Population exposure to urban highway traffic emissions (original) (raw)
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Impact of road traffic emissions on air quality of the Lisbon region
Atmospheric Environment, 2000
The main purpose of this paper is to present the study of tra$c emissions impact on the Lisbon region air quality. Two approaches of emission data generation with high spatial and temporal resolution are presented and compared. Main roads were processed as line sources and hot on-road emissions were calculated based on daily mean tra$c and emission factors distinguished for several road classes and vehicle types. Also, the disaggregation of national CORINAIR inventory has been performed on the basis of statistical information of fuel consumption and population density. The comparison of emission data obtained by these two approaches demonstrates a good agreement for total values, but a signi"cant di!erence for spatial distribution of the data. To ensure completeness of the data, to improve their spatial resolution and also to analyse the impact of the tra$c emissions, a combination of the two approaches was applied to generate the emission data used by a photochemical numerical system to simulate the atmospheric circulation and the air pollution pattern in Lisbon under summer meteorological conditions, having di!erent emission scenarios. It was possible to conclude that an air pollution abatement strategy is urgently needed and it should take into account the strong contribution of road tra$c emissions to the Lisbon air pollution levels.
Air pollution from traffic emissions in Oporto, Portugal: Health and environmental implications
Microchemical Journal, 2011
Air pollution represents a serious risk not only to environment and human health, but also to historical heritage. In this study, air pollution of the Oporto Metropolitan Area and its main impacts were characterized. The results showed that levels of CO, PM10 and SO2 have been continuously decreasing in the respective metropolitan area while levels of NOx and NO2 have not changed significantly. Traffic emissions were the main source of the determined polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs; 16 PAHs considered by U.S. EPA as priority pollutants, dibenzo[a,l]pyrene and benzo[j]fluoranthene) in air of the respective metropolitan area. The mean concentration of 18 PAHs in air was 69.9±39.7 ng m−3 with 3-4 rings PAHs accounting for 75% of the total ΣPAHs. The health risk analysis of PAHs in air showed that the estimated values of lifetime lung cancer risks considerably exceeded the health-based guideline level. Analytical results also confirm that historical monuments in urban areas act as passive repositories for air pollutants present in the surrounding atmosphere. FTIR and EDX analyses showed that gypsum was the most important constituent of black crusts of the characterized historical monument Monastery of Serra do Pilar classified as "UNESCO World Cultural Heritage". In black crusts, 4-6 rings compounds accounted approximately for 85% of ΣPAHs. The diagnostic ratios confirmed that traffic emissions were the major source of PAHs in black crusts; PAH composition profiles were very similar for crusts and PM10 and PM2.5.
Evaluation of atmospheric NO2 levels in public transport corridors
TRANSPORTES, 2021
The objective of this work is to evaluate the operational plan for public transport in NO2 concentration levels. Poor air quality affects the environment, the health of the population and the economy, which requires special attention to the issue. The transport sector is the one that most impacts on air quality in urban centres, with emphasis on heavy vehicles, which represent the majority of the public transport fleet. There are several alternatives used to improve this system, such as exclusive bus lanes, often seeking gains in operational aspects, without considering the environmental impact of the system. Thus, in this study, transport corridors were evaluated in the city of Fortaleza-CE, through the association of passive NO2 sampling and the selection of road pairs with similar physical and operational characteristics, in order to enable comparative analysis. Sampling was carried out over a year of observations, seeking to verify the influence of traffic conditions, as well as...
Effects of road traffic scenarios on human exposure to air pollution
WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, 2009
Human exposure to air pollution has been identified as a major problem due to its known impact on human health. Particulate matter is a pollutant which rises special concern due to the adverse health effects on sensitive groups of the population, such as asthmatic children. This study is part of the SaudAr research project which main objective was to assess the air quality effects on the health of a population group risk (asthmatic school children) living in an urban area (Viseu). The aim of this paper is to investigate the influence of road traffic emissions on air quality and consequently, on human exposure. For this purpose, the CFD model VADIS integrating an exposure module has been applied over the town of Viseu, for the periods of one week in winter and one week in summer, to four different situations: the reference year (2006) and three future scenarios for the year 2030, BAU, Green and Grey scenario. The differences among the scenarios include changes on the existing land use, the vehicle fleet composition, the mobility, the vehicle technologies and the fuel types. Field campaigns were performed in order to obtain information about vehicle fleet in the town of Viseu and mobility patterns. The quantification of road traffic emissions and the hourly traffic emissions patterns for all scenarios was carried out by the application of the TREM model. The results reveal an increase in PM 10 emissions, concentrations and exposure in all future scenarios, particularly in winter with an increase around 80% in the BAU and Grey scenarios and only 34% in the Green scenario.
2019
This study focuses on the impact of traffic variables; vehicular speed, traffic volume and road gradient, that have a significant impact on vehicle emissions and the corresponding quantity of air pollutants. These factors are normally addressed when devising general and detailed urban plans. Such factors are normally used to assess the adverse effects resulting from motor vehicles dominating roads and highways, including environmental hazards, such as air and noise pollution. Moreover, they identify environmental impacts of road and traffic planning. The study focuses on environmental issues that can be considered and modeled in order to be included in all generalized plans. In this study, concentrations of CO, NO, TVOCs and SO were monitored periodically at various sampling sites. The study revealed that the concentration of air pollutants showed a high correlation with traffic flow and prevailing road gradients. The concentrations of SO2, NO2, CO and TVOCs were highly correlated t...
The Current Status of Traffic Nitrogen Oxides Pollution in Cluj – Napoca
Bulletin of University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca. Agriculture, 2015
Assessing air quality in high urbanized areas and finding solution for most important pollutants (NOx, CO, SO 2 , VOC, PM, O 3 , and heavy metals emissions) remains a challenge for authorities and public in aimed areas. The harmful effects upon humans and environmental health is the reason of all concerns. Lots of studies have been developed, in this area, worldwide. Majority of these state that traffic is the most important source of air pollution in crowded cities. The aim of this study consists in establishing the status quo of NOx pollution status in Cluj-Napoca. NOx air pollution was quantified during a year period (2013), in two locations correspondent to high traffic and position of automatic air quality monitoring stations placed by The Agency of Environmental Protection Cluj. Parameters were monitored using a mobile equipment. The average values of the analyzed parameters are different function of monitoring point. We noticed statistically significant differences between monitoring points, but in all cases the average concentrations are over the maximum admitted annual limit, 30 ppb, respectively. Further research and more intense concerns are needed from both public and authorities, in order to diminish the nitrogen oxides quantity in environmental air.
Lisbon air quality: evaluating traffic hot-spots
International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 2009
This paper presents the results from air quality campaigns carried out in two Lisbon traffic hot-spots (Entrecampos roundabout and Liberdade avenue), aiming to define a more accurate and appropriate location for the referred traffic monitoring stations, which are intended to be representative of the near-kerbside environment. The campaigns were performed in spring and summer of 2004 with an air quality mobile laboratory equipped with instruments for the continuous measurement of NO X , CO and PM 10. The monitored concentrations were correlated with traffic counts and wind direction. The results indicated that the mean variation of particle and gaseous concentrations closely followed the traffic pattern. This relationship was not evident for wind direction, probably due to the multiplicity of road contributions. Comparing with the air quality legislation, the results show its fulfilment, except for PM 10 , which often exceeded the limit-value. In order to evaluate and simulate the flow and dispersion fields of air pollutants emitted by road traffic, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was applied. The simulation of wind and PM 10 dispersion fields for a 31 hours period was performed on a calculation domain centred at "Liberdade" Avenue. This domain is characterised by the presence of a group of buildings, streets and trees that result on a high geometrical complexity. Air quality data from the monitoring stations were used for the validation of the modelling results. Finally, this work stresses the importance of accounting for additional PM 10 contributions, as the non-exhaust road traffic emissions and the urban background concentrations.
Traffic pollutant emissions in Barreiro city
Air Pollution XV, 2007
Urban traffic is becoming a major problem, since most people use their own private car for all kind of trips, increasing the traffic congestion and the atmospheric pollution. The purpose of this work was to study the atmospheric pollutants dispersion in Barreiro highway (IC21), in two specific situations, a traffic lights crossroad and a roundabout. The pollutants studied were traffic related pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides (NO x ), particulate matter (PM) and CO (carbon monoxide). A traffic counting field campaign and particulate matter measurements were carried out in the light traffic crossroad and in the roundabout of the highway. Data from monitoring network stations was also collected. All this information was introduced in a dispersion model (ADMSurban), to obtain a spatial simulation of the pollutants dispersion. Vehicle number, class and speed, fuel type, time of the day and urban street canyon were the traffic related parameters used by the model. Meteorological variables, such as wind speed and direction, relative humidity, temperature and heat flux were also taken into consideration to understand pollutants behaviour. The model results show the pollutants dispersion, in IC21 highway, in two different meteorological scenarios: winter and summer. Winter seems to be the worst scenario for NOx and CO background concentrations, whereas PM tends to deposit due to rain, decreasing its concentration in this season. In summer, ozone (O 3 ) concentration increases due to the photochemical reaction with some pollutants such as NOx. Analysing PM emissions, in the specific situations of light traffic crossroad and roundabout, in IC21 highway, environmental advantages were found in the roundabout, despite its larger traffic flow, has smaller PM concentration, even though above the legal limits.
Comparison of road traffic emission models in Madrid (Spain)
2012
h i g h l i g h t s < COPERT4 v.8.1 and HBEFA v.3.1 emissions models have been applied to the Madrid city. < Total annual NO X emissions predicted by HBEFA were 21% higher than those of COPERT. < Better results in urban-scale, high-resolution NO 2 simulations with COPERT outputs. < Large discrepancies for congestion situations (stop & go) and heavy vehicles. < Strong influence of methodological issues (e.g. determination of service level).
Impact of traffic emissions on air quality in Cabo Verde
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2020
Air quality degradation due to road traffic emissions is one of the topics of major interest for the scientific community and urban planners worldwide. Cabo Verde does not have regulations for traffic emission control or air quality guidelines, although the number of road vehicles has grown steadily over the past decade. Moreover, studies focusing on the impact of road transport on air quality in this archipelago are sparse. In this study, we present a first detailed air pollutant inventory of road traffic emissions through a bottom-up methodology, along with snapshots of the state of air quality on the islands of Santiago, São Vicente, and Sal. For the year 2017, emission estimates for the main island (Santiago) are 654 tons of CO, 35 tons of PM 10 , 562 tons of NO x , and 84 tons of NMVOCs. The air quality assessment was carried out using the TAPM model for a period of 6 months from January to July 2017. The results showed that the mean concentration values for Sao Vicente, Sal, and Santiago Islands ranged between 2.0 and 18 μg m −3 for NO 2 and 3.8 and 5.6 μg m −3 for PM 10. NO 2 concentrations show an increasing trend from January to July in Santiago and Sal, and no clear trend in São Vicente Island. The simulated PM 10 concentrations showed values in the same range over the year, even though they appeared slightly higher in July than in January. It was observed that both NO 2 and PM 10 average concentrations have been consistently above healthful levels, according to air quality guidelines fixed by the WHO.