Distributional analysis of regional benefits and cost of air quality control

The methodology and results of an analysis of benefits and costs of air quality control for an urban region in Florida are given. The machinery used considers the spatial distribution of (a) emission sources, (b) the ambient levels resulting from local meteorological conditions and geographic features, and (c) the socioeconomic characteristics of the impacted population groups. This facilitates an examination of the distributional aspects of costs and benefits associated with various control scenarios. With appropriate adaptation and inputs the steps in our analysis should apply to a distributional benefit/cost analyses for any region.     

Cost-sharing approach for air quality control implementation A case study

The objective of the study was to investigate and develop new alternative approaches to effectively meeting the federal SOx and particulate ambient air quality standards at cost savings. Since air pollution control costs would very likely be passed along to the consumer, it is in the best interests of the consumer and industry to find the least-cost alternative policies. Cost-sharing possesses advantages not shared by other control schemes, such as emissions taxes, auctioning of “pollution certificates,” or other methods. The results of this paper indicate that the cost-sharing approach is useful for particulates control in order to minimize the burden of plants already performing substantial control who may require significant added capital investment beyond their initial amount. For SO_ξ emissions control the cost-sharing analysis calculations show significant savings in nearly all situations, whether or not stack gas treatment methods were assumed available. Furthermore, the cost-sharing approach may allow further savings when the particular cost requirements of an individual firm differ substantially from the average engineering cost estimates. A cost-sharing option should thus be included in implementation plans as an option to be used by industries at their own initiative. The spatial characteristics of emissions resulting from a particular application of the cost-sharing approach are considered. A spatial airshed emissions allocation model is discussed as a useful method of evaluating cost sharing.     

A model for the analysis of seasonal aspects of water quality control

A multiseasonal mathematical programming model for the analysis of water quality control within a river basin is presented. Phenomena of interseasonal variation in flow intensity and the river's pollutant assimilative capacity are introduced into the model by defining several seasons and their characterizations by seasonal parameters. An application of the model to a typical case situation is reported. The results suggest that seasonal adjustments in the treatment levels of wastewater treatment plants involve a considerable saving potential in comparison with a situation in which treatment levels are rigidly determined for the entire year.     

Functional zoning for air quality

Environmental local agencies have to enforce European directives that impose a land classification, according to air quality status, to distinguish zones needing further actions from those needing only maintenance. This paper presents a land classification in zones featured by different criticality levels of atmospheric pollution, considering pollutant time series as functional data: we call this proposal “Functional Zoning”. Our proposal is articulated in order to also meet two specific requirements: upscaling pollutant concentration data to the municipality scale, since municipalities are the reference territorial administrative units for undertaking actions; aggregating different pollutants in order to provide a multi-pollutant zoning outcome reflecting the air quality status. Specifically, we present three different alternatives to upscale data from a regular grid to the municipality scale. Then, to aggregate by pollutant, we evaluate two strategies summarizing time series: the assessment of an air quality index and the use of the Multivariate Functional Principal Component Analysis (MFPCA). The partition of municipalities is obtained by clustering air quality time series and MFPCA scores. In particular, the proposed functional zoning is carried out for Piemonte (Northern Italy), considering the hourly concentration fields of the main pollutants. We obtain six classifications of the same land and we propose a comparison study of the different strategies’ results, by mapping and analyzing the differences between clusters’ labels. By taking into account the comparison study’s findings, we finally suggest an analysis strategy to environmental agencies and policy makers to obtain an easily interpretable outcome at a very reasonable computational cost.     

Dynamic aspects of effluent taxation under uncertainty

The optimal adjustment process for an effluent charge is derived when the firm's response to the charge is uncertain. The optimal process is shown to exhibit the dual effects of caution and probing. Because of uncertainty, society should be risk averse or cautious when setting the charge. However, because of the possibility of generating information for improved future control, this caution is balanced by the incentive to probe for additional information. Finally, if the uncertain parameters of the firm's response function are nonautonomous, their change over time must be explicitly considered to avoid bias in estimation.     

大气中氟化物污染的生物学指标监测评价

植物对HF气体的敏感性是由多种因素相互作用而成的复杂综合性状,常用于定性描述大气环境质量状况。通过在密闭的培养瓶中一次性通入不同体积浓度的HF气体,以不同浓度HF胁迫下的不同类型植物为例,观察其在不同时间的外观伤害症状和细胞膜透性与HF浓度的关系。结果表明：不同植物对HF的敏感性不同;低浓度长时间和高浓度短时间的症状基本相同;植物细胞膜透性数据即电导率直接反映植物受损程度。综合植物外观症状指标与生理生化指标并赋予不同权重值,建立相对定量化的大气质量生物学指标评价模式,以定量的判断HF气体对植物的伤害,为应用植物监测和评价大气环境质量提供理论和实践依据。     

大气臭氧污染的生物学指标监测评价

臭氧是具有很大危害性的大气污染物之一,近150年来大气对流层中的臭氧质量浓度已经增加了36%,在今后50～100年内还将以每年0.5%-2%的速度继续升高。植物对大气污染物的敏感性是由多种因素相互作用而成的复杂综合性状。以不同质量浓度（分别为0.0、1.0、2.0、3.0、4.0、5.0 mg·L-1）臭氧（O3）胁迫下的不同类型植物为例,观察植物在不同时间（2、4、6、8 h）的外观伤害症状和细胞膜透性与O3质量浓度的相关性。试验结果表明：不同植物对O3的敏感度不同,蔬菜对臭氧相对较敏感;低质量浓度长时间和高质量浓度短时间的作用条件下,植物的受害症状基本相同,典型症状表现为叶片上散布细密点状斑,斑点的颜色呈白色、黄色、棕褐色,也有褪绿斑;植物细胞膜透性数据即电导率直接反映植物受损程度。综合植物外观症状指标与生理生化指标建立了相对定量化的大气质量生物学指标评价模式,即划分为轻微（0-0.2）、轻度（0.2-0.4）、中度（0.4-0.6）、高度（0.6-0.8）、严重（0.8-1.0）5个受害等级,以定量的判断O3气体对植物的伤害。     

空气清新剂中挥发性有机物的组成及其对室内空气质量的潜在影响

研究调查了广州市各大型超市销售的14个品牌,15种不同香型,共26个盒装空气清新剂中挥发性有机物（VOCs）的成分.通过顶空GC-MS分析获得的结果可以看出各个空气清新剂的成分组成差别较大,即使是相同香型的产品,其中的化合物种类和百分比浓度都不尽相同.定性出94种化合物,包括烯烃18种,醇类15种,醛类14种,酮类4种,醚类5种,酚类1种,酯类25种及其它化合物12种,其中萜类化合物约占总化合物数量的40%.β-月桂烯、罗勒烯、苧烯、苯乙醇、乙酸苄酯、β-蒎烯、β-水芹烯、伞花烃、1-甲基-4-（1-甲基乙烯基）苯、里拉醇等化合物在各种清新剂中出现频率为100%.空气清新剂中萜类化合物与臭氧反应,可生成二次有机气溶胶,对室内空气质量造成影响.     

Impact of photocatalytic remediation of pollutants on urban air quality

In the recent years, photocatalytic self-cleaning and “depolluting” materials have been suggested as a remediation technology mainly for NO _x and aromatic VOCs in urban areas. A number of products incorporating the aforementioned technology have been made commercially available with the aim to improve urban air quality. These commercial products are based on the photocatalytic properties of a thin layer of TiO₂ at the surface of the material (such as glass, pavement, etc.) or embedded in paints or concrete. The use of TiO₂ photocatalysts as an emerging air pollution control technology has been reported in many locations worldwide. However, up to now, the effectiveness measured in situ and the expected positive impact on air quality of this relatively new technology has only been demonstrated in a limited manner. Assessing and demonstrating the effectiveness of these depolluting techniques in real scale applications aims to create a real added value, in terms of policy making (i.e., implementing air quality strategies) and economics (by providing a demonstration of the actual performance of a new technique).

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Estimation of the cost of air pollution control regulation

Estimates of hydrocarbon pollution control costs under the alternative regulatory approaches of individual source or process standards, plant standards, and regionally marketable permits are presented. The estimates are obtained from data supplied by the DuPont Company based on a 1976 in-house engineering study. The estimation procedure is unique in that the data are based on uniform percentage control across sources while the estimated cost equations allow variable control at each source. The cost simulations show that considerable cost savings are available from allowing firms more flexibility in meeting a given environmental standard. The effect of plant relocation and monopoly in the pollution permit market are also investigated.     

The distribution of benefits from improvements in urban air quality

This paper analyzes the distribution of benefits from an air pollution control strategy for the Boston metropolitan area. Average benefits to seven income groups are measured by physical improvements in air quality and by dollar values, using housing value and health damage approaches to estimate willingness to pay. Benefits include those in the work environment as well as at home. Physical benefits at home are found to be greater for the poor rather than for the rich; when measured in monetary terms with workplace benefits included, however, the distribution is much less pro-poor.     

Indoor air quality in elementary schools of Lisbon in spring

Analysis of indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools usually reveals higher levels of pollutants than in outdoor environments. The aims of this study are to measure indoor and outdoor concentrations of NO₂, speciated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and carbonyls at 14 elementary schools in Lisbon, Portugal. The investigation was carried out in May–June 2009. Three of the schools were selected to also measure comfort parameters, such as temperature and relative humidity, carbon dioxide (CO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), total VOCs, and bacterial and fungal colony-forming units per cubic metre. Indoor concentrations of CO₂ in the three main schools indicated inadequate classroom air exchange rates. The indoor/outdoor (I/O) NO₂ ratio ranged between 0.36 and 0.95. At the three main schools, the total bacterial and fungal colony-forming units (CFU) in both indoor and outdoor air were above the advised maximum value of 500 CFU/m³ defined by Portuguese legislation. The aromatic compounds benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes, followed by ethers, alcohols and terpenes, were usually the most abundant classes of VOCs. In general, the indoor total VOC concentrations were markedly higher than those observed outdoors. At all locations, indoor aldehyde levels were higher than those observed outdoors, particularly for formaldehyde. The inadequate ventilation observed likely favours accumulation of pollutants with additional indoor sources.     

Application of CFD modelling to air quality in Kuwait City

High-resolution computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations have been performed to assess the dispersion of air pollutants (CO₂) emanating from traffic in a busy street and in the vicinity of a complex configuration of buildings located in Salmiya, Kuwait City. New buildings are planned for this area, and the work here includes predictions for the dispersion of pollutants after the buildings’ completion. The CFD simulations are based on calculated CO₂ concentration levels for traffic counts taken on location in Salmiya with the existing configuration of buildings. As the computer code used in this work has been evaluated previously, it will be applied here to predict with confidence any potential air pollution problem areas on the addition of the new buildings. It was found for very light wind, that the proposed new buildings help reduce pollution in the vicinity of residential buildings within the configuration of buildings, but as the wind becomes moderate to strong, there was a tendency for the pollutant to get trapped in the residential area. Results are given for both exceptionally high ambient temperatures and very light wind, which are not often reported in studies found in the literature.     

Air pollution control costs and consumption pattern effects A regional analysis

The purpose of this study was to ascertain, through the use of an input-output model, the impact of air pollution control costs on income groups in the Philadelphia Region. The range of increases in consumption expenditure was found to be fairly narrow, with the middle-income group bearing the largest increase (2.9%) and the highest and lowest groups slightly lower increases (about 2%). This finding lends support to the proposition that all income groups would probably share the costs of control equally, which leads to a slightly regressive effect on income distribution. The sharing of the region's air quality costs by other areas was also analyzed.     

Clearing the air: The costs and consequences of higher CAFE standards and increased gasoline taxes

Concerns about energy security and climate change have sparked legislators’ interest in reducing gasoline consumption by increasing corporate average fuel-economy (CAFE) standards. Using an empirically rich simulation model and cost estimates for anticipated fuel-economy technologies, we estimate annual costs of reducing long-run gasoline consumption by 10% via a 3.8 miles per gallon increase in the standards, and the potential cost savings from allowing manufacturers to buy and sell fuel-economy credits. Maximum gasoline savings would be realized only after all existing vehicles were replaced, or 14 years in our model. A gasoline tax would produce greater immediate savings by encouraging people to drive less, and eventually to choose more-fuel-efficient vehicles. We demonstrate the advantage of a tax by comparing the cost of the higher CAFE standards over the first 14 years against the cost of a gasoline tax that would save the same amount of gasoline over that time.     

Measuring the benefits of air quality improvements: A hedonic salary approach

This paper estimates the compensating variation associated with nonmarginal changes in air quality using a hedonic salary model and 1970 data collected for a national sample of university professors. Recent advances in the theory of hedonic prices are utilized in constructing the theoretical model and formulating a procedure for generating empirical estimates. Lower bound estimates of the compensating variation associated with a one standard deviation increase in total suspended particulates (27.6 mgs/cu. meter/24 hours) were $419 for full professors, $234 for associate professors, and $209 for assistant professors in 1970. These results were not sensitive to the specification of the hedonic salary equation.