Does the Clean Air Action Really Affect Labor Demand in China?

How to balance resources, environment, and economic growth to achieve sustainable development is a challenge for developing countries. In 2013, China implemented a high-stringency environmental regulation—the Clean Air Action, which has effectively controlled air pollution. To explore the economic cost of environmental regulation, this paper investigates the policy effect on employment in the industrial sector. However, there are still controversies about whether environmental regulations impact employment. Based on the city-level data and firm-level data, this study applied a quasi-natural experiment for policy evaluation and used the mediating effect model for mechanism analysis. The difference-in-difference estimation results show that environmental regulation has a significant impact on employment. The mechanism analysis verifies that output adjustment, capital input, and green innovation are the main channels, by which environmental regulation distresses employment. The findings of this paper could be extended to other countries at a similar stage of development.

Measurement report: Long-term changes in black carbon and aerosol optical properties from 2012 to 2020 in Beijing, China

Atmospheric aerosols play an important role in the radiation balance of the earth–atmosphere system. However, our knowledge of the long-term changes in equivalent black carbon (eBC) and aerosol optical properties in China is very limited. Here we analyze the 9-year measurements of eBC and aerosol optical properties from 2012 to 2020 in Beijing, China. Our results showed large reductions in eBC by 71 % from 6.25 ± 5.73 µg m−3 in 2012 to 1.80 ± 1.54 µg m−3 in 2020 and 47 % decreases in the light extinction coefficient (bext, λ = 630 nm) of fine particles due to the Clean Air Action Plan that was implemented in 2013. The seasonal and diurnal variations of eBC illustrated the most significant reductions in the fall and at nighttime, respectively. ΔeBC / ΔCO also showed an annual decrease from ∼ 7 to 4 ng m−3 ppbv−1 and presented strong seasonal variations with high values in spring and fall, indicating that primary emissions in Beijing have changed significantly. As a response to the Clean Air Action Plan, single-scattering albedo (SSA) showed a considerable increase from 0.79 ± 0.11 to 0.88 ± 0.06, and mass extinction efficiency (MEE) increased from 3.2 to 3.8 m2 g−1. These results highlight the increasing importance of scattering aerosols in radiative forcing and a future challenge in visibility improvement due to enhanced MEE. Brown carbon (BrC) showed similar changes and seasonal variations to eBC during 2018–2020. However, we found a large increase of secondary BrC in the total BrC in most seasons, particularly in summer with the contribution up to 50 %, demonstrating an enhanced role of secondary formation in BrC in recent years. The long-term changes in eBC and BrC have also affected the radiative forcing effect. The direct radiative forcing (ΔFR) of BC decreased by 67 % from +3.36 W m−2 in 2012 to +1.09 W m−2 in 2020, and that of BrC decreased from +0.30 to +0.17 W m−2 during 2018–2020. Such changes might have important implications for affecting aerosol–boundary layer interactions and the improvement of future air quality.

Characterizing the performance of a DIY air filter

Air filtration serves to reduce concentrations of particles in indoor environments. Most standalone, also referred to as portable or in-room, air filtration systems use HEPA filters, and cost generally scales with the clean air delivery rate. A 'do-it-yourself' lower-cost alternative, known as the Corsi-Rosenthal Box, that uses MERV-13 filters coupled with a box fan has been recently proposed, but lacks systematic performance characterization. We have characterized the performance of a five-panel Corsi-Rosenthal air filter. Measurements of size-resolved and overall decay rates of aerosol particles larger than 0.5 microns emitted into rooms of varying size with and without the air filter allowed for determination of the apparent clean air delivery rate, both as a function of size and integrated across particle sizes. The measurements made in the different rooms produced similar results, demonstrating the robustness of the method used. The size-integrated apparent clean air delivery rate increases with fan speed, from about 600 to 850 ft3 min-1 (1019 to 1444 m3 h-1). Overall, our results demonstrate that the Corsi-Rosenthal filter efficiently reduces suspended particle concentrations in indoor environments.

Modeling NOx, CO, SO2 and PM emissions from Sabzevar cement plant using SCREEN3 software

Introduction: Nowadays, the cement industry is regarded as one of the most important air pollution industries globally. This study aimed to simulate the emission of NOx, CO, SO2, and PM pollutants caused by the Sabzevar Cement Factory chimney by SCREEN3 software. Materials and Methods: In this study, the SCREEN3 software was employed for the distribution of NOx, CO, SO2, and PM pollutants. The inputs of the model include the concentration and emission of pollutant gases, physical factors associated with the cement factory chimney, wind speed and direction, ambient temperature, and stability classes. Results: The results of this study indicated that the maximum concentrations of NOx, CO, SO2, and PM by the SCREEN3 software occurred in unstable weather conditions (B) and wind speed of 5 m.s. The highest concentrations of NOx, CO, and PM (use of gas) were at a distance of 1400 meters from the factory chimney with the rates of 0.9, 0.32, 6.2 μg.m³, respectively. Moreover, the highest concentrations of NOx, CO, SO2, and PM (using fuel oil) were predicted at a distance of 1100 m from the factory chimney with 19.5, 360, 9, and 7.9 μg.m³, respectively. A comparison of the obtained results with the standard of the Environmental Protection Agency of Iran (EPA) revealed that the concentrations of NOx, CO, SO2, and PM were not higher than the standards. Conclusion: The comparison of results with EPA standard and Iranian clean air standard showed that NOX, CO, SO2, and PM concentrations were not higher than standards during the sampling period.

Analysis Of The Clean Water Service Capacity of The Regional Drinking Water Company (PDAM) In Cirebon Regency, Indonesia

The provision of clean water for the community is not optimal, so that the distribution of water is not evenly distributed. The distribution network of PDAM Tirta Jati serves Taman Tukmudal Indah Housing, Sumber District, which is supplied from Cigusti springs with a gravity drainage system, currently reaching 1,037 units of house connections. Geographic Information Systems visualize spatial data related to positions on the earth’s surface. Analysis of Clean Water Service Capacity in the discussion of clean water quality that has been tested in the Bandung Institute of Technology laboratory. The samples tested for analysis showed that the clean air quality met the quality standards. The standard of clean water needs is 60 liters/person/day. Continuity shows that the clean air pressure is not in accordance with the minimum standards that have been determined because most of the air pressure is still low. The lowest air pressure = 1.00 meters, and the highest = 50 meters, the lowest average air pressure is at 22:00 and the highest is at 09:00. The minimum air pressure that must be met is 1.0 atm. This pattern is expected to maintain the quality, quantity, and continuity of clean water services.