scholarly journals Improving air quality and health in Northern Italy: limits and perspectives

Author(s):  
Angelo Robotto ◽  
Secondo Barbero ◽  
Roberto Cremonini ◽  
Enrico Brizio

A better air quality has led to a significant reduction of premature deaths over the past decade in Europe, as emissions of many pollutants declined considerably in the EU-27 Member States: SOx emissions by 76%, NOx by 42%, NMVOCs by 29% and PM2.5 by 29%. The present paper reports an in-depth analysis of the reasons why the regions of the Po valley, Northern Italy, still have difficulties to comply with EU air quality standards, in particular for PM10 and NO2, in spite of strong emission reductions carried out through careful Air Quality Plans put in practice during the last 2 decades. The analysis includes a consistent comparison of emission inventories for different European regions in Italy, Germany and Poland, the measured air quality trends and PM source apportionment in these areas, and, most of all, a thorough investigation of meteorological parameters influencing atmospheric pollutant dispersion and transport. The study reports that in the colder seasons, wind speed, PBL height and atmospheric pressure occurring in the Po basin are three to five times less efficient in diluting and dispersing pollutant if compared to regions north of the Alps. Due to the extremely disadvantageous orographic and climatic configuration of the Po Valley, only radical emission reductions could bring air quality into EU limit values with a questionable cost-benefit ratio of due policies. Provided that air quality standards (particularly for PM10 and PM2.5) aim at protecting people from adverse health effects arising from air pollution, it is however necessary to also consider the toxicity of atmospheric particulate in addition to PM10/PM2.5 mass concentration as a limit value. Based on existing toxicological studies and reports, a discussion is reported about PM toxicity factor depending on toxicity scores for source-specific aerosols and PM composition determined by Source Apportionment. Provided that PM components profiles are strongly different across Europe, the obtained PM toxicity factors range from 0.3 (for areas where the main PM contribution is referable to sea salts or inorganic matter) to 3.5 (where Elemental and Organic Carbon prevail), suggesting that, even at the same mass concentration, the effects of PM10/2.5 on human health are significantly variable and limit values should take into account differential toxicity. Modern PM Source Apportionment techniques, along with reliable toxicity and epidemiological analyses, represent the right tools to overcome the shortcomings of the current regulation standard and build a new consistent health metric for ambient PM in the future, helping policy makers impose effective air quality measures to protect people health.

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katia Raffaelli ◽  
Marco Deserti ◽  
Michele Stortini ◽  
Roberta Amorati ◽  
Matteo Vasconi ◽  
...  

The Po Valley (Northern Italy) represents an important exceedance zone of the air-quality limit values for PM (particulate matter), NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) and O3 (ozone). This area covers the territory of most Italian northern regions and includes several urban agglomerates, such as Milan, Turin, Venice and Bologna. The area is densely populated and heavily industrialized. The paper summarizes the assessment of the impact of the current (2013) and future (2025) emissions and of the meteorological conditions on the air quality of the Po Valley. This study is one of the first outcomes of the EU LIFE-IP Clean Air Program Po Regions Engaged to Policies of Air (PREPAIR) project. The project, involving administrations and environmental agencies of eight regions and three municipalities in Northern Italy and Slovenia, started in 2017 and will end in 2024. Future emission scenarios consider the emissions reduction due to the air-quality action plans of the regions involved, of the agreements between the national authorities and regional administrations and of the PREPAIR project itself, in the overall context of the application of the current legislation of the European Union. The combination of these measures will lead to the reduction of direct emissions of PM10 in the Po Valley and of the main precursors emitted in the area (NOx, nitrogen oxides and NH3, and ammonia) by 38% for PM10, 39% for NOx and 22% for NH3, respectively. This lowering corresponds to a reduction of about 30.000 tons of primary PM10, 150.000 tons of NOx, 54.000 tons of NH3 and 1700 tons of SO2. The results show that these expected reductions should allow us to achieve the EU PM10 limit value in the Po Valley by the year 2025.


2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 375-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niels Koeman ◽  
Floor Fleurke

AbstractThe implementation of the first Daughter Directive on Air Quality had a considerable effect on decision-making concerning large scale infrastructure projects. It was the Dutch administrative court that enforced the air quality standards in the Netherlands by ruling that the limit values are absolute standards to be applied at all levels of decision-making. Faced with the consequences of this interpretation the Dutch government tried to soften the economic and social effects of the court's policy. This analysis of the debate that followed illustrates the two opposing approaches. The first approach is to interpret EC air quality standards literally, meaning that the limit values have to be applied by all competent authorities. Those supporting the second approach argue that the limit values must be attained, in the first place, by national measures dealing with the sources of pollution, making use of technical solutions. The Dutch government has shifted slightly from the first to the second approach, as is clear from the Air Quality Order of 2005. However, it remains doubtful whether this will be sufficient to lift the current deadlock on infrastructure projects and attain the environmental limit values.


Author(s):  
J. B. Moran ◽  
J. L. Miller

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970 provide the basis for a dramatic change in Federal air quality programs. The Act establishes new standards for motor vehicles and requires EPA to establish national ambient air quality standards, standards of performance for new stationary sources of pollution, and standards for stationary sources emitting hazardous substances. Further, it establishes procedures which allow states to set emission standards for existing sources in order to achieve national ambient air quality standards. The Act also permits the Administrator of EPA to register fuels and fuel additives and to regulate the use of motor vehicle fuels or fuel additives which pose a hazard to public health or welfare.National air quality standards for particulate matter have been established. Asbestos, mercury, and beryllium have been designated as hazardous air pollutants for which Federal emission standards have been proposed.


1998 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 643-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeger Degraeve ◽  
Gert Jan Koopman

JAMA ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 243 (10) ◽  
pp. 1037
Author(s):  
Max Bader

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Lonati ◽  
Federico Riva

The impact of the reduced atmospheric emissions due to the COVID-19 lockdown on ambient air quality in the Po Valley of Northern Italy was assessed for gaseous pollutants (NO2, benzene, ammonia) based on data collected at the monitoring stations distributed all over the area. Concentration data for each month of the first semester of 2020 were compared with those of the previous six years, on monthly, daily, and hourly bases, so that pre, during, and post-lockdown conditions of air quality could be separately analyzed. The results show that, as in many other areas worldwide, the Po Valley experienced better air quality during 2020 spring months for NO2 and benzene. In agreement with the reductions of nitrogen oxides and benzene emissions from road traffic, estimated to be −35% compared to the regional average, the monthly mean concentration levels for 2020 showed reductions in the −40% to −35% range compared with the previous years, but with higher reductions, close to −50%, at high-volume-traffic sites in urban areas. Conversely, NH3 ambient concentration levels, almost entirely due the emissions of the agricultural sector, did not show any relevant change, even at high-volume-traffic sites in urban areas. These results point out the important role of traffic emissions in NO2 and benzene ambient levels in the Po Valley, and confirm that this region is a rather homogeneous air basin with urban area hot-spots, the contributions of which add up to a relatively high regional background concentration level. Additionally, the relatively slow response of the air quality levels to the sudden decrease of the emissions due to the lockdown shows that this region is characterized by a weak exchange of the air masses that favors both the build-up of atmospheric pollutants and the development of secondary formation processes. Thus, air quality control strategies should aim for structural interventions intended to reduce traffic emissions at the regional scale and not only in the largest urban areas.


Atmosphere ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 182 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Woodall ◽  
Mark Hoover ◽  
Ronald Williams ◽  
Kristen Benedict ◽  
Martin Harper ◽  
...  

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