Spatial Mapping of a Highly Non-Uniform Distribution of Particle-Bound PAH in a Densely Populated Urban Area

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.

Download Full-text

Synergies between environmental pressures in the urban climate: combined air quality and noise exposure assessment in Thessaloniki, Greece

Global NEST Journal ◽

10.30955/gnj.000962 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 209-217 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Exposure Assessment ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Noise Exposure ◽

Heavy Traffic ◽

Noise Pollution ◽

Personal Exposure ◽

Portable Devices ◽

Environmental Pressures ◽

Pollution Levels

This study offers a combined analysis of personal exposure to noise and air pollution within the metropolitan centre of Thessaloniki, Greece. The area is selected on the grounds that it is considered as one of the most polluted cities in Europe, especially with respect to air pollution. An extensive survey has been designed to provide detailed information on CO and VOC concentrations and noise pollution levels in the main modes of transport and along heavy traffic routes inside the core of the urban area under consideration. Air pollution and noise measurements were performed simultaneously along several commuting routes, during morning and evening rush hours. Personal portable devices were used. The results highlight the magnitude of air and noise urban scale personal exposure, since they depict a considerable environmental burden for the citizens of Thessaloniki, especially for VOCs and noise pollution levels. Furthermore, they provide, for the first time, a combined exposure assessment to these environmental pollutants for Thessaloniki and in this sense they are of importance for local public authorities and decision makers. The material herein points out the importance of micro-environmental monitoring and the necessity of considering environmental pollution in urban areas in a more holistic way.

Download Full-text

Using Bayesian time-stratified case-crossover models to examine associations between air pollution and “asthma seasons” in a low air pollution environment

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0260264 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (12) ◽

pp. e0260264

Author(s):

Matthew Bozigar ◽

Andrew B. Lawson ◽

John L. Pearce ◽

Erik R. Svendsen ◽

John E. Vena

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

South Carolina ◽

Particulate Matter ◽

Health Effects ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Air Pollutants ◽

The United States ◽

Pollution Levels ◽

Case Crossover ◽

Ed Visits

Many areas of the United States have air pollution levels typically below Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulatory limits. Most health effects studies of air pollution use meteorological (e.g., warm/cool) or astronomical (e.g., solstice/equinox) definitions of seasons despite evidence suggesting temporally-misaligned intra-annual periods of relative asthma burden (i.e., “asthma seasons”). We introduce asthma seasons to elucidate whether air pollutants are associated with seasonal differences in asthma emergency department (ED) visits in a low air pollution environment. Within a Bayesian time-stratified case-crossover framework, we quantify seasonal associations between highly resolved estimates of six criteria air pollutants, two weather variables, and asthma ED visits among 66,092 children ages 5–19 living in South Carolina (SC) census tracts from 2005 to 2014. Results show that coarse particulates (particulate matter <10 μm and >2.5 μm: PM10-2.5) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) may contribute to asthma ED visits across years, but are particularly implicated in the highest-burden fall asthma season. Fine particulate matter (<2.5 μm: PM2.5) is only associated in the lowest-burden summer asthma season. Relatively cool and dry conditions in the summer asthma season and increased temperatures in the spring and fall asthma seasons are associated with increased ED visit odds. Few significant associations in the medium-burden winter and medium-high-burden spring asthma seasons suggest other ED visit drivers (e.g., viral infections) for each, respectively. Across rural and urban areas characterized by generally low air pollution levels, there are acute health effects associated with particulate matter, but only in the summer and fall asthma seasons and differing by PM size.

Download Full-text

Human exposure to traffic pollution. Experience from Danish studies

Pure and Applied Chemistry ◽

10.1351/pac200173010137 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 73 (1) ◽

pp. 137-145 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Ole Hertel ◽

Steen Solvang Jensen ◽

Helle Vibeke Andersen ◽

Finn Palmgren ◽

Peter Wåhlin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Ultrafine Particles ◽

Human Exposure ◽

Health Hazard ◽

Fine Fraction ◽

Personal Exposure ◽

Urban Traffic ◽

Particulate Pollution ◽

Pollution Levels

Air pollution may have severe long-term as well as short-term health effects. The determination of possible links between pollution levels and impact on human health is, however, not a straightforward task. A key problem is the assessment of human exposure to ambient pollution levels. In later years, the possible role of particulate pollution as a health hazard has drawn major attention and is, therefore, the subject of research projects in many countries including Denmark. The present paper gives a review of recent and ongoing/planned Danish air pollution exposure studies. Furthermore, key results from Danish studies of ultrafine particles from urban traffic are outlined. The exposure studies show that air pollution models may be strong tools in impact assessment studies, especially when used in combination with personal exposure monitoring and application of biomarkers. Personal exposure measurements in Copenhagen indicate that indoor pollution levels may be very important for the personal exposure to fine fraction particles (PM2.5). Measurements with a differential mobility analyzer (DMA) in Danish urban areas show that number concentrations of ultrafine particles (<100 nm) in busy streets are strongly correlated with classic traffic pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide. The number concentrations in urban Danish streets have decreased considerably between two campaigns in 1999 and 2000, apparently as a result of reductions in sulfur contents in Danish diesel fuels that took place in July 1999.

Download Full-text

Significance of Personal Exposure Assessment to Air Pollution in the Urban Areas of Egypt

Open Journal of Air Pollution ◽

10.4236/ojap.2015.41001 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 04 (01) ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

Mahmoud M. M. Abdel-Salam

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Exposure Assessment ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Personal Exposure ◽

Personal Exposure Assessment

Download Full-text

Improving the Protection of Children Against Air Pollution Threats in Romania � The RokidAIR Project Approach and Future Perspectives

Revista de Chimie ◽

10.37358/rc.17.4.5563 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 68 (4) ◽

pp. 841-846

Author(s):

Hai-Ying Liu ◽

Daniel Dunea ◽

Mihaela Oprea ◽

Tom Savu ◽

Stefania Iordache

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Air Quality ◽

Health Effects ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Behavioural Change ◽

Health Assessment ◽

Warning System ◽

Personal Exposure ◽

Mobile Technologies ◽

Quality Maps

This paper presents the approach used to develop the information chain required to reach the objectives of the EEA Grants� RokidAIR project in two Romanian cities i.e., Targoviste and Ploiesti. It describes the PM2.5 monitoring infrastructure and architecture to the web-based GIS platform, the early warning system and the decision support system, and finally, the linking of air pollution to health effects in children. In addition, it shows the analysis performance of the designed system to process the collected time series from various data sources using the benzene concentrations monitored in Ploiesti. Moreover, this paper suggests that biomarkers, mobile technologies, and Citizens� Observatories are potential perspectives to improve data coverage by the provision of near-real-time air quality maps, and provide personal exposure and health assessment results, enabling the citizens� engagement and behavioural change. This paper also addresses new fields in nature-based solutions to improve air quality, and studies on air pollution and its mental health effects in the urban areas of Romania.

Download Full-text

Contribution of Local and Transboundary Air Pollution to the Urban Air Quality of Fukuoka, Japan

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos12040431 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 431

Author(s):

Ayako Yoshino ◽

Akinori Takami ◽

Keiichiro Hara ◽

Chiharu Nishita-Hara ◽

Masahiko Hayashi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Air Quality ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Air Pollutants ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Gaseous Species ◽

Transboundary Air Pollution ◽

Local Air Pollution ◽

The City

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.

Download Full-text

Mixing layer height and air pollution levels in urban area

10.1117/12.974328 ◽

2012 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Klaus Schäfer ◽

Patrick Wagner ◽

Stefan Emeis ◽

Carsten Jahn ◽

Christoph Muenkel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Urban Area ◽

Mixing Layer ◽

Layer Height ◽

Pollution Levels ◽

Mixing Layer Height

Download Full-text

Ambient air quality in an urban area and its effects on plants and human beings: a case study of Tiruchirappalli, India

Kathmandu University Journal of Science Engineering and Technology ◽

10.3126/kuset.v6i2.4007 ◽

1970 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 13-19 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Sirajuddin M Horaginamani ◽

M Ravichandran

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Developing Countries ◽

Air Quality ◽

Human Health ◽

Urban Area ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Ambient Air ◽

Control Measures ◽

Human Beings ◽

Ambient Air Quality

Though water and land pollution is very dangerous, air pollution has its own peculiarities, due to its transboundary dispersion of pollutants over the entire world. In any well planned urban set up, industrial pollution takes a back seat and vehicular emissions take precedence as the major cause of urban air pollution. Air pollution is one of the serious problems faced by the people globally, especially in urban areas of developing countries like India. All these in turn lead to an increase in the air pollution levels and have adverse effects on the health of people and plants. Western countries have conducted several studies in this area, but there are only a few studies in developing countries like India. A study on ambient air quality in Tiruchirappalli urban area and its possible effects selected plants and human health has been undertaken, which may be helpful to bring out possible control measures. Keywords: ambient air quality; respiratory disorders; APTI; human health DOI: 10.3126/kuset.v6i2.4007Kathmandu University Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology Vol.6. No II, November, 2010, pp.13-19

Download Full-text

Finding the right tree for future urban planning – Meso- to microscale model coupling in urban areas

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-9087 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Joachim Fallmann ◽

Helge Simon ◽

Tim Sinsel ◽

Marc Barra ◽

Holger Tost

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Urban Planning ◽

Urban Area ◽

Ozone Concentration ◽

Tree Species ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Street Canyon ◽

Model Systems ◽

Traffic Load ◽

Microscale Model

It has been long understood that green infrastructure helps to mitigate urban heat island formation and therefore should be a key strategy in future urban planning practices. Due to its high level of heat resilience, the sycamore tree (Platanus) dominates the appearance of urban landscapes in central Europe. Under extreme climate conditions however, these species tend to emit high levels of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) which in turn can act as precursors for tropospheric ozone, especially in highly NOx polluted environments such as urban areas. Assessing the ozone air quality of a large urban area in Germany we use the state-of-the art regional chemical transport model MECO(n), with chemistry coming from the Modular Earth Submodel System (MESSy) and meteorology being calculated by COSMO. Including the latest version of TERRA_URB, the model is configured for the Rhine-Main urban area. In a second step, we implement parts of the regional atmospheric chemistry mechanism in the ENVI-met model framework in order to investigate the impact of isoprene emissions on ozone concentration at street level for the urban area of Mainz, Germany. Whereas mesoscale model results only show moderate mean ozone pollution over the model area, at micro-scale level on selected hot spots we find a clear relationship between urban layout, proximity to NOx emitters, tree-species-dependent isoprene emission capacity and increase in ozone concentration. The ENVI-met study reveals, that next to tree species, its location is a key factor for its micro-climatic UHI and air pollution mitigation potential. We could show, that isoprene related ozone concentration is highly sensitive to leaf temperature, photosynthetic active radiation as well as to the proximity to NO2 pollution sources. In a street canyon with high traffic load we find significant correlations between diurnal boundary layer dynamics, morning and evening rush hour and ambient ozone levels. For a hot summer day in particular, we simulate ozone concentrations rising up to 500% within a weakly ventilated street canyon with a high amount of strong isoprene emitters being present.We summarize that combining findings from meso- and microscale model systems can be an important asset for science tools for cities in the framework of climate change adaption and mitigation and air pollution abatement strategies.

Download Full-text