Lesson 18: Air Quality and Transboundary Haze

Amy DurayEVPP 490 003April 14, 2010

Introduction

• Listed in the GEO-4 as Asia’s most pressing environmental issue.

• Due to respiratory diseases caused by urban smog, more than 3000 healthy life years are lost per million city dwellers. (curbair.org) --

Air pollution in Jinan, China – curbair.org

Types of Air Quality IssuesA. Outdoor Air Quality – What we think of as Air Quality issues

(traditionally regulated in the US – Chemical and Particulate Matter)

B. Indoor Air Quality – Special considerations for indoor air quality (toxic emissions from building materials, cooking and heating sources). Generally disproportionately affect the poor.

C. Urban Air Quality – Special considerations for urban residents. – The largest contributor to this concern is the rapidly growing inventory

of motor vehicles in urban areas, the increasing congestion of motor traffic in cities (due to lack of appropriate infrastructure), resulting in more time idling and increased emissions.

– Air circulation patterns in cities often exacerbate this problem by restricting air exchange.

Types of Air Pollutions Sources

A. Mobile Sources: Motor Transportation – Cars, Trucks, Motorbikes.

B. Stationary Sources: Industrial plants and production facilities, power generation facilities

C. Area Sources: Open Fires, waste deposits, deserts

Urban Air Pollution

Urban Air Pollution DPSIR

Urban Air Pollutions – Drivers and Pressures

Urban Air Pollution – Increased Energy Demand

Urban Air Pollution - Motorization

Pressures - PollutantsKey urban air pollutants:• Sulphur dioxide (SO2)• Nitrogen oxides (NOX)• Particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5)• Ammonia (NH3)• Carbon dioxide (CO2)• Ozone (O3) (main precursors are NOX, Carbon monoxide (CO) and Non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs))• Lead (Pb)

Pressures – Sources of Pollution

State and Trends – Urban Air Pollution

Source: Curbair.org

PM10 Concentrations in Asia – 2008

• In 2008, CAI-Asia was able to collect annual average PM10 concentrations for 230 Asian cities. Monitoring results reflects PM10 as a critical pollutant for most Asian cities.

• From these 230 cities, only two had annual average PM10 concentrations within the WHO AQG (20 μg/m3) while about 58% of these cities had annual PM10 levels exceeding even WHO Interim Target-1 (IT-1) of 70 μg/m3.

• The average of annual average PM10 concentrations of 230 cities is 89.5 μg/m3—about 4.5 times higher than WHO AQG.

State and Trends – Urban Air Pollution (PM10)Annual Particulate Matter (PM10) concentrations in 230 cities in Asia

Note: Annual PM10 concentrations range from 11 (minimum) to 375 (maximum) micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3). PM10 = Particles with aerodynamic particle diameters of 10 micrometers or less.Source: CAI-Asia Center, 2010.

SO2 Concentrations in Asia - 2008• SO2 monitoring data for 213 Asian cities show that SO2 levels are

still a problem for some Asian cities, particularly those in or are within the vicinity of industries.

• Average of annual average SO2 concentrations of 213 Asian cities is 18.7 μg/m3. – NOTE: The WHO does not prescribe an annual guideline for SO2, but

rather, prescribes a 24-hour AQG – 20 μg/m3. Based on the 2005 Global Update of AQG by WHO, an annual AQG for SO2 was not established because the 24-hr AQG is already low and achieving the 24-hr AQG ensures that the annual average SO2 concentration will even be lower.

• About 40% of the cities had annual average SO2 levels equal or lower than 10 μg/m3. However, 24% of cities’ annual average SO2 concentrations do not meet even the 24-hr WHO AQG.

State and Trends – Urban Air Pollution (SO2)Annual Sulfur dioxide (SO2) concentrations in 213 cities in Asia.

Note: Annual NO2 concentrations range from 1.9 (minimum) to 77 (maximum) micrograms per cubic meter(μg/m3).Source: CAI-Asia Center, 2010.

Trends – Urban Air Pollution

Responses• Adoption of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (short

term and long term)– Often adopt existing guidelines (WHO, US EPA, EU)– Best when tailored for location (geography, meterology, natural

susceptibility, ambient levels)– Difficulty in updating standards (Thailand and Vietnam are the

exceptions) – Thailand also only country with efforts underway to regulate PM2.5 concentrations

– Only one country with no standards: Lao PDR– China has three different standards for NAAQS

• Air Quality Monitoring and Reporting• Lead Standards and Conversion to Unleaded Gasoline

Summary of NAAQs for Asian CountriesSource: CAI-Asia

1997 Indonesian Haze Event• Logging and Plantation Conversion are the chief causes –

ENSO and Monsoon Winds contributed to the dispersal of pollution

• Peat fires are persistent – can persist for decades• Regional Response was the ASEAN Agreement on

Transboundary Haze Pollution – the first binding agreement of its kind – Indonesia has still not ratified the agreement

• Recommended Read: Seth Mydans, “Its Mood Dark as the Haze, Southeast Asia Aches” at: http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/26/world/its-mood-dark-as-the-haze-southeast-asia-aches.html?pagewanted=all

Asian Yellow Dust Events

• Origins of Loess Plateu and Gobi Desert fine sands that drift over Beijing (N. China Plain), Korea, Japan

• Responses: Reforestation: • Asian Yellow Dust Current:

http://web.kma.go.kr/eng/weather/asiandust/analysischart.jsp

• Asian Yellow Dust Monitoring: http://www.korea.amedd.army.mil/webapp/yellowSand/Default.asp

Asian Yellow Dust