Emissions standards and ambient environmental quality standards with stochastic environmental services

Many important environmental policies involve some combination of emission controls and ambient environmental quality standards, for instance SO₂ emissions are capped under Title IV of the U.S. Clean Air Act Amendments while ambient SO₂ concentrations are limited under National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). This paper examines the relative performance of emissions standards and ambient standards when the natural environment provides stochastic environmental services for assimilating pollution. For receiving media characterized by greater dispersion in the distribution of environmental services, the optimal emissions policy becomes more stringent, whereas the optimal ambient policy generally becomes more lax. In terms of economic performance, emissions policies are superior to ambient policies for relatively non-toxic pollutants, whereas ambient standards welfare dominate emissions standards for sufficiently toxic pollutants. In the case of combined policies that jointly implement emissions standards and ambient standards, we show that the optimal level of each standard relaxes relative to its counterpart in a unilateral policy, allowing for greater emissions levels and higher pollution concentrations in the environmental medium.     

Emissions standards and ambient environmental quality standards with stochastic environmental services

Many important environmental policies involve some combination of emission controls and ambient environmental quality standards, for instance SO₂ emissions are capped under Title IV of the U.S. Clean Air Act Amendments while ambient SO₂ concentrations are limited under National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). This paper examines the relative performance of emissions standards and ambient standards when the natural environment provides stochastic environmental services for assimilating pollution. For receiving media characterized by greater dispersion in the distribution of environmental services, the optimal emissions policy becomes more stringent, whereas the optimal ambient policy generally becomes more lax. In terms of economic performance, emissions policies are superior to ambient policies for relatively non-toxic pollutants, whereas ambient standards welfare dominate emissions standards for sufficiently toxic pollutants. In the case of combined policies that jointly implement emissions standards and ambient standards, we show that the optimal level of each standard relaxes relative to its counterpart in a unilateral policy, allowing for greater emissions levels and higher pollution concentrations in the environmental medium.     

Using a sub-grid scale modeling approach to simulate the transport and fate of toxic air pollutants

Several air toxics are emitted from mobile sources on roadways and these emissions account for a significant fraction of the health risks to the population. In addition, health effect studies are now becoming more comprehensive and some account for the spatial heterogeneities of air pollutant concentration fields (as is the case near roadways). Standard models can simulate either the near-source concentration fields or the urban background, but no model can handle both spatial scales in the vicinity of roadways in a coherent and scientifically correct manner. Here, we present a model that provides such an integrated treatment by combining a grid-based air quality model of the urban background with a plume-in-grid representation of roadway emissions. The model is applied to simulate near-roadway concentrations due to emissions from a busy interstate highway in New York City. Qualitative comparisons with typical measured concentration profiles show that the model captures the observed features of toxic air pollutant concentrations near roadways.     

Biomonitoring verkehrsbedingter Platin-Immissionen

Traffic related platinum deposits on, or near to, the roads. Platinum accumulation was studied using the method of standardised culture of grass (Lolium multiflorum) at locations with different traffic exposure in the region of Munich. Grass cultures from 6 locations with high traffic exposure, and 3 reference locations far away from traffic emissions, were analysed in 1992 and 1993. The results show a good indication of the platinum emissions byLolium multiflorum. The platinum concentrations rose with the increasing traffic. They diminished with growing distance from the verge of the road. The highest average platinum concentrations were measured at locations close to highly frequented urban roads, in the range 0.8 to 2.9 μg/kg dm. The average platinum concentration at locations far from emissions was found in the range of 0.17 to 0.51 μg/kg dm in 1992 and 1993. The good correlation between the platinum concentrations in grass cultures and the concentrations of other traffic-related elements, like antimony, chromium and lead, verifies the dependence of platinum accumulation from traffic.     

The policy implications of non-convex environmental damages: A smog control case study

Nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons react to form atmospheric ozone, but, for given concentrations of either one, increasing amounts of the other give rise to declining increments of ozone. Thus, the damage functions from hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide emissions are non-convex. A case study of control strategies in the New York metropolitan regions show that, because control costs rise so steeply for both pollutants, a cost-effective approach is to control emissions of both, despite the non-convexities. However, the loss function, for deviations from the least-cost strategy, lies well within the range of scientific uncertainty regarding precursor-ozone relationships, and the least-cost strategy choice is highly sensitive to small changes in the relative control costs. Therefore, decisions regarding controls on these emissions, especially nitrogen oxide emissions, should be based also on other considerations, such as the reduction in acid deposition.     

Improving simulations of sulfate aerosols during winter haze over Northern China: the impacts of heterogeneous oxidation by NO2

Incorporating the missing heterogeneous oxidation of S(IV) by NO₂ into the WRF-Chem model. Sulfate production is not sensitive to increase in SO₂ emission. The newly added reaction reproduces sulfate concentrations well during winter haze. We implemented the online coupled WRF-Chem model to reproduce the 2013 January haze event in North China, and evaluated simulated meteorological and chemical fields using multiple observations. The comparisons suggest that temperature and relative humidity (RH) were simulated well (mean biases are -0.2K and 2.7%, respectively), but wind speeds were overestimated (mean bias is 0.5 m?s⁻¹). At the Beijing station, sulfur dioxide (SO₂) concentrations were overpredicted and sulfate concentrations were largely underpredicted, which may result from uncertainties in SO₂ emissions and missing heterogeneous oxidation in current model. We conducted three parallel experiments to examine the impacts of doubling SO₂ emissions and incorporating heterogeneous oxidation of dissolved SO₂ by nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) on sulfate formation during winter haze. The results suggest that doubling SO₂ emissions do not significantly affect sulfate concentrations, but adding heterogeneous oxidation of dissolved SO₂ by NO₂ substantially improve simulations of sulfate and other inorganic aerosols. Although the enhanced SO₂ to sulfate conversion in the HetS (heterogeneous oxidation by NO₂) case reduces SO₂ concentrations, it is still largely overestimated by the model, indicating the overestimations of SO₂ concentrations in the North China Plain (NCP) are mostly due to errors in SO₂ emission inventory.     

Increased fluoride content in mandibular bones of deer living in industrialised regions of Poland

Fluorine is a microelement appearing in soil, water and living organisms. Higher fluorine concentration exerts a negative effect on the course of metabolic processes, mainly in the bones. The studies performed have shown that in areas polluted by industrial emissions the fluoride level in bones of animals rises, but fails to reach concentrations characteristic of the disease called bone fluorosis. The results presented illustrate the quantity being reached by fluoride accumulation in the bones of animals from areas polluted by industrial emissions.     

A gradient of mercury concentrations in Scottish single malt whiskies

Mercury (Hg) concentrations were measured in 26 Scottish single malt whiskies, and all found to be very low (<10 ng L⁻¹), posing no threat to human health through reasonable levels of consumption. However, a significant south-to-north declining gradient in Hg concentrations was observed reflecting that reported for atmospheric deposition. We speculate that this gradient could be due to a combination of contemporary deposition and the legacy of industrial mercury emissions and deposition over the last 200 years affecting concentrations in local waters used in whisky production. As UK atmospheric emissions of mercury have declined by 90 % since the 1970s, we suggest that whisky being produced today should have even lower Hg concentrations when consumed in 10- to 15-years time. This reduction may be compromised by the remobilisation of contaminants stored in catchment soils being transferred to source waters, but is very unlikely to raise the negligible health risk due to Hg from Scottish single malt whisky consumption.

     

长期不同施肥条件下红壤小麦和玉米季CO_2、N_2O排放特征

基于中国农业科学院红壤实验站红壤旱地小麦-玉米轮作长期定位试验,采用静态箱/气相色谱法,研究红壤旱地连续施肥16 a后,不同施肥条件下小麦季和玉米季土壤CO2和N2O的排放特征。结果表明,CO2和N2O排放具有明显的季节性,施肥对土壤CO2和N2O排放有明显影响,且有机肥的施用显著促进了土壤CO2和N2O排放。不施肥对照(CK)、氮磷配施(NP)、氮钾配施(NK)、氮磷钾配施(NPK)和有机无机肥配施(NPKM)处理小麦季和玉米季土壤CO2累积排放量分别为5 904、8 062、4 298、9 235、14 098和4 708、7 530、5 435、7 089、15 472 kg.hm-2,土壤N2O累积排放量分别为0.34、0.63、0.44、0.62、1.00和0.25、0.39、0.35、0.52、1.73 kg.hm-2,小麦休闲期土壤CO2和N2 O累积排放量平均占小麦生长季的63.52%和28.43%,玉米休闲季平均占玉米生长季的49.98%和32.72%,说明休闲期土壤CO2和N2O累积排放量不容忽视。除玉米季NP、NK、NPK处理外,其他各处理小麦季和玉米季土壤CO2排放通量与5 cm深处土...     

Investigating the potential for different scooter and car exhaust emissions to cause cytotoxic and (pro-)inflammatory responses to a 3D in vitro model of the human epithelial airway

The aim of this study was to compare the cytotoxicity and the (pro-)inflammatory responses of two-stroke (direct injection and carburetor technology) and four-stroke scooter and diesel car exhaust emissions on lung cells in vitro. This was analyzed by exposing a 3D in vitro model of the epithelial airway (consisting of human bronchial epithelial cells (cell line 16HBE14o^?) combined with human whole blood monocyte-derived macrophages and dendritic cells) to physically characterized exhaust emissions. Biological endpoints of cytotoxicity (lactate dehydrogenase release), as well as pro-inflammatory cytokine (tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α) and inflammatory chemokine (interleukin(IL)-8) stimulation were examined. Two-stroke direct injection scooter exhaust contained the highest particle number concentration and nitrogen oxides (NO _x ) concentrations and the emissions from the two-stroke carburetor scooter contained the highest hydrocarbon and lowest NO _x concentrations. The four-stroke scooter emitted the highest carbon monoxide concentration whereas the cars emitted the lowest. The combination of various technical optimizations for the two-stroke direct injection scooter (particle filter, oxidative catalyst, better oil and fuel) reduced the total emissions strongly and the TNF-α concentration significantly (p?相似文献   

Relationship between air pollutants emission patterns and concentrations

Emission patterns of NO_x and S‐compounds are analyzed to study their influence on the concentrations of SO₂, NO_x, sulphate and nitrate in the air. Air mass trajectories, emission inventories and cluster analysis are used to define the emission patterns.

The scheme that characterized most of the days is defined by low emissions from 48 hours until 18 hours before the measurements and it produces average concentrations. High concentrations are due to emission peaks. The time between these emission peaks and the measurement determines the importance of the emission peak on the concentration.     

Air pollution from aluminum smelting plants. II. the contribution from an aluminum smelting plant using the söderberg process to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and mutagens in ambient air

Extracts of airborne particles collected in the surroundings of an aluminum smelting plant have been analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and tested for mutagenic activity. The results were discussed in relation to the meteorological conditions during sampling and showed that the ambient concentrations of these parameters are significantly influenced by the emissions from the smelting plant in the summer, but not in the winter. The results from the mutagenicity testing showed that the mutagenic activity of particle extracts from this area was equal to or lower than what has been reported from other urban areas in Scandinavia.

The contribution of PAH and mutagens to the concentrations of these compounds in ambient air was estimated based on parallel measurements of fluoride and from emission values of fluoride, PAH and mutagens. It was concluded that whereas the smelter emissions could account for more than 50% of the yearly average of ambient PAH, the contribution of mutagens was significantly less.     

Hexachlorobutadiene emissions from typical chemical plants

• Unintentional HCBD production in typical chemical plants was investigated. • The highest HCBD concentrations were found in the bottom residue. • Tri/tetrachloroethylene production processes were important HCBD sources. Hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD) was classed as a persistent organic pollutant under the Stockholm Convention in 2015. HCBD is mainly an unintentionally produced by-product of chlorinated hydrocarbon (e.g., trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene) synthesis. Few studies of HCBD formation during chemical production processes have been performed, so HCBD emissions from these potentially important sources are not understood. In this study, HCBD concentrations in raw materials, intermediate products, products, and bottom residues from chemical plants producing chlorobenzene, trichloroethylene, and tetrachloroethylene were determined. The results indicated that HCBD is unintentionally produced at much higher concentrations in trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene plants than chlorobenzene plants. The sum of the HCBD concentrations in the samples from all of the trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene production stages in plant PC was 247000 mg/mL, about three orders of magnitude higher than the concentrations in the tetrachloroethylene production samples (plant PB) and about six orders of magnitude higher than the concentrations in the chlorobenzene production samples (plant PA). The HCBD concentrations were highest in bottom residues from all of the plants. The concentrations in the bottom residue samples contributed 24%–99% of the total HCBD formed in the chemical production plants. The bottom residue, being hazardous waste, could be disposed of by incineration. The HCBD concentrations were much higher in intermediate products than raw materials, indicating that HCBD formed during production of the intended chemicals. The results indicate the concentrations of HCBD unintentionally produced in typical chemical plants and will be useful in developing protocols for controlling HCBD emissions to meet the Stockholm Convention requirements.     

Modelling concentrations of airborne primary and secondary PM10 and PM2.5 with the BelEUROS-model in Belgium

The Eulerian Chemistry-Transport Model BelEUROS was used to calculate the concentrations of airborne PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 over Europe. Both primary as well as secondary particulate matter in the respirable size-range was taken into account. Especially PM_2.5 aerosols are often formed in the atmosphere from gaseous precursor compounds. Comprehensive computer codes for the calculation of gas phase chemical reactions and thermodynamic equilibria between compounds in the gas-phase and the particulate phase had been implemented into the BelEUROS-model. Calculated concentrations of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 are compared to observations, including both the spatial and daily, temporal distribution of particulate matter in Belgium for certain monitoring locations and periods. The concentrations of the secondary compounds ammonium, nitrate and sulfate have also been compared to observed values. BelEUROS was found to reproduce the observed concentrations rather well. The model was applied to assess the contribution of emissions derived from the sector agriculture in Flanders, the northern part of Belgium, to PM₁₀- and PM_2.5-concentrations. The results demonstrate the importance of ammonia emissions in the formation of secondary particulate matter. Hence, future European emission abatement policy should consider more the role of ammonia in the formation of secondary particles.     

Responses of marine benthic microalgae to elevated CO2

Increasing anthropogenic CO₂ emissions to the atmosphere are causing a rise in pCO₂ concentrations in the ocean surface and lowering pH. To predict the effects of these changes, we need to improve our understanding of the responses of marine primary producers since these drive biogeochemical cycles and profoundly affect the structure and function of benthic habitats. The effects of increasing CO₂ levels on the colonisation of artificial substrata by microalgal assemblages (periphyton) were examined across a CO₂ gradient off the volcanic island of Vulcano (NE Sicily). We show that periphyton communities altered significantly as CO₂ concentrations increased. CO₂ enrichment caused significant increases in chlorophyll a concentrations and in diatom abundance although we did not detect any changes in cyanobacteria. SEM analysis revealed major shifts in diatom assemblage composition as CO₂ levels increased. The responses of benthic microalgae to rising anthropogenic CO₂ emissions are likely to have significant ecological ramifications for coastal systems.     

Stoffflussanalyse von quartären Ammoniumverbindungen für die Schweiz

Background, aim, and scope Compared to other micropollutants such as pesticides or pharmaceuticals, less attention has been paid to biocides so far. A prioritisation of the biocides currently used in Switzerland in terms of pollution of waters revealed that quaternary ammonium compounds (QAC), the isothiazolinones chloromethylisothiazolinone and benzisothiazolinone as well as Irgarol exhibit the highest risk potential. The QAC benzalkoniumchloride (BAC) and didecyldimethylammoniumchloride (DDAC-C10) are used in considerable amounts and have a high biological activity. Materials and methods The emissions of selected QAC in waters and soil and the predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) were estimated by means of a substance flow analysis (SFA). The study was based on data from the Swiss products register, on literature, contacts to producers and users as well as on own assumptions. Results and discussion The consumption of BAC (four homologues) and DDAC-C10 in biocidal applications in Switzerland amounts to 90 and 30 tons annually. The most important applications are disinfectants for public health areas, food and feed areas as well as wood preservatives. The total emissions to the environment of all five substances account for approximately 11?t/a. The PECs in surface waters and sediments vary from values slightly lower than the predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC) to roughly three orders of magnitude below the PNEC. However, concentrations above the PNEC are possible at certain locations, particularly downstream of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) effluents and sewer overflows. Effects on aquatic organisms can therefore not be excluded. Three BAC homologues could not be assessed, as there were no PNEC values available. Conclusions The contribution of emissions from WWTP (punctual emissions) to the environment is only about one tenth and relatively low compared to diffuse emissions. This means that measures for the emission reduction focussing only on end-of-pipe solutions in WWTP will not reduce the emissions significantly. Moreover, for the evaluation of measures, attention has to be paid to the fact that biocides such as the selected QAC are often also applied in non-biocidal applications (e.?g. three times higher volumes in the case of BAC). Recommendations and perspectives SFA serves as a useful tool for early recognition of environmental problems caused by chemicals. This allows recommending appropriate risk reduction measures in the production, the use and the end-of-life phase. It is advisable to use the SFA already in the development stage of chemicals and later on as a quality control tool. The relevant sources of chemicals and sinks in the environment can thus be determined in complex systems, even in absence of extensive measurements or product registers with consumption figures by means of estimations and scenarios.     

Biomonitoring von Immissionswirkungen durch verkehrsbedingte Schwermetalle in einem Heideökosystem

In a part of the Lüneburger Heide situated along a motorway, the deposition of several heavy metals caused by traffic were analysed again after eleven years. As a consequence of new techniques in car production, as well as of a change in car emissions, samples of soil, plants and insects collected in 1996 showed clearly higher concentrations of lead and cadmium than those taken in 1985. For the first time, antimony and platinum were investigated. Antimony was detected in all compartments of the heathland ecosystem, while platinum was only measured in mosses, lichens and litter. Mosses were the best indicators to evaluate the impact of the ecosystem by particular emissions from traffic.     

南京城市土壤重金属含量及空间分布特征

研究了南京城市土壤重金属含量、来源及空间分布特征。结果表明,南京城市土壤中V、Mn、Co、Ni、Cr污染不明显,但受到了不同程度的Cu、Pb、Zn、Sb、Hg、Cd污染,其中Hg污染比较严重。V、Mn、Co、Ni、Cr含量之间均呈极显著正相父;Cu、Pb、Zn、Sb、Hg、Cd含量之间也均呈极显著正相关。南京城市土壤V、Mn、Co、Ni、Cr主要继承了原土物质;Hg、Cd、Pb主要来源于城市燃煤、机动车尾气及工厂排放粉尘;Sb主要来源于机动车尾气和工厂排放粉尘。南京城市土壤Hg、Cd、Pb、Sb含量空间分布规律非常相似,均表现为外围向市中心有逐渐增加的趋势,并且在新街口—鼓楼、梅山硫铁矿形成异常高值的岛状、环状区域。     

Improving simulations of sulfate aerosols during winter haze over Northern China: the impacts of heterogeneous oxidation by NO<Subscript>2</Subscript>

We implemented the online coupled WRF-Chem model to reproduce the 2013 January haze event in North China, and evaluated simulated meteorological and chemical fields using multiple observations. The comparisons suggest that temperature and relative humidity (RH) were simulated well (mean biases are–0.2K and 2.7%, respectively), but wind speeds were overestimated (mean bias is 0.5 m?s^–1). At the Beijing station, sulfur dioxide (SO₂) concentrations were overpredicted and sulfate concentrations were largely underpredicted, which may result from uncertainties in SO₂ emissions and missing heterogeneous oxidation in current model. We conducted three parallel experiments to examine the impacts of doubling SO₂ emissions and incorporating heterogeneous oxidation of dissolved SO₂ by nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) on sulfate formation during winter haze. The results suggest that doubling SO₂ emissions do not significantly affect sulfate concentrations, but adding heterogeneous oxidation of dissolved SO₂ by NO₂ substantially improve simulations of sulfate and other inorganic aerosols. Although the enhanced SO₂ to sulfate conversion in the HetS (heterogeneous oxidation by NO₂) case reduces SO₂ concentrations, it is still largely overestimated by the model, indicating the overestimations of SO₂ concentrations in the North China Plain (NCP) are mostly due to errors in SO₂ emission inventory.

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Understand the local and regional contributions on air pollution from the view of human health impacts

• PM_2.5-related deaths were estimated to be 227 thousand in BTH & surrounding regions. • Local emissions contribute more to PM_2.5-related deaths than PM_2.5 concentration. • Local controls are underestimated if only considering its impacts on concentrations. • Rural residents suffer larger impacts of regional transport than urban residents. • Reducing regional transport benefits in mitigating environmental inequality. The source-receptor matrix of PM_2.5 concentration from local and regional sources in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) and surrounding provinces has been created in previous studies. However, because the spatial distribution of concentration does not necessarily match with that of the population, such concentration-based source-receptor matrix may not fully reflect the importance of pollutant control effectiveness in reducing the PM_2.5-related health impacts. To demonstrate that, we study the source-receptor matrix of the PM_2.5-related deaths instead, with inclusion of the spatial correlations between the concentrations and the population. The advanced source apportionment numerical model combined with the integrated exposure–response functions is used for BTH and surrounding regions in 2017. We observed that the relative contribution to PM_2.5-related deaths of local emissions was 0.75% to 20.77% larger than that of PM_2.5 concentrations. Such results address the importance of local emissions control for reducing health impacts of PM_2.5 particularly for local residents. Contribution of regional transport to PM_2.5-related deaths in rural area was 22% larger than that in urban area due to the spatial pattern of regional transport which was more related to the rural population. This resulted in an environmental inequality in the sense that people staying in rural area with access to less educational resources are subjected to higher impacts from regional transport as compared with their more resourceful and knowledgeable urban compatriots. An unexpected benefit from the multi-regional joint controls is suggested for its effectiveness in reducing the regional transport of PM_2.5 pollution thus mitigating the associated environmental inequality.