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This work presents the SHERPA tool (Screening for High Emission Reduction Potentials on Air quali... more This work presents the SHERPA tool (Screening for High Emission Reduction Potentials on Air quality), a simplified air quality model that has been recently developed at the European Commission Joint Research Centre, to simulate the effect of local emission reduction policies on air pollution. The SHERPA methodology is based on the concept of source-receptor models, that is to say on the use of simplified models able to mimic the link between emissions and concentrations as simulated by a complex deterministic Chemical Transport Model. As “family” of source-receptor models in SHERPA we used “linear regressions”, designed to simulate yearly PM25, PM10 and NO2 ground-level concentrations. More in details, source-receptor models have been trained and validated using data from the CHIMERE Chemical Transport Model, run at roughly 7x7 km resolution over Europe, using emissions as derived by the recent “2013 Clear Air Policy Package” to keep consistency with “higher level” EU policies. Star...

Science of The Total Environment, 2020

Air pollution might increase susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection. • We examined infection prev... more Air pollution might increase susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection. • We examined infection prevalence in the most affected regions in Northern Italy. • Satellite-detected tropospheric nitrogen dioxide was used to assess air pollution. • High NO 2 levels were associated with spread of the infection. • A causal role remains speculative, given ecologic biases and uncontrolled confounding.

controllo,volto a studiare la relazione tra leucemia infantile ed esposizioneal benzene da traffi... more controllo,volto a studiare la relazione tra leucemia infantile ed esposizioneal benzene da traffico veicolare nelle province di Modena e Reggio Emilia,abbiamo applicato un modello di simulazione deterministico e la metodologiaGIS (Geographical Information System) per studiare la dispersione delleemissioni veicolari di tale inquinante e costruire una mappa espositiva, alfine di valutarne l\u2019eventuale associazione col rischio di leucemia infantile.METODI: Abbiamo individuato e georeferenziato i casi di leucemia infantile(n=83) diagnosticati nei bambini residenti nella province di Modena e ReggioEmilia dal 1998 ad oggi ed una popolazione di controllo costituita da quattrosoggetti per ciascun paziente, appaiati per sesso, et\ue0 e provincia di residenza.Abbiamo quindi definito una mappa della dispersione delle emissioniautoveicolari di benzene con l\u2019utilizzazione dei dati relativi ai flussi di trafficonel periodo 2005-06 sulle principali vie di circolazione sui due territoriprovinciali, alle emissioni ad essi associabili ed alla dispersione in atmosfera,utilizzando per quest\u2019ultima stima il modello gaussiano CALINE4 (CaliforniaDepartment of Transportation line source model). Infine, abbiamo attribuitoin ambito GIS a ciascun bambino il proprio status espositivo.RISULTATI: I soggetti inclusi nello studio sono risultati caratterizzati,presso le loro residenze, da concentrazioni annuali di benzene legatealle sole emissioni da traffico comprese aventi una media di 0.41 \u3bcg/m3 e una mediana di 0.26 \u3bcg/m3, con concentrazioni massime su baseoraria comprese tra 0.79 e 15.16 \u3bcg/m3. Restringendo le analisi allasola popolazione di controllo, 241 soggetti sono risultati residenti in unaarea caratterizzata da una concentrazione media annuale di benzeneinferiore a 0.5 \u3bcg/m3; 62 soggetti sono risultati residenti in una zonacaratterizzata da concentrazioni comprese tra e\u201d0.5 e <1.0 \u3bcg/m3 e 29soggetti sono risultati abitare in aree con concentrazioni e\u201d1.0 \u3bcg/m3.Le stime fornite dalla modellistica in riferimento ai punti di localizzazionedelle centraline di rilevazione del benzene sono apparse complessamentesoddisfacenti, suggerendo la sostanziale validit\ue0 dell\u2019approcciometodologico utilizzato.CONCLUSIONI: L\u2019applicazione di questa modellistica si \ue8 dimostrataefficace nello stimarelo status espositivo a benzene nella popolazione presa in esame ed hasuggerito livelli di concentrazioni ambientali relativamente contenuti,sensibilmente inferiori a quelli documentati dalle rilevazioni strumentalie dai dati di letteratura disponibili per gli anni \u201890

Abstract: In some cases, epidemiological studies require the air pollutant concentrations at the ... more Abstract: In some cases, epidemiological studies require the air pollutant concentrations at the exposure points. In these cases air dispersion models represent a very important tool. When additional points of exposure are inserted or when some exposure points must be relocated, spatial interpolators can be used in place of new runs of the air dispersion model. In this work the uncertainties and the problematic related to spatial interpolation methods are inspected. The case studied is based on an epidemiological study aimed to study the risk ...

Air Quality Integrated Assessment

Air Pollution Modeling and its Application XXV

energy exploitation of biomass for energy purposes, is an extremely current noteworthy theme and ... more energy exploitation of biomass for energy purposes, is an extremely current noteworthy theme and even more it will be so in the near future, due to the foreseen strong increase in the biomass contribution to thermal RES (Renewable Energy Sources) targets, within the framework of 2020 European Climate Action. BIOPOLE (www.bioenergis.eu – click on BIOPOLE icon) is the WebGIS based DSS (Decision Support System) developed in the BioEnerGIS “IEE” (Intelligent Energy for Europe) project and aimed at defining the sustainable energy exploitation of biomass resources at regional level. BIOPOLE, on the base of regional input, finds online the optimal solution in terms of power, fuel and localization of the new biomass plants feeding district heating network. Department for Environment, Energy and Technology Grids of Lombardy Region is the coordinator of the project and one of the regional decision makers to whom BIOPOLE is targeted. The basic concept behind BIOPOLE methodology is the expectat...

INTRODUCTION Local topography and meteorological conditions over the Po valley, as well as natura... more INTRODUCTION Local topography and meteorological conditions over the Po valley, as well as natural and anthropogenic emissions, make this area one of the most polluted in Europe especially regarding the concentrations of secondary pollutants as ozone and PM10. The Veneto region covers the east part of the Po valley and is bounded by the Alps to the north and the Adriatic Sea to the east. Trans-boundary pollution exchange with the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions in the west and south direction respectively could play an important role for the air quality state. Moreover, in the Venice Lagoon the air quality situation is worsen by the presence of Porto Marghera, one of the most heavily industrialized Italian areas and a commercially active port. Within this scenario it is important to assess the local, intra-regional and extra-regional sources of pollution responsible for both the population exposure in the nearby cities of Mestre and Venice and the critical load on the Venice Lag...

When developing an air quality plan, environmental authorities usually devise a number of individ... more When developing an air quality plan, environmental authorities usually devise a number of individual actions, constituted by the application of both technical (end-of-pipe) and energy efficiency measures. They may range from the incentives to buy less polluting vehicles, to the enforcement of stricter rules on domestic heating. The assessment of the economic effectiveness for the society as a whole of the individual measures and of the overall plan requires a flexible support system able to quickly perform air quality impact evaluations on the specific area. One such system is RIAT+, a software package developed and tested during a series of European research projects, which has been used to evaluate costs and benefits of the Lombardy Region Air Quality Plan (PRIA), constituted by about 90 different actions to be implemented within 2020. The adoption of each measure means a certain change in the emission, which is distributed over the regional territory in different way, depending o...

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

Science of The Total Environment

Environmental Engineering and Management Journal

SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology, Nov 24, 2016

Sustainability

Air quality plans must be demonstrated to be economically sustainable and environmentally effecti... more Air quality plans must be demonstrated to be economically sustainable and environmentally effective. This paper presents a full cost–benefit and environmental analysis of a large regional air quality plan involving several different actions covering a large spectrum of fields, from domestic heating to passenger and freight transport, from electricity generation to agriculture. The impact of each action is analyzed looking at the possible energy savings, greenhouse gases (GHG) emission reductions, the improvement in air quality, and the consequent decrease in external costs, namely the reduced impact on population health. The analysis is performed by applying a flexible and fast computer tool (RIAT+) that allows for a rapid simulation of different pollutant emission scenario, to assess different air quality indices (AQIs) over a regional scale domain. The results show that, in most cases, the economic savings exceed the implementation costs and thus that these actions can be introduc...

Environmental Science & Policy

Abstract Air pollution Integrated Assessment Models (IAM) can be used for determining how emissio... more Abstract Air pollution Integrated Assessment Models (IAM) can be used for determining how emissions should be reduced to improve air quality and to protect human health in a cost-efficient way. The application of IAM is also useful to spread information to the general public and to explain the effectiveness of proposed Air Quality Plans. In this paper, the application of the RIAT+ system to determine suitable abatement measures to improve the air quality at a regional/local level is presented for two European cases: the Brussels Capital Region (Belgium) and the Porto Urban Area (Portugal). Both regions are affected with PM10 or NO 2 concentrations that exceed the limit values specified by the European Union legislation. To properly assess air quality abatement measures a surrogate model was used, allowing the implementation of an efficient optimization procedure. This model is derived in both cases through a set of simulations performed using a Chemistry Transport Model fed with different emission reduction scenarios. In addition, internal costs (due to the implementation of emission reduction measures) and external costs (due to population exposure to air pollutant concentrations) of policy options were considered. The application of this integrated assessment modelling system in scenario (Brussels case) and optimization (Porto) modes contributes to identifying some advantages and limitations of these two approaches and also provides some guidance when urban air quality has to be assessed.

European Journal of Public Health, 2015

This work presents the SHERPA tool (Screening for High Emission Reduction Potentials on Air quali... more This work presents the SHERPA tool (Screening for High Emission Reduction Potentials on Air quality), a simplified air quality model that has been recently developed at the European Commission Joint Research Centre, to simulate the effect of local emission reduction policies on air pollution. The SHERPA methodology is based on the concept of source-receptor models, that is to say on the use of simplified models able to mimic the link between emissions and concentrations as simulated by a complex deterministic Chemical Transport Model. As “family” of source-receptor models in SHERPA we used “linear regressions”, designed to simulate yearly PM25, PM10 and NO2 ground-level concentrations. More in details, source-receptor models have been trained and validated using data from the CHIMERE Chemical Transport Model, run at roughly 7x7 km resolution over Europe, using emissions as derived by the recent “2013 Clear Air Policy Package” to keep consistency with “higher level” EU policies. Star...

Science of The Total Environment, 2020

Air pollution might increase susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection. • We examined infection prev... more Air pollution might increase susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection. • We examined infection prevalence in the most affected regions in Northern Italy. • Satellite-detected tropospheric nitrogen dioxide was used to assess air pollution. • High NO 2 levels were associated with spread of the infection. • A causal role remains speculative, given ecologic biases and uncontrolled confounding.

controllo,volto a studiare la relazione tra leucemia infantile ed esposizioneal benzene da traffi... more controllo,volto a studiare la relazione tra leucemia infantile ed esposizioneal benzene da traffico veicolare nelle province di Modena e Reggio Emilia,abbiamo applicato un modello di simulazione deterministico e la metodologiaGIS (Geographical Information System) per studiare la dispersione delleemissioni veicolari di tale inquinante e costruire una mappa espositiva, alfine di valutarne l\u2019eventuale associazione col rischio di leucemia infantile.METODI: Abbiamo individuato e georeferenziato i casi di leucemia infantile(n=83) diagnosticati nei bambini residenti nella province di Modena e ReggioEmilia dal 1998 ad oggi ed una popolazione di controllo costituita da quattrosoggetti per ciascun paziente, appaiati per sesso, et\ue0 e provincia di residenza.Abbiamo quindi definito una mappa della dispersione delle emissioniautoveicolari di benzene con l\u2019utilizzazione dei dati relativi ai flussi di trafficonel periodo 2005-06 sulle principali vie di circolazione sui due territoriprovinciali, alle emissioni ad essi associabili ed alla dispersione in atmosfera,utilizzando per quest\u2019ultima stima il modello gaussiano CALINE4 (CaliforniaDepartment of Transportation line source model). Infine, abbiamo attribuitoin ambito GIS a ciascun bambino il proprio status espositivo.RISULTATI: I soggetti inclusi nello studio sono risultati caratterizzati,presso le loro residenze, da concentrazioni annuali di benzene legatealle sole emissioni da traffico comprese aventi una media di 0.41 \u3bcg/m3 e una mediana di 0.26 \u3bcg/m3, con concentrazioni massime su baseoraria comprese tra 0.79 e 15.16 \u3bcg/m3. Restringendo le analisi allasola popolazione di controllo, 241 soggetti sono risultati residenti in unaarea caratterizzata da una concentrazione media annuale di benzeneinferiore a 0.5 \u3bcg/m3; 62 soggetti sono risultati residenti in una zonacaratterizzata da concentrazioni comprese tra e\u201d0.5 e <1.0 \u3bcg/m3 e 29soggetti sono risultati abitare in aree con concentrazioni e\u201d1.0 \u3bcg/m3.Le stime fornite dalla modellistica in riferimento ai punti di localizzazionedelle centraline di rilevazione del benzene sono apparse complessamentesoddisfacenti, suggerendo la sostanziale validit\ue0 dell\u2019approcciometodologico utilizzato.CONCLUSIONI: L\u2019applicazione di questa modellistica si \ue8 dimostrataefficace nello stimarelo status espositivo a benzene nella popolazione presa in esame ed hasuggerito livelli di concentrazioni ambientali relativamente contenuti,sensibilmente inferiori a quelli documentati dalle rilevazioni strumentalie dai dati di letteratura disponibili per gli anni \u201890

Abstract: In some cases, epidemiological studies require the air pollutant concentrations at the ... more Abstract: In some cases, epidemiological studies require the air pollutant concentrations at the exposure points. In these cases air dispersion models represent a very important tool. When additional points of exposure are inserted or when some exposure points must be relocated, spatial interpolators can be used in place of new runs of the air dispersion model. In this work the uncertainties and the problematic related to spatial interpolation methods are inspected. The case studied is based on an epidemiological study aimed to study the risk ...

Air Quality Integrated Assessment

Air Pollution Modeling and its Application XXV

energy exploitation of biomass for energy purposes, is an extremely current noteworthy theme and ... more energy exploitation of biomass for energy purposes, is an extremely current noteworthy theme and even more it will be so in the near future, due to the foreseen strong increase in the biomass contribution to thermal RES (Renewable Energy Sources) targets, within the framework of 2020 European Climate Action. BIOPOLE (www.bioenergis.eu – click on BIOPOLE icon) is the WebGIS based DSS (Decision Support System) developed in the BioEnerGIS “IEE” (Intelligent Energy for Europe) project and aimed at defining the sustainable energy exploitation of biomass resources at regional level. BIOPOLE, on the base of regional input, finds online the optimal solution in terms of power, fuel and localization of the new biomass plants feeding district heating network. Department for Environment, Energy and Technology Grids of Lombardy Region is the coordinator of the project and one of the regional decision makers to whom BIOPOLE is targeted. The basic concept behind BIOPOLE methodology is the expectat...

INTRODUCTION Local topography and meteorological conditions over the Po valley, as well as natura... more INTRODUCTION Local topography and meteorological conditions over the Po valley, as well as natural and anthropogenic emissions, make this area one of the most polluted in Europe especially regarding the concentrations of secondary pollutants as ozone and PM10. The Veneto region covers the east part of the Po valley and is bounded by the Alps to the north and the Adriatic Sea to the east. Trans-boundary pollution exchange with the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions in the west and south direction respectively could play an important role for the air quality state. Moreover, in the Venice Lagoon the air quality situation is worsen by the presence of Porto Marghera, one of the most heavily industrialized Italian areas and a commercially active port. Within this scenario it is important to assess the local, intra-regional and extra-regional sources of pollution responsible for both the population exposure in the nearby cities of Mestre and Venice and the critical load on the Venice Lag...

When developing an air quality plan, environmental authorities usually devise a number of individ... more When developing an air quality plan, environmental authorities usually devise a number of individual actions, constituted by the application of both technical (end-of-pipe) and energy efficiency measures. They may range from the incentives to buy less polluting vehicles, to the enforcement of stricter rules on domestic heating. The assessment of the economic effectiveness for the society as a whole of the individual measures and of the overall plan requires a flexible support system able to quickly perform air quality impact evaluations on the specific area. One such system is RIAT+, a software package developed and tested during a series of European research projects, which has been used to evaluate costs and benefits of the Lombardy Region Air Quality Plan (PRIA), constituted by about 90 different actions to be implemented within 2020. The adoption of each measure means a certain change in the emission, which is distributed over the regional territory in different way, depending o...

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

Science of The Total Environment

Environmental Engineering and Management Journal

SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology, Nov 24, 2016

Sustainability

Air quality plans must be demonstrated to be economically sustainable and environmentally effecti... more Air quality plans must be demonstrated to be economically sustainable and environmentally effective. This paper presents a full cost–benefit and environmental analysis of a large regional air quality plan involving several different actions covering a large spectrum of fields, from domestic heating to passenger and freight transport, from electricity generation to agriculture. The impact of each action is analyzed looking at the possible energy savings, greenhouse gases (GHG) emission reductions, the improvement in air quality, and the consequent decrease in external costs, namely the reduced impact on population health. The analysis is performed by applying a flexible and fast computer tool (RIAT+) that allows for a rapid simulation of different pollutant emission scenario, to assess different air quality indices (AQIs) over a regional scale domain. The results show that, in most cases, the economic savings exceed the implementation costs and thus that these actions can be introduc...

Environmental Science & Policy

Abstract Air pollution Integrated Assessment Models (IAM) can be used for determining how emissio... more Abstract Air pollution Integrated Assessment Models (IAM) can be used for determining how emissions should be reduced to improve air quality and to protect human health in a cost-efficient way. The application of IAM is also useful to spread information to the general public and to explain the effectiveness of proposed Air Quality Plans. In this paper, the application of the RIAT+ system to determine suitable abatement measures to improve the air quality at a regional/local level is presented for two European cases: the Brussels Capital Region (Belgium) and the Porto Urban Area (Portugal). Both regions are affected with PM10 or NO 2 concentrations that exceed the limit values specified by the European Union legislation. To properly assess air quality abatement measures a surrogate model was used, allowing the implementation of an efficient optimization procedure. This model is derived in both cases through a set of simulations performed using a Chemistry Transport Model fed with different emission reduction scenarios. In addition, internal costs (due to the implementation of emission reduction measures) and external costs (due to population exposure to air pollutant concentrations) of policy options were considered. The application of this integrated assessment modelling system in scenario (Brussels case) and optimization (Porto) modes contributes to identifying some advantages and limitations of these two approaches and also provides some guidance when urban air quality has to be assessed.

European Journal of Public Health, 2015