Abstract
In the period of 2005 to 2016, multiple air pollution control regulations have entered into effect in the United States at both the Federal and state level. In addition, economic changes have also occurred primarily in the electricity generation sector that substantially changed the emissions from this sector. This combination of policy implementations and economics has led to substantial reductions in PM2.5, its major constituents, and source specific PM2.5 concentrations across the New York State, particularly those of sulfate, nitrate, and primary organic carbon. However, secondary organic carbon and spark-ignition vehicular emission contributions have increased. Related studies of changes in health outcomes, the excess rates of emergency department visits and hospitalizations for a variety of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and respiratory infections have increased per unit mass of PM2.5. It appears that the increased toxicity per unit mass was due to the reduction in low toxicity constituents such that the remaining mass had greater impacts on public health.
Highlights
Air pollution and its environmental response have been a major stimulus for the study of urban air chemistry
In addition to the direct regulatory pressures on electricity generating units (EGUs) emissions of SO2 and NOx, there were the resolutions of a series of suits by the U.S government against power companies who had made significant changes to the production facilities, such as U.S vs. American Electric Power [25], which required the addition of emission controls on many old EGUs
There appear to be some unintended consequences of the shift in light-duty engine technology from port-fuel injection (PFI) to gasoline-direct inject (GDI) engines when coupled with the reformulation of gasoline to reduce its benzene content
Summary
Air pollution and its environmental response have been a major stimulus for the study of urban air chemistry. Additional policies have been implemented in the period of 2005 to 2016 that have specified an improvement in liquid fuel quality, increase fuel economy for light-duty, spark-ignition vehicles, controls on emissions from heavy-duty diesel vehicles and non-road vehicles, and reductions in emissions from electricity generating units (EGUs), coal-fired power plants. During this same period, there have been significant economic drivers that have resulted in a substantial change in fuel use in EGUs because of the low cost of fracked natural gas
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