Air Quality and Health Impacts of Freight Modal Shifts: Review and Assessment

2019 ◽  
Vol 2673 (3) ◽  
pp. 153-164
Author(s):  
Tara Ramani ◽  
Rohit Jaikumar ◽  
Haneen Khreis ◽  
Mathieu Rouleau ◽  
Nick Charman
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Weight Of Evidence ◽  
Population Exposure ◽  
Modal Shift ◽  
Pollutant Concentrations ◽  
Reduce Emissions

Freight movement is a significant and growing contributor to transportation emissions globally. Modal shifts in freight, that is, moving freight from a higher emission mode to one associated with lower emissions, are discussed as a strategy to reduce emissions of criteria pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHGs). However, there is limited knowledge of the magnitude of potential benefits and their impacts on human health. The overall goal of this study is to identify and characterize the potential of modal shifts in freight transport for mitigating air pollutant emissions, air pollutant concentrations, population exposure to air pollutants, and health impacts. The analysis was conducted in the Canadian context, with a focus on land-based freight such as trucks, trains, and pipelines, as well as marine shipping for inland and coastal waters. A structured review of the existing literature database, and a critical assessment of the findings was conducted, using a weight-of-evidence approach. The assessment took into consideration potential local and regional variables for Canada. The results indicated that there is limited evidence that road-to-rail, road-to-marine, and rail-to-marine modal shifts could reduce pollutant and GHG emissions. There was insufficient evidence on modal shifts involving the pipeline mode, and on the air quality, population exposure, and health impacts related to any modal shift. Several research gaps remain, which must be addressed establish the emissions, air quality, and health impacts of freight modal shifts.

scholarly journals Modeling Effects of Climate Change on Air Quality and Population Exposure in Urban Planning Scenarios

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Gidhagen ◽  
Magnuz Engardt ◽  
Boel Lövenheim ◽  
Christer Johansson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Ozone Exposure ◽  
City Centre ◽  
Population Exposure ◽  
Nox Emissions ◽  
Road Tunnels ◽  
The City

We employ a nested system of global and regional climate models, linked to regional and urban air quality chemical transport models utilizing detailed inventories of present and future emissions, to study the relative impact of climate change and changing air pollutant emissions on air quality and population exposure in Stockholm, Sweden. We show that climate change only marginally affects air quality over the 20-year period studied. An exposure assessment reveals that the population of Stockholm can expect considerably lower NO2exposure in the future, mainly due to reduced local NOx emissions. Ozone exposure will decrease only slightly, due to a combination of increased concentrations in the city centre and decreasing concentrations in the suburban areas. The increase in ozone concentration is a consequence of decreased local NOx emissions, which reduces the titration of the long-range transported ozone. Finally, we evaluate the consequences of a planned road transit project on future air quality in Stockholm. The construction of a very large bypass road (including one of the largest motorway road tunnels in Europe) will only marginally influence total population exposure, this since the improved air quality in the city centre will be complemented by deteriorated air quality in suburban, residential areas.

scholarly journals Evolution of Gaseous and Particulate Pollutants in the Air: What Changed after Five Lockdown Weeks at a Southwest Atlantic European Region (Northwest of Spain) Due to the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic?

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 562
Author(s):  
Jorge Moreda-Piñeiro ◽  
Joel Sánchez-Piñero ◽  
María Fernández-Amado ◽  
Paula Costa-Tomé ◽  
Nuria Gallego-Fernández ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Concentration Data ◽  
Southwest Atlantic ◽  
Pollutant Concentrations ◽  
Air Quality Monitoring Stations ◽  
Almost All

Due to the exponential growth of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Spain (2020), the Spanish Government adopted lockdown measures as mitigating strategies to reduce the spread of the pandemic from 14 March. In this paper, we report the results of the change in air quality at two Atlantic Coastal European cities (Northwest Spain) during five lockdown weeks. The temporal evolution of gaseous (nitrogen oxides, comprising NOx, NO, and NO2; sulfur dioxide, SO2; carbon monoxide, CO; and ozone, O3) and particulate matter (PM10; PM2.5; and equivalent black carbon, eBC) pollutants were recorded before (7 February to 13 March 2020) and during the first five lockdown weeks (14 March to 20 April 2020) at seven air quality monitoring stations (urban background, traffic, and industrial) in the cities of A Coruña and Vigo. The influences of the backward trajectories and meteorological parameters on air pollutant concentrations were considered during the studied period. The temporal trends indicate that the concentrations of almost all species steadily decreased during the lockdown period with statistical significance, with respect to the pre-lockdown period. In this context, great reductions were observed for pollutants related mainly to fossil fuel combustion, road traffic, and shipping emissions (−38 to −78% for NO, −22 to −69% for NO2, −26 to −75% for NOx, −3 to −77% for SO2, −21% for CO, −25 to −49% for PM10, −10 to −38% for PM2.5, and −29 to −51% for eBC). Conversely, O3 concentrations increased from +5 to +16%. Finally, pollutant concentration data for 14 March to 20 April of 2020 were compared with those of the previous two years. The results show that the overall air pollutants levels were higher during 2018–2019 than during the lockdown period.

scholarly journals Abrupt but smaller than expected changes in surface air quality attributable to COVID-19 lockdowns

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. eabd6696
Author(s):  
Zongbo Shi ◽  
Congbo Song ◽  
Bowen Liu ◽  
Gongda Lu ◽  
Jingsha Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Quality Improvements ◽  
Learning Technique ◽  
Emission Changes ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Gaseous Oxidant ◽  
Sophisticated Analysis ◽  
Limited Change

The COVID-19 lockdowns led to major reductions in air pollutant emissions. Here, we quantitatively evaluate changes in ambient NO2, O3, and PM2.5 concentrations arising from these emission changes in 11 cities globally by applying a deweathering machine learning technique. Sudden decreases in deweathered NO2 concentrations and increases in O3 were observed in almost all cities. However, the decline in NO2 concentrations attributable to the lockdowns was not as large as expected, at reductions of 10 to 50%. Accordingly, O3 increased by 2 to 30% (except for London), the total gaseous oxidant (Ox = NO2 + O3) showed limited change, and PM2.5 concentrations decreased in most cities studied but increased in London and Paris. Our results demonstrate the need for a sophisticated analysis to quantify air quality impacts of interventions and indicate that true air quality improvements were notably more limited than some earlier reports or observational data suggested.

scholarly journals Regional Energy, CO2, and Economic and Air Quality Index Performances in China: A Meta-Frontier Approach

Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Li ◽  
Yung-Ho Chiu ◽  
Liang Lu
Keyword(s):  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Quality Index ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Air Quality Index ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Desirable Output ◽  
Reduce Emissions ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2

Rapid economic development has resulted in a significant increase in energy consumption and pollution such as carbon dioxide (CO2), particulate matter (PM2.5), particulate matter 10 (PM10), SO2, and NO2 emissions, which can cause cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Therefore, to ensure a sustainable future, it is essential to improve economic efficiency and reduce emissions. Using a Meta-frontier Non-radial Directional Distance Function model, this study took energy consumption, the labor force, and fixed asset investments as the inputs, Gross domestic product (GDP) as the desirable output, and CO2 and the Air Quality Index (AQI) scores as the undesirable outputs to assess energy efficiency and air pollutant index efficiency scores in China from 2013–2016 and to identify the areas in which improvements was necessary. It was found that there was a large gap between the western and eastern cities in China. A comparison of the CO2 and AQI in 31 Chinese cities showed a significant difference in the CO2 emissions and AQI efficiency scores, with the lower scoring cities being mainly concentrated in China’s western region. It was therefore concluded that China needs to pay greater attention to the differences in the economic levels, stages of social development, and energy structures in the western cities when developing appropriately focused improvement plans.

scholarly journals First steps in the development of a possible measurement method to estimate the radon concentration as an indicator of the indoor air quality

2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (suppl.) ◽  
pp. 52-58
Author(s):  
Franz Roessler ◽  
Jai Azzam ◽  
Volker Grimm ◽  
Hans Hingmann ◽  
Tina Orovwighose ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Exchange Rate ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Daily Routine ◽  
Air Exchange Rate ◽  
Pollutant Concentrations ◽  
Air Exchange

The energy conservation regulation provides upper limits for the annual primary energy requirements for new buildings and old building renovation. The actions required could accompany a reduction of the air exchange rate and cause a degradation of the indoor air quality. In addition to climate and building specific aspects, the air exchange rate is essentially affected by the residents. Present methods for the estimation of the indoor air quality can only be effected under test conditions, whereby the influence of the residents cannot be considered and so an estimation under daily routine cannot be ensured. In the context of this contribution first steps of a method are presented, that allows an estimation of the progression of the air exchange rate under favourable conditions by using radon as an indicator. Therefore mathematical connections are established that could be affirmed practically in an experimental set-up. So this method could provide a tool that allows the estimation of the progression of the air exchange rate and in a later step the estimation of a correlating progression of air pollutant concentrations without limitations of using the dwelling.

scholarly journals Avoided Mortality Associated with Improved Air Quality from an Increase in Renewable Energy in the Spanish Transport Sector: Use of Biofuels and the Adoption of the Electric Car

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1603
Author(s):  
Ana R. Gamarra ◽  
Yolanda Lechón ◽  
Marta G. Vivanco ◽  
Mark Richard Theobald ◽  
Carmen Lago ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
Population Exposure ◽  
Baseline Scenario ◽  
Premature Deaths ◽  
Electric Car ◽  
The Impact

This paper assesses the health impact, in terms of the reduction of premature deaths associated with changes in air pollutant exposure, resulting from double-aim strategies for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants from the transport sector for the year 2030 in Spain. The impact on air quality of selected measures for reducing emissions from the transport sector (increased penetration of biofuel and electric car use) was assessed by air quality modeling. The estimation of population exposure to NO2, particulate matter (PM) and O3 allows for estimation of associated mortality and external costs in comparison with the baseline scenario with no measures. The results show that the penetration of the electric vehicle provided the largest benefits, even when the emissions due to the additional electricity demand were considered.

scholarly journals La surveillance de la qualité de l'air dans les Hauts-de-France

2021 ◽  
pp. 045
Author(s):  
Jimmy Leyes ◽  
Laure Roussel
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Quality Monitoring ◽  
Air Quality Monitoring ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
The Public ◽  
Pollutant Concentrations ◽  
Ambient Concentrations ◽  
Air Pollutant Concentrations ◽  
Qualité De L’Air

La surveillance réglementaire de la qualité de l'air en France est confiée aux associations régionales agréées de surveillance de la qualité de l'air (Aasqa) telles qu'Atmo Hauts-de-France. Elles s'appuient sur une palette d'outils et leur expertise pour mesurer les polluants dans l'air de leur territoire, alerter les populations en cas d'épisode de pollution, répondre aux exigences réglementaires de surveillance définies au niveau européen, tout en prenant en compte les spécificités régionales. Cet article présente les différents outils utilisés par les Aasqa, et plus particulièrement Atmo Hauts-de-France, pour surveiller et estimer la qualité de l'air. L'association régionale opère ainsi un ensemble de stations de mesures fixes et mobiles pour suivre en continu les concentrations de polluants réglementés ou non sur son territoire, et dispose d'outils de modélisation pour évaluer et prévoir la qualité de l'air en tous points de la région. Cet article présente également certains des paramètres météorologiques qui influencent la qualité de l'air de la région Hauts-de-France, particulièrement concernée par les épisodes de pollution aux particules. Regulatory air quality monitoring in France is performed by government-approved non-profit organisations called AASQAs, one of which is Atmo Hauts-de-France. These organisations rely on decades of accumulated air quality expertise and use several techniques to measure air pollutant concentrations, inform the public when pollutant levels are unhealthy, and comply with E.U. air quality monitoring regulations. This paper gives an overview of the tools used by AASQAs, and more particularly by Atmo Hauts-de-France, to monitor and forecast air quality. The year-round continuous monitoring of air pollutant levels at fixed sites is supplemented by short-term measurements made with fully-equipped vehicles or trailers and by modelling tools that forecast air quality and estimate pollutant levels where there are no measurements. AASQAs study pollutants which ambient concentrations are regulated by European air quality standards as well as other pollutants which are not regulated in this way. This work also discusses some of the meteorological factors, that affect air quality in the region Hauts-de-France, which is heavily impacted by particulate matter pollution.

scholarly journals Renewable Energy Sources vs. an Air Quality Improvement in Urbanized Areas - the Metropolitan Area of Kraków Case

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafał Blazy ◽  
Jakub Błachut ◽  
Agnieszka Ciepiela ◽  
Rita Łabuz ◽  
Renata Papież
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Metropolitan Area ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Single Family ◽  
Air Quality Improvement ◽  
The Government ◽  
Selection Of

The premise for the selection of the topic discussed in this article is the lack of research on the level of reduction of air pollutant emissions by the use of photovoltaic micro-installations in single-family buildings, both in Poland and other countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Therefore, the Authors made an attempt to estimate the scale of air pollution reduction (in particular CO2) in the area of the urbanized Metropolitan area of Krakow, which is one of the most polluted regions in Poland. The installation of photovoltaic panels on single-family buildings, co-financed by the government My Electricity Program, is the investment cost in improving the air quality in this region, and thus increasing the well-being of its inhabitants.

scholarly journals Estimating criteria pollutant emissions using the California Regional Multisector Air Quality Emissions (CA-REMARQUE) model v1.0

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1293-1320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina B. Zapata ◽  
Chris Yang ◽  
Sonia Yeh ◽  
Joan Ogden ◽  
Michael J. Kleeman
Keyword(s):  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Emissions Reductions ◽  
Criteria Pollutants ◽  
Ghg Reduction ◽  
Emissions Inventories ◽  
Criteria Pollutant Emissions

Abstract. The California Regional Multisector Air Quality Emissions (CA-REMARQUE) model is developed to predict changes to criteria pollutant emissions inventories in California in response to sophisticated emissions control programs implemented to achieve deep greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions. Two scenarios for the year 2050 act as the starting point for calculations: a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario and an 80 % GHG reduction (GHG-Step) scenario. Each of these scenarios was developed with an energy economic model to optimize costs across the entire California economy and so they include changes in activity, fuels, and technology across economic sectors. Separate algorithms are developed to estimate emissions of criteria pollutants (or their precursors) that are consistent with the future GHG scenarios for the following economic sectors: (i) on-road, (ii) rail and off-road, (iii) marine and aviation, (iv) residential and commercial, (v) electricity generation, and (vi) biorefineries. Properly accounting for new technologies involving electrification, biofuels, and hydrogen plays a central role in these calculations. Critically, criteria pollutant emissions do not decrease uniformly across all sectors of the economy. Emissions of certain criteria pollutants (or their precursors) increase in some sectors as part of the overall optimization within each of the scenarios. This produces nonuniform changes to criteria pollutant emissions in close proximity to heavily populated regions when viewed at 4 km spatial resolution with implications for exposure to air pollution for those populations. As a further complication, changing fuels and technology also modify the composition of reactive organic gas emissions and the size and composition of particulate matter emissions. This is most notably apparent through a comparison of emissions reductions for different size fractions of primary particulate matter. Primary PM2.5 emissions decrease by 4 % in the GHG-Step scenario vs. the BAU scenario while corresponding primary PM0.1 emissions decrease by 36 %. Ultrafine particles (PM0.1) are an emerging pollutant of concern expected to impact public health in future scenarios. The complexity of this situation illustrates the need for realistic treatment of criteria pollutant emissions inventories linked to GHG emissions policies designed for fully developed countries and states with strict existing environmental regulations.

scholarly journals EURODELTA-Trends, a multi-model experiment of air quality hindcast in Europe over 1990–2010

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 3255-3276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Augustin Colette ◽  
Camilla Andersson ◽  
Astrid Manders ◽  
Kathleen Mar ◽  
Mihaela Mircea ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Boundary Conditions ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Modelling Experiment ◽  
Technical Features

Abstract. The EURODELTA-Trends multi-model chemistry-transport experiment has been designed to facilitate a better understanding of the evolution of air pollution and its drivers for the period 1990–2010 in Europe. The main objective of the experiment is to assess the efficiency of air pollutant emissions mitigation measures in improving regional-scale air quality. The present paper formulates the main scientific questions and policy issues being addressed by the EURODELTA-Trends modelling experiment with an emphasis on how the design and technical features of the modelling experiment answer these questions. The experiment is designed in three tiers, with increasing degrees of computational demand in order to facilitate the participation of as many modelling teams as possible. The basic experiment consists of simulations for the years 1990, 2000, and 2010. Sensitivity analysis for the same three years using various combinations of (i) anthropogenic emissions, (ii) chemical boundary conditions, and (iii) meteorology complements it. The most demanding tier consists of two complete time series from 1990 to 2010, simulated using either time-varying emissions for corresponding years or constant emissions. Eight chemistry-transport models have contributed with calculation results to at least one experiment tier, and five models have – to date – completed the full set of simulations (and 21-year trend calculations have been performed by four models). The modelling results are publicly available for further use by the scientific community. The main expected outcomes are (i) an evaluation of the models' performances for the three reference years, (ii) an evaluation of the skill of the models in capturing observed air pollution trends for the 1990–2010 time period, (iii) attribution analyses of the respective role of driving factors (e.g. emissions, boundary conditions, meteorology), (iv) a dataset based on a multi-model approach, to provide more robust model results for use in impact studies related to human health, ecosystem, and radiative forcing.

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