Urban Environmental Health Research Articles

Landfill Emissions and their Urban Planning and Environmental Health Implications in Port Harcourt, South-South Nigeria

Este estudo teve como objetivo fornecer uma perspectiva sobre as emissões de gases de aterro e os efeitos ambientais do sistema de gestão de resíduos urbanos na cidade de Port Harcourt, na Nigéria, e seu potencial de geração de energia. Técnicas de medição da qualidade do ar em tempo real, observações de campo e modelagem de LFG foram aplicadas aos aterros da cidade de Port Harcourt, que recebem uma mistura de resíduos domésticos e perigosos de até um milhão de toneladas por ano e produzem cerca de 68 milhões de m3/ano de biogás que, adequadamente aproveitado, pode gerar mais de 11 milhões de KWh/ano de eletricidade. Também foi descoberto que as emissões de SO2 dos aterros estavam acima dos limites da USEPA (75ppb), enquanto outros gases regulamentados estavam dentro de limites aceitáveis. As partículas estavam acima dos limites aceitáveis e tendiam a aumentar até 250m de raio dos aterros, colocando sérios riscos para a saúde respiratória e cardiovascular, especialmente entre os habitantes e trabalhadores que operam a menos de 250 metros dos aterros sanitários. Com isso em mente, recomenda-se o seguinte: a) o encerramento definitivo de dois dos aterros na cidade; b) aquisição de todos os bens a menos de 300 metros do raio do centro dos aterros que estão dentro da "área de planejamento" de cada aterro e compensando adequadamente todas as propriedades assim adquiridas; e c) construção de quatro aterros devidamente projetados com capacidade total para capturar lixiviação e converter LFG em energia, através de parcerias público-privadas.

Концептуальный подход к построению базы данных информационной системы «Мониторинг концентрации выбросов загрязняющих веществ автомобильным транспортом»

The article discusses aspects of building a database of information system "Modeling of the influence of traffic flow on the emissions of polluting substances in atmospheric air of Voronezh". The database is realized with the help of technical means of dynamic information model of the territory, reflecting spatial and temporal structure, condition, and relationship between the individual elements of the simulated ecosystem. The presence of baseline information on the environmental parameters characterizing the components included in the atmospheric air, allows to provide ecologists with the results of processing of experimental data and give recommendations for elimination of emissions of polluting substances by motor automobile transport into atmosphere. The reporting database is a set of relational tables in MySQL database format, where each individual observation (measurement or setting of abundance of the pollutant in a particular sample of atmospheric air) is informationally associated with specification of location coordinates and characteristics of sampling sites (geographical aspect), as well as the date of expedition (time aspect). A generalized information model of the database consists of the following tables: information about the streets and districts of the city; the original data on the different types of transport and intensity of their movement in different parts of the city; output of pollutants: substance, mass, and concentration on certain streets and districts of the city; constant data about automotive pollutants (CH,SO,Pb, and others); other constant data, which are necessary for correct operation of the information system. The relevance of this topic is explained by increasing number of motor vehicles in the city of Voronezh and the solution to the problem of its impact on the quality of urban environment and public health.

VEIN v0.2.2: an R package for bottom-up Vehicular Emissions Inventories

Emission inventories are the quantification of pollutants from different sources. They provide important information not only for climate and weather studies, but also for urban planning and environmental health protection. We developed an open source model (named VEIN v0.2.2) that provides high resolution vehicular emissions inventories for different fields of studies. We focused on vehicular sources at street and hourly levels % they are the major source of air pollution in megacities. due to the current lack of information about these sources, mainly in developing countries. The type of emissions covered by VEIN are: exhaust (hot and cold) and evaporative considering the deterioration of the factors. VEIN also performs speciation and incorporates functions to generate and spatially allocate emissions databases. It allows users to load their own emissions factors, but it also provides emissions factors from the road transport model (Copert), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Brazilian databases. The VEIN model reads, distributes by age of use and extrapolates hourly traffic data, and estimates hourly and spatially emissions. Based on our knowledge, VEIN is the first bottom-up vehicle emissions software that allows input to the WRF-Chem model. Therefore, the VEIN model provides an important, easy and fast way of elaborating or analyzing vehicular emissions inventories, under different scenarios. The VEIN results can be used as an input for atmospheric models, health studies, air quality standardizations and decision making.

An investigation of lead in urban environment of Kolkata city, India

The lead heavy metal is an important environmental pollutant particularly in the urban areas with high anthropogenic pressure like vehicular and industrial. Its presence in the atmosphere, soil, water and biological systems even in traces can cause serious problems to all living organisms and its bio accumulation in the food chain especially can be dangerous to the human and animal health. The lead accumulation and exposure by human populations through contaminant environment and food chain has been reported widely all over the world. The lead is the well known environmental contaminants which may be deposited on the surfaces and then adsorbed into the tissues of crops and vegetables. Plants can uptake lead by absorbing them from deposits on the parts of the plants exposed to the polluted environment as well as from contaminated soil. In this study we have analyzed the lead contamination in different environmental components like water, soil, road dust, plants, vegetables and fishes in and around Kolkata metropolitan city. There are considerable amount of lead found in every environmental component and its management and remedial measures should be urgently needed for better environmental health in urban environment.

Mitigating the surface urban heat island: Mechanism study and sensitivity analysis

In a surface urban heat island (SUHI), the urban land surface temperature (LST) is usually higher than the temperature of the surrounding rural areas due to human activities and surface characteristics. Because a SUHI has many adverse impacts on urban environment and human health, SUHI mitigation strategies are very important. This paper investigates the mechanism of a SUHI based on the basic physical laws that control the formation of a SUHI; five mitigation strategies are proposed, namely: sprinkling and watering; paving a pervious surface; reducing the anthropogenic heat (AH) release; using a “white roof”; increasing the fractional vegetation cover or leaf area index (LAI). To quantify the effect of these mitigation strategies, 26 sets of experiments are designed and implemented by running the integrated urban land model (IUM). The results of the sensitivity analysis indicate that sprinkling and watering is an effective measure for mitigating a SUHI for an entire day. Decreasing the AH release is also useful for both night- and daytime SUHI mitigation; however, the cooling extent is proportional to the diurnal cycle of AH. Increasing the albedo can reduce the LST in the daytime, especially when the solar radiation is significant; the cooling extent is approximately proportional to the diurnal cycle of the net radiation. Increasing the pervious surface percentage can mitigate the SUHI especially in the daytime. Increasing the fractional vegetation cover can mitigate the SUHI in the daytime but may aggravate the SUHI at night.

Breaking the silence: housing and psychosocial health inequalities in three urban neighbourhoods of Accra, Ghana

Housing and health inequalities scholarship in Ghana, as in many developing countries, has mainly focused on the urban environmental health aspects of human settlements, and related health inequalities. Studies about housing-related psychosocial health inequalities of residents are scant. This study is a contribution to addressing this gap. It investigates the pathways between housing and the psychosocial health status of residents in three contrasting urban neighbourhoods in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. Survey and narrative inquiry research provide insights into the stark contrast in reported psychosocial health among the neighbourhoods. Differences in psychosocial health are then related to the mechanisms of differentiation in housing-market capacities; the mechanisms of differentiation in housing needs gaps, arising from discrepancies between achieved housing spaces and desired housing space needs; and the mechanisms of differentiation in coping and adjustment strategies of housing. The policy implications of the study for addressing the significant psychosocial housing distress are presented in the conclusion.

Association between perceived neighborhood environment and health of middle-aged women living in rapidly changing urban Mongolia

BackgroundThis study was conducted in rapidly urbanizing Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, to examine patterns of perceived neighborhood quality by residents and the associations between these patterns and self-reported general and mental health in middle-aged women.MethodsA questionnaire survey was administered to 960 women aged 40–60 years. Demographic and socio-economic characteristics, subjects’ perception of their neighborhood environment, general health status, and mental health as measured using a 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12) were reported.ResultsA total of 830 women completed the questionnaire. Subjects reporting their general health as very good or good accounted for 80.3% and those with a GHQ12 ≥16, which reflects psychological distress or severe distress, accounted for 16.1%. A principal component analysis of the perceptions of neighborhood environment by the residents identified six qualities: physical environment, designed environment, neighborhood community, public safety, natural environment, and citizen services. The perception of better-quality citizen services in the neighborhood was associated with better self-reported general health (odds ratio [OR] = 1.330, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.093–1.618), and the perception of better-quality public safety was associated with less psychological distress (OR = 0.718, 95% CI 0.589–0.876); these associations were independent of education, income, occupation, type of residential area, and number of years living in the current khoroo.ConclusionsThe perception of the quality of a neighborhood environment can affect the self-reported general and mental health of residents, even after accounting for the type of residential area and individual socio-economic status. Developing high-quality neighborhoods is an essential component of good planning to promote population health in urban environments.

Remembering the West End: social science, mental health and the American urban environment, 1939–1968

ABSTRACT:Analysing the urban renewal of Boston's West End during the 1950s, we examine how psychiatrists, social scientists and urban planners understood the relationship between the urban environment and mental health. For psychiatrist Erich Lindemann, the West End offered a unique opportunity to study how acute stress and loss affected populations, thus contributing to social psychiatry, which sought to prevent mental illness by addressing factors in the social and physical environment. While Lindemann's project provided a sophisticated response to the often simplistic arguments about the cities and mental health, it also highlighted the challenges of applying social psychiatric theory in practice.

The study of Influence of Polymetallic dust of Temirtau Town on Physiological Characteristics of Laboratory Animals

A comprehensive experimental study of the contaminated areas of the Temirtau town is made, the impact of dust on urban environment and public health is evaluated. Experiments were performed on laboratory animals. One of the integral indicators of the action of toxic factors was a test to determine muscular strength. The toxicological characteristics of the pollutants of the industrial town are studied.

Stormwater nutrient attenuation in a constructed wetland with alternating surface and subsurface flow pathways: Event to annual dynamics

Among different Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) options, constructed wetlands (CWs) are widely used to protect and support downstream urban waterways from stormwater nutrients. This analysis assessed the nutrient attenuation ability of a novel CW in Western Australia that combined multiple alternating surface flow (SF) and laterite-based subsurface flow (SSF) compartments within a parkland context to improve the urban landscape and amenity. The CW was designed to maximise nutrient reduction despite experiencing a large range of hydrologic conditions, from low transit time nutrient-rich pulses during the wet periods to prolonged low to zero flow conditions during the dry periods. The CW design was further complicated by the possibility of ungauged water inputs after wet antecedent conditions, seasonal macrophyte senescence and a recirculation system to maintain flow during the dry periods. From analysis of data over a range of time scales, we determined that overall the CW attenuated up to 62% total nitrogen (TN) and 99% total phosphorus (TP) loads during dry weather conditions, and 54–76% TN and 27–68% TP during episodic flow pulses. N species attenuation was dominant in the SF compartments, while P species were attenuated mostly within the SSF compartments. Nutrient accumulation in the sediments, and above and below ground biomass of the macrophytes were found to increase during the early stages of operation, suggesting the system reached equilibrium within four years. Further, by comparing trends in nutrient attenuation within the context of diel changes in high frequency oxygen data from different compartments, it was demonstrated that changes in dissolved oxygen were related to changes in nutrient concentration across the CW, although interpretation of this was complicated by changing hydro-climatological conditions. The implementation of this CW concept in a highly seasonal Mediterranean climate demonstrates that urban liveability and environmental health can both be improved through careful design.

Chemical fraction, leachability, and bioaccessibility of heavy metals in contaminated soils, Northeast China.

Heavy metals in urban soils may pose risks to both urban environment and human health. However, only a fraction of heavy metals in soil is mobile and/or bioavailable for plant uptake and human ingestion. This study evaluates the chemical fraction and potential mobility and bioaccessibility of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn) in the contaminated urban topsoils from steel-industrial city (Anshan), Northeastern China. Chemical forms of heavy metals in soils are determined using Tessier sequential extraction technique. The toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP), ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), and US Pharmacopeia methodology (USPM) are used to determine the operationally defined potentially mobile and bioaccessible metal fractions, respectively. Sequential extraction results show that Cd has the highest percentage of exchangeable form, whereas Cr primarily exists in residual form. The non-residual fraction of heavy metals increases in the order of Cr < Cu < Pb < Zn < Cd. The leachability of heavy metals evaluated by TCLP test indicates that Cd, Zn, Cu, and Pb have much higher mobile than Cr. The bioavailability of heavy metals determined by EDTA extraction decreases in the order of Pb > Cu ≅ Zn > Cd > Cr. The order of bioaccessibility determined by USPM extraction is Pb = Cu > Zn > Cd > Cr. The Cr exhibits the lowest leachability and bioaccessibility among the investigated metals. The Pb has the highest bioaccessibility, indicating higher potential hazard for the human health. There are significant relationships between the EDTA- and USPM-extractable metals (Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn) and the sum of first three steps of sequential extraction. Highly significant correlation is found between amounts of EDTA-extractable Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn and USPM-extractable metals. The result suggests that EDTA extraction can be helpful to estimate the bioaccessibility of heavy metals for human ingestion. Introduction of mobile and human bioaccessible concentrations into risk assessments can give more realistic implications for urban environmental management.

“I Feel Suffocated:” Understandings of Climate Change in an Inner City Heat Island

ABSTRACTGlobal climate change is contributing to a range of adverse environmental and weather shifts, including more intense and more frequent heatwaves and an intensification of the urban heat island effect. These changes are known to produce a set of significant and differentially distributed health problems, with a particularly high burden among poor and marginalized populations. In this article, we report findings from a qualitative study of community knowledge, attitudes, health and other concerns, and behavioral responses regarding mounting urban temperatures and related environmental health issues among Latinos living in the city of Hartford, CT in northeast United States. Findings suggest the need for enhanced participation in knowledge dissemination and preparedness planning based on the coproduction of knowledge about climate change and community responses to it. The special role of anthropology in such efforts is highlighted.

Identification of non-regulated polycyclic aromatic compounds and other markers of urban pollution in road tunnel particulate matter

A combination of silicone rubber extraction and non-target and suspect screening by gas chromatography coupled to high-resolution time-of flight mass spectrometry was used for the identification of compounds in particulate matter (PM). Tunnel PM is a proxy for local road pollution that constitutes a hazard to the urban environment and human health. The use of silicone rubber for the extraction of PM allowed the pre-concentration of a wide range of compounds for non-target analysis while minimising the effects of the sample matrix. As expected, polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) constituted the major group of compounds identified, but only 5 of 50 PACs identified were amongst those regularly monitored and many of them were alkylated or contained a heteroatom. Urban markers of contamination such as organophosphate flame-retardants, phthalates, benzothiazoles, musk compounds and a plasticiser were also identified. The level of confidence for the identifications was high based on accurate mass, the pattern of fragmentation and retention. The unequivocal identification of 16 compounds, from all groups, was confirmed by co-chromatography with standards and the compounds semi-quantified. Most of the PACs identified are not regularly monitored, and the hazards they pose are therefore unknown. Some of these PACs are known to be more persistent and mobile in the environment than the EPA PAH16.

A wireless sensor network for urban environmental health monitoring: UrbanSense

Urban areas are generators of environmental emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2), harmful air pollutants and noise, all with the potential to negatively impact the health and wellbeing of its human and non-human inhabitants. There is an urgent need to understand the characteristics of urban areas associated with variability in emissions and the potential for exposure to potential harmful environmental conditions. UrbanSense is a wireless sensor network (WSN) infrastructure designed to monitor environmental conditions at different temporal and spatial scales. The scalable infrastructure includes an extended range outdoor wireless sensing and data aggregation system, a web-based data management and visualization platform, and real-time event-based data stream integration. Sensors monitor changes in carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), noise (LAeq), as well as several meteorological conditions including wind speed and direction, temperature, relative humidity and precipitation. The implementation will provide opportunities for real-time data integration and an analysis system for environmental quality assessment, and may be realized on top of products arising from spatio-temporal (statistical) analyses and remotely-acquired data products such as satellite data. Sensor swapping and co-location with sensors from projects with different aims (traffic volume modelling and human tracking research) will add value for research in transportation planning, environmental regulation and policy and epidemiological studies focused on associations between environmental exposures and health outcomes.

The impact of impervious surfaces on ecohydrology and health in urban ecosystems of Banská Bystrica (Slovakia)

The risks of accelerated runoff and its larger amounts brought by urbanisation include increased flood flows and pollution of downstream ecosystems. One of the most significant permanent effect of urban sprawl is soil sealing, which alters natural infiltration and runoff. In addition to imperviousness, the increased runoff from sealed and compacted surfaces results in increased sedimentation of stream ecosystems with contaminants. In most urban planning strategies, water related ecosystems have already become the fundamental components of the integrated urban landscape management, but still have been referred to as objects of protection or rehabilitation; not as management tools. This paper shows how soil sealing significantly affects urban environment and urban ecosystems health. It also demonstrates significant impacts of a city on downstream ecosystems. Data obtained from orthophotomap vectorization showed that the model urban catchment is relatively highly urbanized. 45% of model area is sealed mainly with buildings (40.41%), streets (31.01%), and parking lots (25.28%). Compared to natural basins, urban runoff is 64 times higher and carries a significant amount of pollutants.

Challenges and Opportunities for Urban Environmental Health and Sustainability: the HEALTHY-POLIS initiative

Cities around the world face many environmental health challenges including contamination of air, water and soil, traffic congestion and noise, and poor housing conditions exacerbated by unsustainable urban development and climate change. Integrated assessment of these risks offers opportunities for holistic, low carbon solutions in the urban environment that can bring multiple benefits for public health. The Healthy-Polis consortium aims to protect and promote urban health through multi-disciplinary, policy-relevant research on urban environmental health and sustainability. We are doing this by promoting improved methods of health risk assessment, facilitating international collaboration, contributing to the training of research scientists and students, and engaging with key stakeholders in government, local authorities, international organisations, industry and academia. A major focus of the consortium is to promote and support international research projects coordinated between two or more countries. The disciplinary areas represented in the consortium are many and varied, including environmental epidemiology, modelling and exposure assessment, system dynamics, health impact assessment, multi-criteria decision analysis, and other quantitative and qualitative approaches. This Healthy-Polis special issue presents a range of case studies and reviews that illustrate the need for a systems-based understanding of the urban environment.

The "brown" environmental agenda and the constitutional duties of local government in South Africa: a conceptual introduction

This note explores the interrelationship between ecologically sustainable development (the green environmental agenda) and pro-poor urban development and environmental health (the brown environmental agenda) in relation to local government in South Africa. The meaning and relevance of the brown agenda versus the green agenda in environmental governance are discussed in general. This discussion subsequently feeds into the argument that South Africa's constitutional environmental right also foresees the advancement of the brown environmental agenda, which has implications for the interpretation and enforcement of local government's service delivery mandate. This link between municipal service delivery and the environmental right further informs understanding of what is required of government to fulfill this right. This paper is thus devoted to an introductory conceptual framing of South Africa's environmental right that goes beyond the green agenda. This impacts on how the constitutional duties of municipalities are interpreted and executed.

Degradation of urban environment and human health by emissions from fossil-fuel combusting electricity generators in Abeokuta metropolis, Nigeria

Electricity generators of varying capacities are popularly utilized in Nigeria as alternative source of power owing to the unreliability of electricity supply through the national grid. This study evaluated the impact of emissions from generating sets on air quality and human health in selected areas of Abeokuta city, Nigeria. The levels of particulates (PM1, PM3), carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides, nitrogen dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and methane were monitored using portable samplers. Copies of questionnaire were administered to generator operators and nearby residents so as to collect additional information. The capacities of sampled generators ranged from 1 to 25 kVA. The range of mean concentrations of PM1 (4.7–219.2 µg/m3), PM3 (7.8–251.6 µg/m3), carbon dioxide (4.5–10.9%), methane (0.0–1.2 ppm), carbon monoxide (141.1–4167.0 ppm), NOx (4.0–85.7 ppm), methane (2.3–31.0 ppm), sulphur oxides (3.5–65.6 ppm) and hydrogen sulphide (0.0–0.7 ppm) was highest at generator sites. The distance of sample sites to generator locations accounted for 14–66% variation of pollutants levels. Ailments frequently suffered by the exposed residents included nasal congestion (66%), cough (33%), headache (24%) and fever (12%). A national policy on appropriate use of electricity generator is urgently needed in Nigeria.

Strong differences in Quercus robur-associated ectomycorrhizal fungal communities along a forest-city soil sealing gradient

Abstract Ectomycorrhizal fungi (EM) that associate with tree roots in a symbiotic relationship may be crucial in mediating tree health in urban environments, but research on the effects of urbanization on EM communities is very limited so far. Here, we compared EM communities of adult pedunculate oaks ( Quercus robur ) between urban and forest environments, and assessed the effect of soil sealing around the trees on their EM community composition and EM diversity. We sampled 32 oak individuals across 4 sampling classes (Street, Lane, Park and Forest), and we characterized their EM communities using 454 amplicon pyrosequencing. The EM communities were not nested but they were significantly different between all sampling classes, with a very strong community differentiation between forest and urban trees. There were indications that EM richness declined with increasing sealed soil surface, with a significant effect of sampling class on estimated EM richness and diversity. We also identified indicator EM of the different sampling classes. The most important soil factor affecting EM community composition was pH, followed by plant available phosphorus, total nitrogen content and organic matter. Our results may have important implications when developing EM inocula for managing tree health in urban environments.

A novel land use approach for assessment of human health: The relationship between urban structure types and cardiorespiratory disease risk

Extensive evidence shows that in addition to lifestyle factors, environmental aspects are an important risk factor for human health. Numerous approaches have been used to estimate the relationship between environment and health. For example, the urban characteristics, especially the types of land use, are considered a potential proxy indicator to evaluate risk of disease. Although several studies have used land use variables to assess human health, none of them has used the concept of Urban Morphology by Urban Structure Types (USTs) as indicators of land use. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between USTs and cardiorespiratory disease risks in the Federal District, Brazil. Toward this end, we used a quantile regression model to estimate risk. We used 21 types of UST. Income and population density were used as covariates in our sensitivity analysis. Our analysis showed an association between cardiorespiratory diseases risk and 10 UST variables (1 related to rural area, 6 related to residential area, 1 recreational area, 1 public area and 1 commercial area). Our findings suggest that the conventional land use method may be missing important information about the effect of land use on human health. The use of USTs can be an approach to complement the conventional method. This should be of interest to policy makers in order to enhance public health policies and to create future strategies in terms of urban planning, land use and environmental health.