Air Pollution Damage Research Articles

Air Pollution Damages from Offshore Energy Production

This analysis uses an integrated assessment model to link emissions from offshore oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico to impacts in the continental U.S. The analysis employs emission and production data for rigs located in the Gulf of Mexico to estimate the air pollution damages for the years 2000, 2005, and 2008. For platforms in the western Gulf of Mexico, extraction yields damage due to air pollution that average between $0.31 and $0.75 per unit of oil extracted. For platforms in the central Gulf of Mexico, damage due to air pollution averages between $0.26 and $0.57 per unit of oil extracted. The distribution of marginal social costs is right-skewed; the paper finds that in 2008 115 platforms produce damages in excess of $12.80 per barrel of oil. Optimal management of the air pollution emissions from platforms in the Gulf must recognize this spatial heterogeneity in damages.

Conifer epicuticular wax as a biomarker of air pollution: an overview

Epicuticular wax covering the conifer tree species surface has been used, mainly in conifers, as a biomarker of air pollution damage. Using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) various alterations in wax structure and chemistry caused by natural and anthropogenic factors have been noticed. SEM enables to evaluate wax deterioration at a very early stage, before visible symptoms occur. Symptoms of wax injury are, in general, not specific to the air pollutant type. Most common alterations in wax were the following: an undeveloped structure, various type of wax tubes fusion or erosion (deformed and disfunctioned stomatal complexes, a decrease in wax tube distribution, increased enrichment of completely amorphous stage), shifted annual wax erosion rate, chemical and needle wettability changes. To use SEM as an accurate tool for evaluating wax alteration, it is essential to distinguish air pollution and natural factors from artefacts caused by inappropriate usage of technique.

Book Reviews

Art Fraas, Randall Lutter of Resources for the Future reviews, “Using Marginal Damages in Environmental Policy: A Study of Air Pollution in the United States” by Nicholas Z. Muller and Robert Mendelsohn. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Considers the opportunity to improve its air pollution regulatory regime in the United States by reforming its current regulations to be more economically efficient. Discusses the theory of environmental regulation; air quality modeling; modeling air pollution impacts; calculating the marginal damages of air pollution; statistical uncertainty; a case study of efficient pollution control—sulfur dioxide emissions from coal-fired electric power generators; setting regulatory priorities using net marginal damages; the gross external damages from air pollution in the United States; the gross external damages from air pollution by sector; and green accounting, including air pollution damages in national accounts. Muller is Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics and the Environmental Studies Program at Middlebury College. Mendelsohn is Edwin Weyerhaeuser Davis Professor at Yale University.”

A multi-criteria decision support methodology for implementing truck operation strategies

This study proposes a multi-criteria decision support methodology to enable the prioritization of potential alternative transportation system operations strategies and then demonstrates the effectiveness of the methodology using a case study involving truck operations. The primary feature of this methodology is its ability to help policymakers consider economic, public, and private sector standpoints simultaneously. The economic criterion is cost to the public sector where four criteria related to truck impacts on the transportation system are incorporated. These are traffic congestion, safety hazards, air pollution, and pavement damage. In addition, reliability and productivity are regarded as metrics representing the private sector viewpoint since they can significantly affect profitability. The methodology combines qualitative and quantitative aspects of these standpoints. In order to demonstrate the applicability of this methodology, a corridor with some of the highest truck traffic in the US is selected as a case study and three forms of left lane restrictions for trucks are considered. For qualitative analysis, survey data were collected from two groups classified as public agency and transportation industry professionals who are experts in trucking. In addition, a micro traffic simulation model was used to produce various performance measurements that can describe quantitative impacts. As a result, the methodology provides a rational argument for prioritizing potential alternative truck strategies.

Health damages from air pollution in China

This study evaluates air pollution-related health impacts on the Chinese economy by using an expanded version of the Emissions Prediction and Policy Analysis model. We estimated that marginal welfare impact to the Chinese economy of ozone and particulate-matter concentrations above background levels increased from 1997 US$22 billion in 1975 to 1997 US$112 billion in 2005, despite improvements in overall air quality. This increase is a result of the growing urban population and rising wages that thus increased the value of lost labor and leisure. In relative terms, however, welfare losses from air pollution decreased from 14% of the historical welfare level to 5% during the same period because the total size of the economy grew much faster than the absolute air pollution damages. In addition, we estimated that particulate-matter pollution alone led to a gross domestic product loss of 1997 US$64 billion in 1995. Given that the World Bank's comparable estimate drawn from a static approach was only 1997 US$34 billion, this result suggests that conventional static methods neglecting the cumulative impact of pollution-caused welfare damage are likely to underestimate pollution-health costs substantially. However, our analysis of uncertainty involved in exposure–response functions suggests that our central estimates are susceptible to significantly large error bars of around ±80%.

Economical Effects of Using Subway in the Reduction of Fuel Consumption

Abstract .Transportations one of the important indexes of air pollution in cities has always occurred in the form of a big Unavoidable problem. Lack of comprehensive approach and enough (Sufficient) attention toward transportation and traffic issues have unsparing social, economical and environmental costs and damages in the country which the most important of them are: high fuel consumption and growth of the fatal and injury crashes, air pollution and environmental damages. Among the public transportation networks, railway public transit is known as the healthiest, fastest, safest and generally the most efficient transportation network which is proved the undeniable role in solving economic, social and environmental problems caused by public transport and traffic problems. Considering the political and economic centrality of Tehran as capital of Islamic Republic of Iran with an increasing population of over 10 million people, and the construction of satellite cities, and conducting population to these cities, it is important to construct several connecting subway lines for these satellite cities. This paper focuses on economic problems via comparing underground subway as public vehicle with motor vehicle.

Environmental Accounting for Pollution in the United States Economy

This study presents a framework to include environmental externalities into a system of national accounts. The paper estimates the air pollution damages for each industry in the United States. An integrated-assessment model quantifies the marginal damages of air pollution emissions for the US which are multiplied times the quantity of emissions by industry to compute gross damages. Solid waste combustion, sewage treatment, stone quarrying, marinas, and oil and coal-fired power plants have air pollution damages larger than their value added. The largest industrial contributor to external costs is coal-fired electric generation, whose damages range from 0.8 to 5.6 times value added. (JEL E01, L94, Q53, Q56)

Linking Policy to Statistical Uncertainty in Air Pollution Damages

Abstract This study uses Monte Carlo analysis to characterize the uncertainty associated with per-ton damage estimates for 565 electric generating units (EGUs) in the contiguous United States (U.S.) This analysis focuses on damage estimates produced by an Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) for emissions of five local air pollutants: sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), ammonia (NH3), and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). For each power plant and pollutant, the Monte Carlo procedure yields an empirical distribution for the damage per ton, or marginal damage. The paper links uncertainty in marginal damages to air pollution policy in two ways. First, the paper characterizes uncertainty in the magnitude of the marginal damages which is relevant to policymakers in determining the stringency of pollution controls. Second, the paper explores uncertainty in the relative damages across power plants. Relative damages are important if policymakers elect to design efficient regulations that vary in stringency according to where emissions are released. The empirical section of the paper finds that the marginal damage distributions are positively skewed and they are more variable for sources in urban areas than rural locations. The paper finds that uncertainty in three input parameters has the greatest impact on uncertainty in the magnitude of damages: the adult mortality dose-response parameter, the mortality valuation parameter, and air quality modeling. The analysis also finds that for each pollutant except for NOx only uncertainty in air quality modeling impacts efficient trading ratios calibrated to each firm's marginal damages.

Ambient air pollution exposure and damage to male gametes: human studies and in situ ‘sentinel’ animal experiments

Globally there is concern that adverse reproductive outcomes and fertility impairment in humans may be caused by exposure to environmental contaminants. Air pollution in particular has been linked to DNA damage, abnormal sperm morphology, and reduced sperm performance in men. Experimental studies using model species (mice and rats) exposed in situ provide evidence that ambient air pollution can cause damage to the respiratory system and other tissues or organs. This can take the form of DNA damage and other genetic changes throughout the body, including induced mutations, DNA strand breaks, and altered methylation patterns in male germ cells. Human and animal studies together provide strong evidence that air pollution, especially airborne particulate matter, at commonly occurring ambient levels is genotoxic to male germ cells. The mechanistic link between air pollution exposure and induced genetic changes in male germ cells is currently unclear. ‘Sentinel’ animal experiments explicitly examining air pollution affects on sperm quality in laboratory rodents have not been conducted and would provide a critical link to observations in humans. The importance of air pollution compared to other factors affecting fertility and reproductive outcomes in humans is not clear and warrants further investigation.

Economic damages of ozone air pollution to crops using combined air quality and GIS modelling

This study aims at presenting a combined air quality and GIS modelling methodological approach in order to estimate crop damages from photochemical air pollution, depict their spatial resolution and assess the order of magnitude regarding the corresponding economic damages. The analysis is conducted within the Greater Thessaloniki Area, Greece, a Mediterranean territory which is characterised by high levels of photochemical air pollution and considerable agricultural activity. Ozone concentration fields for 2002 and for specific emission reduction scenarios for the year 2010 were estimated with the Ozone Fine Structure model in the area under consideration. Total economic damage to crops turns out to be significant and estimated to be approximately 43 M€ for the reference year. Production of cotton presents the highest economic loss, which is over 16 M€, followed by table tomato (9 M€), rice (4.2 M€), wheat (4 M€) and oilseed rape (2.8 M€) cultivations. Losses are not spread uniformly among farmers and the major losses occur in areas with valuable ozone-sensitive crops. The results are very useful for highlighting the magnitude of the total economic impacts of photochemical air pollution to the area’s agricultural sector and can potentially be used for comparison with studies worldwide. Furthermore, spatial analysis of the economic damage could be of importance for governmental authorities and decision makers since it provides an indicative insight, especially if the economic instruments such as financial incentives or state subsidies to farmers are considered.

Societal Life-Cycle Buy-Down Cost of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles

Societal life-cycle cost is employed for evaluating hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) as compared with conventional gasoline vehicles. This metric includes consumer direct economic costs over the vehicle lifetime and external costs resulting from air pollution, noise, oil use, and greenhouse gas emissions over the full fuel cycle and vehicle lifetime. Noncost social transfers such as taxes and fees and producer surplus associated with fuel and the vehicle are also considered. Two different accounting stances are explored for estimating producer surplus for fuels: U.S. and global perspectives. Three different scenarios developed by the U.S. Department of Energy for hydrogen and FCV market penetration from 2010 to 2025 are analyzed. FCV costs are estimated by using a learning curve model characterized by three factors for key fuel cell stack components and auxiliary subsystems. The delivered hydrogen fuel cost is from the University of California, Davis, SSCHISM hydrogen supply pathway model. External costs are estimated by using the advanced vehicle cost and energy use model and the life-cycle emissions model (LEM). Upstream air pollution damage cost is estimated with the LEM and a simple normalized dispersion term method. The results show that FCVs become competitive with gasoline vehicles as their production volume increases, although the cost difference between these two vehicle types is initially very large. The cumulative investments needed to bring hydrogen FCVs down to societal life-cycle cost parity with gasoline vehicles (the buy-down cost) would be on the order of U.S.$10 billion, which depends on future gasoline prices and valuation of externalities.

Efficient Pollution Regulation: Getting the Prices Right

This paper argues for efficient environmental regulations that equate the marginal damage of pollution to marginal abatement costs across space. The paper estimates the source-specific marginal damages of air pollution and calculates the welfare gain from making the current sulfur dioxide allowance trading program for power plants more efficient. The savings from using trading ratios based on marginal damages are between $310 and $940 million per year. The potential savings from setting aggregate emissions efficiently and from including more sources of air pollution are many times higher. (JEL H23, Q53, Q58)

Hidden environment and health costs of energy

The hidden costs of energy production and use in the United States amounted to an estimated $120 billion in 2005, according to a 19 October report by the U.S. National Research Council. The report, “Hidden Costs of Energy: Unpriced Consequences of Energy Production and Use,” examines hidden costs, including the cost of air pollution damage to human health, which are not reflected in market prices of energy sources, electricity, or gasoline.

Review: Clearing the Air: The Health and Economic Damages of Air Pollution in China

Review: Clearing the Air: The Health and Economic Damages of Air Pollution in China Mun S. Ho and Chris P. Nielsen (Eds.) Ho, Mun S. and Nielsen, Chris P. (Eds.). Clearing the Air: The Health and Economic Damages of Air Pollution in China. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2007. 392 pp. ISBN 9780262083584. US$50.00, cloth. Clearing the Air represents the fruits of a Sino-American joint research project on the assessment of air pollution and its health and economic risks in China today. This project draws on the latest Chinese government surveys to examine the regional variations of pollutant emissions and concentrations, the health damages of human exposure to air pollution, and the economic evaluations of health impacts. The major strength of this work lies in its bottom-up approach that investigates the health risks of human exposure to air pollutants at the regional level. Data drawn from the sector-by-sector assessment of pollutant emissions and the cost-benefit analysis of various pollution control policies provide valuable guidance for national, regional, and local decision-making processes. The other strength of this work lies in its rich quantitative data. The extensive tables, figures, diagrams, and charts in each chapter and the appendices provide useful information for further study. This book consists of ten chapters and is largely written for different audiences. The well-written introduction and the summaries of research findings in chapters 1 to 4 provide lay readers, non-specialists and students with a broader understanding of the subject matter. The highly specialized case studies from chapter 5 to chapter 10 and the quantitative data in the appendices appeal to environmental specialists, policy makers, and public health researchers. Conceptually there are several findings worthy of attention. First, because of China’s heavy dependence on coal for energy supply, a sector-by-sector analysis of pollutant emissions reveals that the electric power sector constitutes the largest source of health damages of air pollution in China, followed by the cement industry, motor vehicles, and so forth. This data enables the Chinese policy makers to prioritize and implement effective pollution control policies in order to deal with the specific sources of health damages. Second, the regional variations of pollutant emissions and concentrations are essential for an accurate benefit-cost analysis of pollution control. For example, a national policy that targets the electric power sector across the country may raise the price of electricity and cause hardships to the poor households in small townships and rural areas. Therefore, the policy makers need to gather more regional and local data of air pollution for developing environment protection policies beneficial to people in a specific area. Third, the social and economic benefits of pollution control are estimated to exceed the costs of public health damages, especially if the Chinese government can use the market mechanism to tackle the problem. One suggestion is to implement a green tax policy targeted at the major polluters. This proposal is believed to be capable of generating new revenues for the government in their efforts to resolve the regional and local sources of pollution. In short, this book informs public policy debates and contributes to an interdisciplinary discussion of the problem of air pollution in China. It is timely and insightful, and should be of interest to scholars, journalists, policy makers, and students concerned about environment protection and public health issues in China today. Joseph Tse-Hei Lee , Professor, Department of History, Pace University, 1 Pace Plaza, New York, NY 10038, USA. TEL: (212)346-1827.

Current possibilities of using Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) in forest regeneration in the air-polluted region of the northeastern Krušné hory Mts.

The paper analyses possibilities of repeated use of Norway spruce (<I>Picea abies</I> [L.] Karst.) in the regeneration of existing Norway spruce stands, in the regeneration of large-area clearcuts, and in the reconstruction of the stands of substitute tree species (European white birch [<I>Betula verrucosa</I> Ehrh.]) after a change in the emission situation in the northeastern Krušné hory Mts., comparing the prosperity of these plantations with plantations in the unpolluted Bohemian-Moravian Upland. The survey included 26 research plots aged 1–12 years, situated predominantly on acidic sites in Forest Altitudinal Vegetation Zones (FAVZ) 6 and 7 in the northeastern Krušné hory Mts. (air pollution damage zones A and B) and 6 control plots aged 4–11 years on acidic sites of FAVZ 6 in the Bohemian-Moravian Upland (air pollution damage zone C). Total number of parameters and traits assessed in each tree was up to 14. Research results indicate that the current pollution and climatic situation in the Krušné hory Mts. allow a switch to the classical spruce management system of higher elevations. The best method of regeneration is seen in small-size regeneration elements – clearcuts of up to 1 ha. The spruce can also be used on large-area clearcuts, but it suffers from a long transplanting shock and frost injuries there. All plantations must be protected against game damage.

Pigment‐based Identification of Ozone‐Damaged Pine Needles as a Basis for Spectral Segregation of Needle Conditions

Air pollution affects large areas of forest, and field assessment of these effects is a costly, site-specific process. This paper establishes a biochemical basis for identifying ozone-damaged pine trees to facilitate efficient remote sensing assessment of air pollution damage. Several thousand live needles were collected from ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and Jeffrey pine (P. jeffreyi) trees at three sites in Plumas National Forest and Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park. These needles were assembled into 504 samples (based on the abaxial surface) and grouped according to five dominant needle conditions (green, winter fleck, sucking insect damage, scale insect damage, and ozone damage) and a random mixture of needles. Pigment concentrations per unit needle area of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and total carotenoids were measured. The following pigment concentration ratios were calculated for all samples: chlorophyll a/total carotenoids, chlorophyll b/total carotenoids, total chlorophyll/carotenoids, chlorophyll a/chlorophyll b. The group of ozone-damaged needles had significantly lower mean pigment concentrations (family-wise p < 0.01) and significantly lower mean chlorophyll a/total carotenoid and total chlorophyll/total carotenoid ratios (family-wise p < 0.01) than all other groups of needles. Ozone-damaged needles had a significantly lower mean chlorophyll a/chlorophyll b ratio than all other groups except one (family-wise p < 0.01). Linear discriminant analysis with three factors (chlorophyll a concentration, the chlorophyll a/carotenoid ratio, and the chlorophyll a/chlorophyll b ratio) and subsequent maximum likelihood classification of damaged and non-damaged needles gave an overall cross-validated accuracy of 96%. These ozone-damaged needles are biochemically unique in relation to other needle conditions in this study, and further research is needed to generalize these results.

European beech ( Fagus sylvatica L.) and silver fir ( Abies alba Mill.) rotation in the Carpathians—A developmental cycle or a linear trend induced by man?

A detailed historical survey was made to assess the impact of humans on fir–beech forests in the northern Carpathians. Research findings are compared with results from repeated tree layer measurements in eight of the most well-preserved reserves of fir–beech stands in the region. Documentary evidence is provided showing that the historical and contemporary spontaneous development of fir–beech stands throughout the northern Carpathians is identical. The replacement of beech by fir occurred predominantly in the period from the 15–18th centuries, primarily due to grazing and litter raking. Starting in the 19th century, fir was replaced predominantly by beech under the influence of changing social conditions, since the dieback of the “grazing” fir generation had not yet been completed. Air pollution damage and other factors in the fir dieback were only secondary accelerating phenomena. These changes of tree species cannot be interpreted as the natural rotation of two beech generations within the life cycle of one fir generation, as has been the previous explanation. The development is rather a linear trend induced by man, which has occurred simultaneously throughout the northern Carpathians. The current dynamics of spontaneous development are affected by the high stock of hoofed game and by the absence or reduced numbers of predators.

Clearing the Air: The Health and Economic Damages of Air Pollution in China. Mun S. Ho , Chris P. Nielsen

Previous articleNext article No AccessReviewsClearing the Air: The Health and Economic Damages of Air Pollution in China. Mun S. Ho , Chris P. Nielsen Xuehong WangXuehong Wang Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The China Journal Volume 60Jul., 2008 Published on behalf of the Australian Centre on China in the World at the Australian National University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/tcj.60.20648017 Views: 18Total views on this site Copyright The China JournalPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Current use of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) for artificial regeneration of forests in the air-polluted areas

The paper deals with the use of European beech in the reconstruction of substitute species stands and in the regeneration of existing spruce stands in the air-polluted region of the north-eastern Krušné hory Mts. (air-pollution damage zones A, B, forest altitudinal vegetation zones 6 and 7, acidophilic sites). Twenty stand situations were analyzed during the study. The study objective was to compare the growth of European beech plantations in the Krušné hory Mts. with the growth of plantations of the same age in similar sites in the unpolluted region of the Bohemian-Moravian Upland (air-pollution damage zones C, D, forest altitudinal vegetation zone 6, acidophilic site). Each plant was assessed for eight growth and visually classified parameters and traits. Results of the survey showed that in the existing air-pollution and climatic situation, it is possible to switch to normal (shelterwood) beech management of higher elevations in the north-eastern Krušné hory Mts. The stands of substitute species and the current stands of Norway spruce may effectively eliminate injuries caused by late frost.

Clearing the Air: the health and economic damages of air pollution in China ‐ Edited by Mun S. Ho and Chris P. Nielsen

<i>Clearing the Air: the health and economic damages of air pollution in China</i> ‐ Edited by Mun S. Ho and Chris P. Nielsen