Impact of climate changes on pollution levels in Denmark

The impact of climate changes on the pollution levels in Denmark is the major topic of this paper. Variations of the Danish air pollution levels that are caused by climatic changes are studied together with variations caused by other factors (emissions, inter-annual variability of meteorological conditions, etc.). The Unified Danish Eulerian Model (UNI-DEM) was run on a fine, 10 km × 10 km, grid over a space domain covering all of Europe to minimize the influence of the boundary conditions on the Danish pollution levels. This study is based on four categories of scenarios: (i) traditional scenarios, (ii) climatic scenarios, (iii) scenarios with variations of the human-made (anthropogenic) emissions and (iv) scenarios in which the biogenic emissions were varied. The total number of applied scenarios was 14, and a time-period of 16 years was used. The results show clearly that although the concentrations of the major pollutants do not depend too much on the climatic changes, some quantities, in particular quantities related to high ozone levels, might be increased significantly as a result of the warming trends in the future climate. The reason for this phenomenon is explained.     

Local production,downward and regional transport aggravated surface ozone pollution during the historical orange-alert large-scale ozone episode in eastern China

Increasing severe and persistent ozone pollution in China has resulted in serious harm to human health in recent years, yet the precise pollution sources are poorly known because there is few knowledge on large-scale extreme ozone episodes. Here, we studied the formation of the historical orange-alert regional ozone episode in eastern China on 6 June, 2021, by combining process analysis, integrated source apportionment modelling, and chemical and meteorological data. Results show that during the pollution episode, 94% of cities in eastern China suffered ozone pollution, and 39% had daily maximum 8-h average ozone concentrations higher than 100 ppb. This is explained by favorable local ozone formation and transports provided by the prevailing northwestern winds in the upper air, and by sinking atmospheric motions favoring the persistence of high surface ozone concentrations. During daytime, local photochemical production induced an ozone increase of 0.3–28.4 ppb h^?1 and vertical transport induced an ozone increase of 0.4–56.1 ppb h^?1. As a consequence, vertical downward transport of ozone generated in the upper air by photochemical reactions aggravated surface ozone pollution. Surface ozone concentrations include 25.8–53.9% of ozone from local provincial emissions, 0–42.6% of ozone from inter-regional transports from neighboring regions, 4.6–23.1% of ozone from outer-regional transport, and 13.6–52.9% of ozone from boundary conditions in the selected cities. Overall, our findings show that favorable meteorological conditions promoted the chemical productions of ozone on the surface and at high altitudes, thus resulting in this heavy ozone pollution. In addition, regional and vertical downward transports of aloft ozone further aggravated the surface ozone pollution, leading to the large-scale extreme ozone pollution episode.

     

Growth and pollution convergence: Theory and evidence

Stabilizing pollution levels in the long run is a pre-requisite for sustainable growth. We develop a neoclassical growth model with endogenous emission reduction predicting that, along optimal sustainable paths, pollution growth rates are (i) positively related to output growth (scale effect) and (ii) negatively related to emission levels (defensive effect). This dynamic law reduces to a convergence equation that is empirically tested for two major and regulated air pollutants – sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides – with a panel of 25 European countries spanning the years 1980–2005. Traditional parametric models are rejected by the data. More flexible regression techniques confirm the existence of both the scale and the defensive effect, supporting the model predictions.     

The effect of pollution on crime: Evidence from data on particulate matter and ozone

We estimate the effect of short-term air pollution exposure (PM_2.5 and ozone) on several categories of crime, with a particular emphasis on aggressive behavior. To identify this relationship, we combine detailed daily data on crime, air pollution, and weather for an eight-year period across the United States. Our primary identification strategy employs extremely high dimensional fixed effects and we perform a series of robustness checks to address confounding variation between temperature and air pollution. We find a robust positive effect of increased air pollution on violent crimes, and specifically assaults, but no relationship between increases in air pollution and property crimes. The effects are present in and out of the home, at levels well below Ambient Air Pollution Standards, and PM_2.5 effects are strongest at lower temperatures. The results suggest that a 10% reduction in daily PM_2.5 and ozone could save $1.4 billion in crime costs per year, a previously overlooked cost associated with pollution.     

Using urban man-made ponds to reconstruct a 150-year history of air pollution in northwest England

A regional pollution history has been reconstructed for the borough of Halton (northwest England) from four urban ponds in north Cheshire and south Merseyside, using environmental analyses of lake sediment stratigraphies. Mineral magnetism, geochemistry and radiometric dating have produced profiles of pollution characteristics dating from the mid-nineteenth century to present day. These pollution profiles reflect the atmospheric deposition of a range of pollutants over 150 years of intensified industry. Distinct phases of pollution deposition and characteristics are identified reflecting: (1) intensification of industry in the nineteenth century; (2) expansion of industry during the twentieth century; (3) post 1956 Clean Air Acts. This work promotes the potential use of these pollution archives for use in epidemiology to better understand links between human health and environmental pollution, especially for diseases with long latency times, where retrospective pollution exposure assessments are important.     

Air pollution and children's respiratory health: A cohort analysis

This paper uses a large database of multiple birth cohorts to study relationships between air pollution exposure and non-infant children's respiratory health outcomes. We observe several years of early-life health treatments for hundreds of thousands of English children. Three distinct research designs account for potential socioeconomic, behavioral, seasonal, and economic confounders. We find that marginal increases in carbon monoxide and ground-level ozone are associated with statistically significant increases in children's contemporaneous respiratory treatments. We also find that carbon monoxide exposure over the previous year has an effect on children's health that goes above and beyond contemporaneous exposure alone.     

Soil pollution in day-care centers and playgrounds in Norway: national action plan for mapping and remediation

Systematic geochemical mapping based on sampling and analysis of surface soils (0–2 cm) has been carried out in several Norwegian cities. The soils in the oldest parts of the cities are contaminated with metals (especially Pb) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). Due to the fact that children are often in contact with surface soil, it was realized that special focus had to be directed towards soils in day-care centers and playgrounds. The first mapping and remedy program was initiated in Trondheim in 1996. Here, the importance of copper–chromium–arsenic (CCA)-pressure-impregnated wood in playing equipment as a pollution source for soils was documented, and a process was started with the aim to ban this product. Soils from day-care centers in the inner city of Bergen were polluted to a degree that required remediation in 45% out of 87 centers, mainly due to high concentrations of Pb and benzo(a)pyrene. In Oslo, 38% of 700 day-care centers needed remediation due to soil pollution by Pb, BaP, Cd, Hg, Ni and PCB. Removal of CCA-impregnated wood was necessary in more than half of the day-care centers The Norwegian parliament has decided to investigate all outdoor playing areas in day-care centers, playgrounds and schoolyards in Norway, starting in 2007 with day-care centers in the ten largest cities and five most important industrial areas. The Norwegian Institute of Public Health has developed quality criteria for soils in day-care centers and playgrounds for As, Cd, Cr⁶⁺, Hg, Ni, Pb, zinc, PAH_sum16, benzo(a)pyrene, and PCB_sum7. The Geological Survey of Norway has developed guidance for mapping of soil pollution (sampling, chemical analysis and reporting) in day-care centers. Especially the sampling strategy has been developed in the period 1996–2007, and the preferred sampling strategy is to collect at least 10 samples of surface soil (0–2 cm) from (1) “original soil” on the site, (2) artificial man-made “hills”, and (3) soils used for growing vegetables. A total number of 2,000 day-care-centres are to be investigated, and necessary remediation should be completed before the end of 2010.     

Critical ranges of pollution indices: a tool for predicting soil metal pollution under long-term wastewater reuse

A greenhouse experiment was conducted in pots, for two years (2015–2016), in Amaliada, Greece, using a randomized block design, including six treatments with mixtures composed of Zn, Mn, Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Ni, and Pb, each metal taking part in the mixture at concentrations of 0, 10, 20, 30 40, and 50 mg/kg soil in four replicates each. Beta vulgaris (beet) was used as a test plant. The aim of the experiment was to calibrate the following pollution indices: “pollution load index,” “elemental pollution index,” “heavy metal load,” and “total concentration factor,” in order to determine the level of soil pollution under variable levels (low to very high) of metal mixtures. The irrigation of the plants was conducted with treated municipal wastewater based on field capacity and percent wilting point. The above pollution indices were classified into four soil pollution classes, i.e., “optimum,” “low,” “high” and “very high” on the basis of percent dry matter plant losses.     

铅锌冶炼厂渣堆场周边土壤铅污染特征

金属冶炼过程留下的废渣经过雨水冲刷及渗滤液等的作用使残留在废渣中的重金属发生迁移转化,导致渣堆场下及周边土壤受到重金属污染。了解冶炼厂渣堆场下及周边土壤重金属污染状况对场地修复及土地利用规划均有重大意义。本研究调查了湖南某铅锌冶炼厂渣堆场0~4 km内三个采样区0~20 cm表层土壤及0~100 cm深度土壤中铅的污染状况,采用单项污染指数法进行铅污染评价,并分析了铅纵向迁移随深度变化和横向迁移随距离变化的分布特征。结果表明,铅锌冶炼厂渣堆场下及周边0~1 km范围内土壤受到了铅污染,渣堆场下、距渣堆场10 m处及1 km处表层土壤中重金属铅的质量分数分别可达775.25、645.33和309.80 mg·kg^-1,超过了当地土壤中铅的背景值,也超过了土壤二级质量标准甚至三级质量标准。三个采样区的铅污染指数分别为2.6、2.1及1.03,污染等级均为Ⅱ级,污染程度为轻度污染。三个采样区土壤中铅污染主要集中于0~20 cm土壤层中,铅的质量分数分别达775.25,645.33和309.80 mg·kg^-1,20~100 cm土壤层中铅的质量分数低于0~20 cm的,分别在88.48~120.96 mg·kg-1、235.01~380.16 mg·kg^-1及309.80~59.32 mg·kg^-1之间。渣堆场下土壤中的铅从0~20cm土壤层往下至20~100cm土壤层迁移量远小于距渣场10 m处及1 km处的。三个采样区表层0~20 cm土壤层中铅的变化规律为距渣堆场0 m（渣堆场下）〉距渣堆场10 m〉距渣堆场1 km〉距渣堆场4 km,质量分数随距离增加而降低。20~40 cm及40~60 cm土壤层中铅的变化规律为距渣堆场10 m〉距渣堆场1 km〉距渣堆场0 m处（渣堆场下）〉距渣堆场4 km,60~80 cm及80~100 cm土壤层的变化规律为距渣堆场10 m〉距渣堆场0 m处（渣堆场下）〉距渣堆场1 km〉距渣堆场4 km,铅的质量分数随距离的增加先升高后降低。     

Air quality improvement in Los Angeles—perspectives for developing cities

Air quality improvement in Los Angeles can inform air quality policies in developing cities. Emission control efforts, their results, costs and health benefits are briefly summarized. Today's developing cities face new challenges including regional pollution. Air quality issues in Beijing are briefly compared and contrasted with Los Angeles. Opportunities for co-benefits for climate and air quality improvement are identified. Air quality improvement in Los Angeles, California is reviewed with an emphasis on aspects that may inform air quality policy formulation in developing cities. In the mid-twentieth century the air quality in Los Angeles was degraded to an extent comparable to the worst found in developing cities today; ozone exceeded 600 ppb and annual average particulate matter <10 mm reached ~150 mg·m⁻³. Today's air quality is much better due to very effective emission controls; e.g., modern automobiles emit about 1% of the hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide emitted by vehicles of 50 years ago. An overview is given of the emission control efforts in Los Angeles and their impact on ambient concentrations of primary and secondary pollutants; the costs and health benefits of these controls are briefly summarized. Today's developing cities have new challenges that are discussed: the effects of regional pollution transport are much greater in countries with very high population densities; often very large current populations must be supplied with goods and services even while economic development and air quality concerns are addressed; and many of currently developing cities are located in or close to the tropics where photochemical processing of pollution is expected to be more rapid than at higher latitudes. The air quality issues of Beijing are briefly compared and contrasted with those of Los Angeles, and the opportunities for co-benefits for climate and air quality improvement are pointed out.     

Evaluating pollution-related damage and restoration success in urban forests with participatory monitoring and digital tools

Peri-urban forest monitoring requires indicators of vegetation damage. An example is the sacred fir (Abies religiosa) forests surrounding Mexico City, which have been heavily exposed to tropospheric ozone, a harmful pollutant, for over 4 decades. We developed a participatory monitoring system with which local community members and scientists generated data on ozone tree damage. Santa Rosa Xochiac rangers (13) used the digital tool KoboToolBox to record ozone damage to trees, tree height, tree ages, tree condition, tree position, and whether the tree had been planted. Thirty-five percent of the trees (n = 1765) had ozone damage. Younger trees had a lower percentage of foliage damaged by ozone than older trees (p < 0.0001), and asymptomatic trees tended to be younger (p < 0.0001). Symptomatic trees were taller than asymptomatic trees of the same age (R²_c = 0.43, R²_m = 0.27). Involving local communities facilitated forest monitoring and using digital technology improved data quality. This participatory system can be used to monitor forest condition change over time and thus aids restoration efforts driven by government or local communities’ interests, facilitating local decision-making.     

Air pollution effects on hospital admissions: a statistical analysis of parallel time series

A statistical model for longitudinal count data is used to examine the potential adverse health effects of ambient air pollution. Daily respiratory admissions to 164 acute care hospitals in Ontario are obtained for the period 1983 to 1988. Estimates of ozone levels in the vicinity of each hospital are determined from air pollution monitoring stations maintained by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. Generalized estimating equation methods are used to make inferences about the regression and overdispersion parameters. The admission data display little evidence of serial correlation and extra Poisson variation. However, admission rates vary considerably among hospitals. This latter source of variation needs to be taken into account in examining the effects of air pollution on respiratory health status.     

Heavy metal pollution in Suva harbour sediments,Fiji

In Fiji, contamination of the coastal environment by heavy metals is proving to be a real concern. This work reports for the first time analyses carried out on an extensive basis, to ascertain the extent of anthropogenic contamination by heavy metals in the <0.063 mm surface sediments of Suva harbour. Sediment samples from 40 sites selected within the harbour were collected and analysed for five heavy metals. The levels of the metals range from 21.4 to 143.0 ± 0.1 mg/kg Cu, 1.40 to 4.87 ± 0.07 wt.% Fe, 22.1 to 93.5 ± 0.3 mg/kg Pb, 40.2 to 269.0 ± 0.3 mg/kg Zn and 1.1 to 2.6 ± 0.2 mg/kg Sn. With reference to the pristine area of the Great Astrolabe, in Kadavu, the acquired data from the harbour are indicative of heavy metal pollution. This could be attributed to the numerous industrial and commercial activities at Wailada and Walu Bay industrial areas, the municipal dump located at the Suva foreshore and the Suva wharf. The pollution is further compounded by the high population density in Suva city.     

Extreme value analysis of Munich air pollution data

We present three different approaches to modelling extreme values of daily air pollution data. We fitted a generalized extreme value distribution to the monthly maxima of daily concentration measures. For the exceedances of a high threshold depending on the data, the parameters of the generalized Pareto distribution were estimated. Accounting for autocorrelation, clusters of exceedances were used. To obtain information about the relationship of the exceedance of the air quality standard and possible predictors we applied logistic regression. Results and their interpretation are given for daily average concentrations of ozone and nitrogen dioxide at two monitoring sites within the city of Munich.     

The short and long run effects of tied foreign aid on pollution abatement, pollution and employment: A pilot model

There exists in the literature a presumption that tied foreign aid can be used effectively to reduce cross-border pollution. Focusing, in contrast to the received literature, on the interaction between the public and private provisions of pollution abatement in the recipient country, we question the effectiveness of tied foreign aid in reducing pollution. In this context, we obtain many novel and policy relevant insights. Allowing for changes in labour employment and distinguishing between short and long run effects, tied foreign aid is shown to crowd out the private provision for pollution abatement in the short run. In the long run, tied foreign aid raises employment and therefore may be desirable for the recipient but undesirable for the donor country because it also raises pollution. The results change drastically if only the government provides pollution abatement.     

Do new health conditions support mortality–air pollution effects?

Epidemiological research underlying US air quality regulations documents significant associations between measures of fine particles and premature mortality. Recent studies examine potential mechanistic pathways, related to heart and lung functioning, that may contribute to the observed deaths. Our results support these pathophysiological analyses. We examine whether the onset of serious health conditions, consistent with disease pathways, is related to current and long-term exposure to particulate matter and ozone. Associations between air pollution and alternative indicators of health status are also evaluated. The 1996 wave of the Health and Retirement Study is used with a two-step estimator acknowledging limitations in our ability to measure individual exposures. The findings suggest significant current and long-term effects of particulates on new cases of heart attacks and angina, reinforcing the disease pathways identified in epidemiological studies. Long-term air pollution exposure is also a determinant of recently diagnosed chronic lung conditions and reports of shortness of breath.     

Accounting for the Mesoscale Effects on the Air Pollution in Some Cases of Large Sulfur Pollution in Bulgaria or Northern Greece

The objective of the present work is to demonstrate the influence of the meso-scale dynamic phenomena on the larger scale air pollution characteristics. A limited set of episodes with very large sulphur pollution in Bulgaria or Northern Greece is chosen for the study. A 3D quasi-hydrostatic model of the meso-scale dynamics, based on the Businesque approximation (the formulation of Guthman) is used for the purpose. Some numerical experiments for the Balkan Peninsula are carried out under different background (synoptic) conditions. The simulated flow systems outline the main topography effects, typical for the region, such as slope winds, channelling of the air flows or blocking effects. Numerical simulations of the air pollution transport are also carried out, with and without accounting for the meso-scale deformations of the wind field. The comparison of the air pollution characteristics, obtained in both the cases demonstrates that the underlying surface heterogeneity in some of the synoptic situations may have influence not only on the detailed air pollution field in the region, but also on some larger scale pollution characteristics – the total pollution quantity in the air above the countries, the mean surface concentration, the pollution fluxes trough the country boundaries, dry and wet deposition.     

Lead pollution in soils adjacent to homes in Tampa,Florida

In the United States, the study of lead pollution in soil has focused on older cities throughout the industrialised northern tier of states often referred to as the rust belt. Researchers have not studied the magnitude and extent of contamination in the newly developed portions of the sunbelt region of the south. In order to assess the significance of lead pollution in soils in these areas, an analysis of the lead content in 146 soil samples collected at a one km grid throughout residential portions of Tampa, Florida was undertaken. The results reveal that lead contaminated (>500 g g^–1) soil is present in the older portions of the city and near expressways. A comparison of the results with data collected in an older, northern city demonstrates that the magnitude and extent of the contamination in Tampa are less than found in the larger rust belt city. However, the presence of hazardous levels of lead in soil collected in Tampa is evidence that sunbelt cities must address lead pollution in the urban environment.     

A review of marine pollution issues in the Caribbean

Marine pollution and coastal degradation have become serious development issues in the Caribbean. Early evidence of marine pollution was mainly anecdotal, but within the last 10--15 years, work conducted by universities and research institutions in the Region has provided the beginnings of a database that identifies several common marine pollution problems. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and the Pan American World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) have also been instrumental in co-ordinating several marine pollution studies. In the English-speaking Caribbean, the University of the West Indies, the Institute of Marine Affairs in Trinidad and Tobago, and the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute located in St Lucia, have taken a lead role in identifying marine pollution problems in their Sub-Region. For the Wider Caribbean a database for petroleum pollution and marine debris has been developed. Land-based sources of marine pollution have been identified as a major problem, with several hot spots identified in mainland countries and in some of the larger industrialised islands. Organic and nutrient pollution, particularly from sewage, is most widespread and is possibly the most serious marine pollution problem in the Caribbean. A lack of capital investment funds to install the appropriate infrastructure to deal with sewage and other liquid effluents is a major stumbling block to solving the problem of marine pollution in the Caribbean. Other factors include political will and administrative and legal structures to regulate human development activities.     

Intra-industry trade in intermediate products, pollution and internationally increasing returns

This paper examines the relationship between intra-industry trade in intermediate products, pollution and increasing returns. We develop a two-country model in which production occurs in two stages, final and intermediate good production. Intermediate goods are produced under monopolistic competition and final good production exhibits increasing returns with respect to the number of varieties of intermediates. Pollution occurs in the production of the final good when polluting intermediates are used. We analyze the effects of international trade in intermediate products on pollution, output and welfare under an endogenous tax scenario and with two types of pollution functions. The results show that, because of increasing returns, international trade either leads to lower total pollution in each country or lower pollution per unit of output in at least one country. In addition, intra-industry trade causes countries to import the environmental quality of their trading partners.