Vehicular Pollution Research Articles

Urban freight characteristics and externalities – A comparative study of Gothenburg (Sweden) and Delhi (India)

Background: The urban freight transportation (UFT) system is an essential facilitator for the smooth functioning of city logistics. It also contributes significantly to transportation-related issues, such as vehicular congestion, pollution, accidents, infrastructure damage and other related problems.Objectives: This study aimed to understand and compare the urban freight traffic characteristics and their impact in two cities: Gothenburg, Sweden and Delhi, India, having high socio-economic differences. The findings of this study will be helpful for practitioners and policymakers in the development and successful implementation of UFT management policies.Method: Using the cordon count (traffic data), retailers’ interviews (receivers’ data) and freight vehicle drivers’ interviews, UFT characteristics such as sector-specific contribution, trip characteristics, vehicular characteristics and negative impacts in terms of external cost to society are evaluated. This study also discusses the prediction of attracted trips in the study zone using freight trip attraction (models.Results: About 75% of the trips in Gothenburg and 92% of the trips in Delhi are made by light commercial and other small-sized vehicles. Gothenburg has formally organised sectors involved in freight vehicle movement; however, Delhi has informally organised sectors.Conclusion: The results revealed substantial differences in characteristics of freight trip operations in both the cities, compared with few similarities. Measures taken considering the specific local attributes of freight traffic and stakeholders’ requirement may lead to a sustainable transportation system in cities.

Atmospheric microplastic fallout in outdoor and indoor environments in São Paulo megacity

Plastics are widely used by society, and their degradation into millimetre fragments, called microplastics (MPs), has become a global environmental threat to ecosystems and human health. However, airborne MPs' presence and fallout fluxes from the atmosphere are poorly understood and can vary significantly by different conditions, especially in megacities of low- and middle-income countries, where high levels of vehicular air pollution, a high-density population, high plastic use, and inadequate disposal are environmental threats related to airborne MPs. In this study, we investigate the amount, chemical composition, and morphological characteristics of outdoor and indoor airborne MPs fallout in the megacity of São Paulo and assess the influence of weather and seasons on airborne MPs fallout. The results were as follows: MPs were found in all samples with an average fallout rate of 309.40 ± 214.71 MPs/m2/day in the indoor environment, and 123.20 ± 47.09 MPs/m2/day in the outdoor environment; MPs concentrations were higher in the indoor environment than the outdoor environment, with more fibres than particles; polyester fibres (100%), polyethylene (59%) and polypropylene (26%) particles were the dominant polymers indoors, while in outdoors, polyester fibres (76%) and polyethylene (67%) and polyethylene terephthalate (25%) particles were dominant. Fragment was the dominant morphology of particles found in indoor and outdoor samples (64% and 74%, respectively). Outdoor MPs fallout correlated positively with rainfall, wind velocity, and relative humidity. This evidence is the first on airborne MPs in a Latin America megacity and highlights the relevant role that this source plays in different environments.

Variation of spatio-temporal distribution of on-road vehicle emissions based on real-time RFID data

High-resolution vehicular emissions inventories are important for managing vehicular pollution and improving urban air quality. This study developed a vehicular emission inventory with high spatio-temporal resolution in the main urban area of Chongqing, based on real-time traffic data from 820 RFID detectors covering 454 roads, and the differences in spatio-temporal emission characteristics between inner and outer districts were analysed. The result showed that the daily vehicular emission intensities of CO, hydrocarbons, PM2.5, PM10, and NOx were 30.24, 3.83, 0.18, 0.20, and 8.65 kg/km per day, respectively, in the study area during 2018. The pollutants emission intensities in inner district were higher than those in outer district. Light passenger cars (LPCs) were the main contributors of all-day CO emissions in the inner and outer districts, from which the contributors of NOx emissions were different. Diesel and natural gas buses were major contributors of daytime NOx emissions in inner districts, accounting for 40.40%, but buses and heavy duty trucks (HDTs) were major contributors in outer districts. At nighttime, due to the lifting of truck restrictions and suspension of buses, HDTs become the main NOx contributor in both inner and outer districts, and its three NOx emission peak hours were found, which are different to the peak hours of total NOx emission by all vehicles. Unlike most other cities, bridges and connecting channels are always emission hotspots due to long-time traffic congestion. This knowledge will help fully understand vehicular emissions characteristics and is useful for policymakers to design precise prevention and control measures.

COVID-19 and urban rivers: Effects of lockdown period on surface water pollution and quality- A case study of the Zarjoub River, north of Iran.

Due to the spreading of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Iran, restrictions and lockdown were announced to control the infection. In order to determine the effects of the lockdown period on the status of the water quality and pollution, the concentrations of Al, As, Ba, Cr, Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn, together with Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+ and electrical conductivity (EC), were measured in the Zarjoub River, north of Iran, in both pre-lockdown and post-lockdown periods. The results indicated that water pollution and associated human health risk reduced by an average of 30% and 39%, respectively, during the lockdown period. In addition, the multi-purpose water quality index also improved by an average of 34%. However, the water salinity and alkalinity increased during the lockdown period due to the increase of municipal wastewater and the use of disinfectants. The major sources of pollution were identified as weathering, municipal wastewater, industrial and agricultural effluents, solid waste, and vehicular pollution. PCA-MLR receptor model showed that the contribution of mixed sources of weathering and municipal wastewater in water pollution increased from 23 to 50% during the lockdown period. However, the contribution of mixed sources of industrial effluents and solid wastes reduced from 64 to 45%. Likewise, the contribution of traffic-related sources exhibited a reduction from 13% in the pre-lockdown period to 5% together with agricultural effluent in the post-lockdown period. Overall, although the lockdown period resulted in positive impacts on diminishing the level of water pollution caused by industrial and vehicular contaminants, the increase of municipal waste and wastewater is a negative consequence of the lockdown period.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11356-021-18286-5.

Genetic background modulates the sensitivity of Caenorhabditis elegans to the toxic effects of vehicular air pollution.

Vehicular air pollution is an environmental toxicant that can have several health consequences, such as decreased respiratory and cardiovascular function and an increased incidence of age-related dementia and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. C. elegans has been previously shown to be a valuable animal model to study the effects of air pollution due to its tendency to respond to acute exposure to nano-sized particulate matter (nPM) produced by vehicular emissions. Specifically, nPM causes delayed development resulting in smaller animal size and induction of the SKN-1-mediated oxidative stress response. Here we show that various wild isolates demonstrate differential susceptibility to nPM, as measured by body size. Specifically, the Hawaiian isolate, CB4856, displayed the highest sensitivity, equivalent to its sensitivity to the potent oxidant paraquat. The findings described herein suggest that C. elegans may be a useful genetic tool for identifying nPM-susceptibility loci.

Quantitative Estimation of Indole-3-acetic Acid in Shoot Tips and Young Leaves of Tecoma stans and Ixora coccinea from Polluted and Control Regions

Plants are sensitive to pollution and especially air pollution can alter the physiological processes of plants affecting growth patterns. Study was carried out to determine the IAA production and response of plants exposed to vehicular emission. Two plant species namely Tecoma stans and Ixora coccinea which were exposed to roadside vehicular pollution were taken and control plants were collected from the college campus (unpolluted zone) and Estimation of IAA is carried out using Salkowski reagent, which upon reaction with IAA, yields pink color, due to AA complex formation and reduction of Fe+3. A decrease and increase in IAA concentration was observed in Tecoma stans and Ixora cocenia respectively growing in pollution zones as compared to control zones clearly demonstration air pollution stress.

Heavy Metals Phytoremediation and Its Impact on Photosynthetic Pigments and Metabolic Content in Some Plant Species Grown in the Streets of Jeddah Governorate, Saudi Arabia

In Jeddah governorate, increased industrialization, urbanization and vehicular traffic may raise levels of heavy metals in the air and soil, threatening food safety and human health. Roadside vegetation traffic barriers might be an effective way to enhance roadside air quality and reduce human exposure to vehicular pollution. This study was conducted in order to uncover the best-cultivated plant species for purifying polluted air in terms of environmental parameters. The samples for this study were obtained from several locations throughout Jeddah governorate streets. The main causes of air pollution in the study area are traffic and automobile emissions. Photosynthetic pigments, soluble sugars, soluble protein, amino acids, and proline in plant extracts were investigated in the plant species used in this study. Also, the ionic composition (K, Na Ca and Mg), as well as the heavy metals (Zn, Cr, Ni, Cd, Pb, Co and Ba) in the sampling sites, as well as roots and leaves of the collected plant samples were all assessed. Plant examination revealed that I. coccinea possessed the highest value of Chl b, soluble proteins and sugars, while T. stans exhibited the highest amount of Chl a, carotenoids and amino acids. Furthermore, the most common contaminants in all sites were Zn, Ba, and Ni, with Zn and Ba being the most actively accumulated in the leaves of the studied plants. The findings revealed that the root of C. lancifolius is a powerful phytoaccumulator of Zn, Ni, and Co. In addition, C. lancifolius, I. coccinea, Z. spina-christi, and B. spectabilis were shown to exhibit high accumulating potential of various polluting metals in their roots. Also, Zn, Ba, Ni, and Cr were the most efficiently transmitted metals to the leaves of the studied plants. Consequently, these plant species can be employed in phytoremediation approaches at contaminated sites.

Performance of BS-VI catalyst and influence of deactivation conditions on emission durability for commercial vehicle applications

On one hand, to bring down the vehicular pollution levels, the Indian government implemented BS-VI emission standards from April 2020. On the other hand, future regulatory requirements for in-use compliance of large sources like heavy-duty vehicles (HDV) are monitored using Portable Emissions Measurement Systems (PEMS). Henceforth, to meet these regulatory emissions requirements, the advancement in catalyst technologies is progressing rapidly to meet the ever-tightening control on tailpipe emissions. It is also imperative to ensure no significant catalyst performance deterioration throughout the useful emission life of the vehicle. However, for such catalyst technology, performance durability validation is important based on vehicle market and duty cycle applications. Moreover, the durability of the selected catalyst is validated for emission performance after accelerated regeneration conditions to understand the thermal stability and the sintering effect of catalyst behaviour in an engine rig. Based on this, the significance of catalyst technology selection for commercial vehicle applications as well as catalyst validations for the Indian market are discussed in this paper. Related to in-use performance, the catalyst performance behaviour after a vehicle mileage accumulation of 160,0000 km and the exhaust emissions under real-world conditions using PEMS are also conversed.

Vehicular Pollution Monitoring Using IOT

Abstract: The air quality in metropolises is demeaning as a result of a complex commerce between natural and artificial environmental conditions. With the increase in urbanization and industrialization and lack of control on emigrations and use of catalytic transformers, a great quantum of particulate and poisonous feasts is produced. The ideal of this design is to cover air pollution on roads and track vehicles which beget pollution over a specified limit. Increased use of motorcars is a serious problem that has been around for a veritably long time. This paper gives check of different systems used to cover vehicular pollution and proposes use of Internet of Effects (IoT) to address this problem. Then, combination of Poisonous Gas Detectors and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) trailing system is used to cover vehicular pollution records anytime anywhere. Keywords: loT, WS, Arduino, RFlD, Gas Sensor

A review on influence of age of vehicle and vehicle traffic on air pollution dispersion

Vehicular pollution is considered as a bigger issue especially in urban cities. Vehicular emissions contribute substantially to the air pollution with increase in pollutant levels of various organic compounds. Traffic characteristics like speed, acceleration, traffic volume and congestion patterns of vehicles have a major impact and influence on the rate of emissions. As vehicular volume and congestion increases, vehicular emission levels also increases and exposure to the pollutants causes many chronic health impacts for road users and pedestrians. This paper reviews various research articles on traffic characteristics and its high influence on the pollutant emission levels.

A GIS-Based Methodology to Determine Effect of Vehicular Pollution at Ward Level: Case Study of Jaipur City

To determine appropriate measures to reduce air pollution in any urban city, the first essential requirement is to estimate the spatial distribution of air pollution parameters in that area. In absence of air monitoring stations, alternative methods are required for the same. In the present work, a GIS-based methodology is presented to estimate the level of NO2 based on the road density of the road network of different categories of roads. Road network GIS layer and measured levels of the average value of NO2 for the year 2019 at 12 air pollution monitoring stations of Jaipur city are used to develop a large number of possible linear regression models for estimation of NO2 values based on road density values. Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and adjusted r2 values are used to evaluate and arrive at the best-fitted model. Values from the cities of Jodhpur and Kota are used to validate the model. Using this model, NO2 levels are determined at 91 wards of Jaipur city and the output is compared with the similar map derived based on interpolation of NO2 values at the 12 monitoring stations. It is concluded that the methodology developed in this study generates better estimates of NO2 at the ward levels.

Assessment of Vehicular-Induced Emissions in some Selected Areas in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria

Vehicular emission is a major environmental health problem in the world today especially in developing countries including Nigeria. This study was centered on assessing the vehicular emissions pollutants such as Carbon monoxide (CO), Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S), Formaldehyde (HCHO) and Total Volatile Organic Compound (TVOC) in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. The sampling of the CO and H2S gaseous pollutants was done using H-4S gas analyzer while JCG60 gas detector was used to measure TVOC and HCHO. The meteorological parameters were measured with HTC-1 hygrometer thermometer. AQI was calculated to determine the status of the ambient air quality of the study areas. Carbon monoxide concentration obtained from the result ranges from 3.12-16.1 ppm with location C having the highest amount of 16.1 ppm which exceeds the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) standard of 10 ppm. The calculated AQI shows that the study areas are all polluted. Continuous measurement and inventory of air pollutants should be encouraged, as this will enable the policymakers to effectively implement control measures on air pollution.

Supplementary cementitious materials in concrete and associated structural and environmental benefits: A review

Supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) are the materials which can replace certain amount of cement in concrete. In this way, they not only enhance the properties of concrete but also assist in reducing several environment-related issues. This review article presents the various SCMs that have proven beneficial in replacing cement in concrete. In this regard, the various SCMs discussed are fly ash (FA), silica fume (SF), metakaolin (MK), limestone filler, granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) and nanoparticles (NPs). Further, among the various NPs, nano-TiO2 (NT) and its addition in concrete and benefits were explained briefly. This article also highlights the NT-based photocatalytic degradation of the various contaminants of the environmental media i.e., water and air. Subsequently, the emphasis was also given on the discussion of its practical usage and then the various structures, comprising NT, built all around the world were also presented. This article concluded that more comprehensive review articles need to be published to encourage the developing nations also adopt the NT-based concrete structures. In this way, impacts associated with the various air pollution sources i.e., stubble burning, vehicular pollution etc., can be mitigated.

Wood ash amended biochar for the removal of lead, copper, zinc and cadmium from aqueous solution

Heavy metals in motorway adjoined aqueous environments have increased at an alarming rate over recent years. This increase has been primarily attributed to anthropogenic activities such as the increase of motor vehicle use. Current remediation techniques, such as balancing ponds have the potential to leave toxic residue with the associated removal costs often proving prohibitive. In this study biochar and wood ash amended biochar were evaluated as remediators of inorganic vehicular pollutants found in motorway runoff, specifically Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd. Biochar from European larch ( Larix decidua (L.) Karst.) was produced via fast pyrolysis-gasification (485–530 °C for 90 s) and amended with wood ash post pyrolysis. Pristine larch biochar (BC), larch biochar cold mixed with wood ash (WA) and larch biochar sintered with wood ash (WAS) were studied to evaluate metal immobilisation mechanisms and maximum removal capacities. This study demonstrates that the amendment of biochar with wood ash increases Pb, Cu, Zn, and Cd immobilisation by an order of magnitude compared to BC. The addition of wood ash increases pH whilst adding minerals causing precipitation. Precipitation and ion exchange dominate metal immobilisation and were not correlated to surface area. Sustainability of feedstock, low feedstock/production costs and maximum measured contaminant removal (61.5 mg/g, 38.9 mg/g, 12.1 mg/g and 10.2 mg/g for Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd respectively) indicate that wood ash amended biochar is a viable option to immobilise Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd from motorway runoff. • The addition of wood ash to biochar increased metal removal by an order of magnitude. • Immobilisation is correlated to pH. • Increased pH and the presence of minerals drive precipitation. • Precipitation and ion exchange dominate immobilisation. • Wood ash amended biochar could remove heavy metals from motorway runoff.

Citizens’ Perceptions in Relation to Transport Systems and Infrastructures: A Nationwide Study in the Dominican Republic

One of the challenges currently faced by emerging countries is to get their citizens to decide to use sustainable transport for their regular trips, in order to reduce the current vehicular pollution rates. The objective of this descriptive research is to examine the perceptions of Dominicans regarding the state of the country’s transport systems and road infrastructure. For this purpose, a nationwide survey procedure was performed. This cross-sectional research used the data retrieved from a sample of 1260 citizens aged over 18, proportional in gender, age, habitat, and province of the Dominican Republic. The results showed how Dominicans believe that, compared to other road features, pedestrian roads and public transport vehicles remain in a very poor condition. Further, citizens report to be more interested about the improvement of road infrastructures than in the implementation of any other set of measures performed to promote sustainable road mobility, including those related with alternative transport means. Finally, this study claims for the need of fostering educational, communicative and participative actions and measures aimed at increasing the value given to sustainable transportation, and the relevance of integrate potential structural and vehicular improvements with those related to human behavior in mobility.

Vehicular air pollution based on traffic density - A case study

Air pollution problems are the top environmental problems persisting. The urban transportation has drastically improved over the recent years contributing to more vehicular growth. Vehicular congestion and traffic has paved ways to increase in vehicular air pollution. This paper analyses the traffic volume data at three places in Chennai. From the study, comparing with the three locations, based on the vehicle count, among all other vehicles, motorcycles are the highest in count. The air pollutants carry significant risks for the people who live in the particular surroundings. This could be an evident that CO2 and Particulate matter are high in the cases of motor cycles when compared to the passenger cars. The centralizations of toxins near streets are all around connected to transportation, so these markers can be utilized as a pointer of density of residents and also they signify as the metropolitan toxic wastes which pollute the surroundings.

Physiological, Biochemical and Defense System Responses of Roadside Vegetation to Auto-Exhaust Pollution.

This study determined the effects of traffic pollutants on plants (Nerium oleander and Ricinus communis) growing along Faisalabad to Okara (R-1) and Okara to Lahore (R-2) roads in Pakistan. The photosynthetic pigments, photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate and total soluble proteins of roadside vegetation were significantly lower than control plants (50m away from road). The average decrease in photosynthetic rate of Nerium oleander and Ricinus communis was 33.90% and 27.94% along R-1 and 41.85% and 32.409% along R-2 road, respectively. The decreased photosynthesis in roadside flora resulted in higher water use efficiency and substomatal CO2 concentration. However, higher antioxidant activity and free amino acid contents were noted in roadside plants that might be due to their defensive response to traffic pollutants. N. oleander was more affected by traffic pollutants and R.communis showed more resistance. Thus, N. oleander could be used for biomonitoring and R.communis for phytoremediation of vehicular pollution.

Influence of vehicular emissions on metropolitan trees using chlorophyll contents

The study assessed carbon sequestration potential of the identified trees {Gmelina, Mango, Neem, Masquerade, Step and Cassia} along the five selected roadsides in Abeokuta metropolitan. Leaves of the identified trees were plucked, digested in triplicate and analysed for chlorophyll (Ch) A, B and A+B contents using UV-visible spectrophotometer. Obtained data were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics while correlation analysis for relationship between the analysed leaf Ch contents. Results indicated that leaf chlorophyll contents varied. The ranking of tree to metropolitan vehicular emission along roadsides was Neem < Gmelina < Mango < Masquerade tree. Correlation matrix analysis indicated that production of the Ch contents across the roadsides tree species was not alike and might be due to their specific reactions to vehicular emission. In conclusion, the order of Ch contents might be the tree species potential to withstand vehicular pollutants.

Mutagenicity in Tradescantia pallida as an Indicator of the Effect of Air Pollution and Human Health

The present study aims to relate the micronucleus frequency in Tradescantia pallida to environmental factors and cardiorespiratory diseases to infer the effect of air pollution. The number of hospitalizations, diseases cases, frequency of micronuclei in plants, environmental variables, altitude, and vehicle traffic in cities of Mato Grosso do Sul were evaluated due to the high flow that surrounds agribusiness. The frequency of micronuclei decreased with the increase in relative humidity, while the altitude did not influence the mutagenicity or genotoxicity of the evaluated plants. The municipalities with micronucleus frequencies above 200 had the highest number of vehicle and cardiorespiratory diseases. Biomonitoring data obtained in cities throughout the year indicate that the number of cardiorespiratory diseases was probably due to vehicular pollution, which is evidenced by the increased frequency of micronuclei in T. pallida.

Children’s exposure to vehicular pollution: Environmental injustice in Texas, USA

Distributive environmental justice research on children's exposure to vehicular pollution is underdeveloped and few empirical studies have been conducted in the US. This study seeks to address this gap by examining if socially disadvantaged children are disproportionately located in public school districts burdened by higher vehicular pollution in Texas—the second largest US state based on population size. Vehicular pollution exposure is measured using two variables: (1) an index developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency that combines traffic proximity and volume; and (2) outdoor concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a widely used proxy for traffic-related air pollution. These variables are linked to school district level data on socio-demographic characteristics of children obtained from the latest American Community Survey. Statistical analysis is based on multivariable generalized estimating equations that account for spatial clustering of school districts. Results reveal significantly greater traffic proximity and NO2 exposure in Texas school districts with higher percentages of children, after controlling for clustering, population density, and other socio-demographic factors. Districts exposed to higher levels of traffic proximity and NO2 exposure also contain significantly greater proportions of racial/ethnic minority, foreign-born, disabled, and socioeconomically vulnerable children. These findings highlight the urgent need to develop mitigation strategies for reducing vehicular pollution exposure, especially in districts with higher proportions of socially disadvantaged students that could be additionally burdened with limited resources. School districts represent a policy relevant analytic unit since school district boards can act as advocates for the environmental health of children and implement mitigation strategies for reducing pollution exposure.