bodies manage their lives and work better. In this study, data for six criteria air pollutants (including particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3)) from 37 sites in nine major cities within Fujian Province, China were collected between January 2015 to December 2016, and analyzed. We analyzed the spatial and temporal variations of these six criteria pollutants, as well as the attainment rates, and identified what were the major pollutants. Our results show that: (1) the two-year mean values of PM2.5 and PM10 exceeded the Chinese National Ambient Air Quality Standard (CAAQS) standard I levels, whereas other air pollutants were below the CAAQS standard I; (2) the six criteria air pollutants show spatial variations (i.e. most air pollutants were higher in the city center areas, followed by suburban areas and exurban areas, except for O3; and the concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, NO2, O3 were higher in coastal cities than in inland cities); (3) seasonal variations and the no attainment rates of air pollutants were found to be higher in cold seasons and lower in warm seasons, except for O3; (4) the most frequently present air pollutant was PM10, with PM2.5 and O3 being the second and third most frequent, respectively; (5) all the air pollutants, except O3, showed positive correlations with each other. These results provide additional information for the effective control of air pollution in the province of Fujian.


Proceedings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Monika Załuska ◽  
Katarzyna Gładyszewska-Fiedoruk

The level of environmental quality is the result of many factors, and the most important of these is human activity. A responsible approach to the environment is looking for methods to eliminate pollution from the environment. Waste incineration is a way to rationally manage and process waste, minimize emissions of air pollutants and ecologically produce heat and electricity. The purpose of this article is to build and analyze a regression model describing the relationship of pollutant emissions to air from waste incineration plants depending on various factors.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (11) ◽  
pp. 181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nur Sinem Ozcan ◽  
K. Mert Cubukcu

The air pollution problem remains, although significant improvements have been seen in urban air quality over the last years. This study aims to show that the spatial statistic techniques can well be used to examine and explain the air pollution levels in urban areas. The data for SO2 and NO2 concentrations are measures using passive diffusion tubes at the 67 monitoring sites in the district of Çiğli (Izmir). The tubes were exposed for a 2-week period in August 2015. For the determination of the level of clustering for high values and low values of pollutants, Getis-Ord G* local statistics are calculated. There are five points with high values of SO2 surrounded by low values, three points of NO2, where the results are statistically significant at the 0.10 level. The presence of the industrial zone, the form of fossil fuels used in heating, and topography are strong determinants urban air pollution.Keywords: Urban air pollution, planning decisions, spatial autocorrelation, air pollutants eISSN 2398-4279 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. https://doi.org/10.21834/ajqol.v3i11.134


Author(s):  
Veljko Đukić

Using renewable energy is in line with the global strategy of sustainable development. The use of biofuels in transport contributes to increasing security of supply and reducing dependence of the transport sector on oil, reducing the share of greenhouse gas emissions from road transport and sustainable development of urban areas. The advantage of biodiesel in comparison to other alternative fuels can be seen in use in existing vehicles without or with minor modification of existing motors, depending on the concentration of biofuels in combination with fossil fuels. This paper discusses the possibilities of reducing the air pollution by using biodiesel, pollutants arising as a result of combustion of fuel in internal combustion engines, as well as the possibility of using waste cooking oil to produce biodiesel. The presented results show the reduction of air pollution using biodiesel as an alternative fuel, as well as the possibilities of solving the problem of wasting edible oil by using it for biodiesel production


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