Similar articles

Abstract: This paper deals with a mortality-weighted synthetic evaluation (MWSE) method for evaluating urban air risk. Sulphur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen oxide (NO_x), and particulate matter (PM₁₀) were used as pollution indices. The urban area of Hangzhou, China is divided into 756 grid cells, with a resolution of 1 km×1 km, and is evaluated using the MWSE and the air quality index (AQI), a widely-used method to evaluate ambient air quality and air risk. In an evaluation of one day in April 2004, the surface areas categorized as levels I and III, as defined by the integrated air risk evaluation, were 27.3% and 3.3% lower, respectively, than grades I and III defined by the AQI evaluation. Meanwhile, the areas classified as level II or above level III by the integrated air risk evaluation were 55.1% and 101.1% higher, respectively, than grade II or above grade III when using the AQI evaluation. From this comparison, we find that the MWSE method is more sensitive than the AQI method. The AQI method uses a single index to assess integrated air quality and is therefore unable to evaluate integrated air risks due to multiple pollutants. The MWSE method overcomes this problem, providing improved accuracy in air risk assessment.

[1]Abbey, D.E., Mills, P.K., Petersen, F.F., Beeson, W.L., 1991. Long-term ambient concentrations of total suspended particulates and oxidants as related to incidence of chronic disease in Californian Seventh-Day Adventists. Environmental Health Perspectives, 94:43-50.

[2]Aunan, K., Pan, X.C., 2004. Exposure-response functions for health effects of ambient air pollution applicable for China—a meta-analysis. Science of the Total Environment, 329(1-3):3-16.

[3]Dai, H.X., Song, W.M., Gao, X., Chen, L.M., Hu, M., 2004. Study on relationship between ambient PM₁₀, PM_2.5 pollution and daily mortality in a district in Shanghai. Journal of Hygiene Research, 33(3):293-296 (in Chinese).

[4]Dockery, D.W., Pope, C.A., Xu, X., Spengler, J.D., Ware, J.H., Fay, M.E., Ferris, B.G.Jr., Speizer, F.E., 1993. An association between air pollution and mortality in six U.S. cities. New England Journal of Medicine, 329(24):1753-1759.

[5]Dong, J.W., Xu, X.P., Chen, Y.D., Dockery, D.W., Jiang, J.Y., 1995. Research on the relationship between air pollution and daily mortality in Beijing urban residents in 1990-1991. Journal of Hygiene Research, 24(4):212-214 (in Chinese).

[6]EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), 2003. Air Quality Index: a Guide to Air Quality and Your Health. Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Research Triangle Park, USA.

[7]Gao, J., Xu, X.P., Chen, Y.D., Dockery, D.W., Long, D.H., Liu, H.X., Jiang, J.Y., 1993. Relationship between air pollution and mortality in Dongcheng and Xicheng districts, Beijing. Chinese Journal of Preventive Medicine, 27(6):340-343 (in Chinese).

[8]Jin, D.F., Fang, S.Y., Jin, H.Y., 2005. The change of cause eliminated mortality of persons lived in Hangzhou during 50 years. Zhejiang Journal of Preventive Medicine, 17(5):17-18 (in Chinese).

[9]Jin, L.B., Qing, Y., Xu, Z.L., Wang, S.F., Ren, Z.X., Ren, L., Li, J.P., Sha, F., Chen, B.H., Kjellstrom, 1999. Association between air pollution and mortality in Benxi, China. Chinese Public Health, 5(3):211-212 (in Chinese).

[10]Kan, H.D., Chen, B.H., 2003. A case-crossover analysis of air pollution and daily mortality in Shanghai. Journal of Occupational Health, 45(2):119-124.

[11]Kan, H.D., Chen, B.H., 2004. Particulate air pollution in urban areas of Shanghai, China: health-based economic assessment. Science of the Total Environment, 322(1-3):71-79.

[12]Katsouyanni, K., Touloumi, G., Samoli, E., Gryparis, A., Tertre, A.L., Monopolis, Y., Rossi, G., Zmirou, D., Ballester, F., Boumghar, A., et al., 2001. Confounding and effect modification in the short-term effects of ambient particles on total mortality: results from 29 European cities within the APHEA-2 project. Epidemiology, 12(5):521-531.

[13]Kyle, A.D., Woodruff, T.J., Buffler, P.A., Davis, D.L., 2002. Use of an index to reflect the aggregate burden of long-term exposure to criteria air pollutants in the United States. Environmental Health Perspectives, 110(Supp 1):95-102.

[14]Kyrkilis, G., Chaloulakou, A., Kassomenos, P.A., 2007. Development of an aggregate Air Quality Index for an urban Mediterranean agglomeration: Relation to potential health effects. Environment International, 33(5):670-676.

[15]Liu, K.F., Yu, C.W., 2009. Integrating case-based and fuzzy reasoning to qualitatively predict risk in an environmental impact assessment review. Environmental Modelling & Software, 24(10):1241-1251.

[16]Nagendra, S.M.S., Venugopal, K., Jones, S.L., 2007. Assessment of air quality near traffic intersections in Bangalore city using air quality indices. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 12(3):167-176.

[17]NEPB (National Environmental Protection Bureau of China), 1996. Ambient Air Quality Standard, China. Available from http://www.envir.gov.cn/law/airql.htm [Accessed on June 21, 2011]

[18]Pope, C.A., Thun, M.J., Namboodiri, M.M., Dockery, D.W., Evans, J.S., Speizer, F.E., Heath, CW.Jr., 1995. Particulate air pollution as a predictor of mortality in a prospective study of U.S. adults. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 151(3):669-674.

[19]Samoli, E., Analitis, A., Touloumi, G., Schwartz, J., Anderson, H.R., Sunyer, J., Bisanti, L., Zmirou, D., Vonk, J.M., Pekkanen, J., et al., 2005. Estimating the exposure-response relationships between particulate matter and mortality within the APHEA multicity project. Environmental Health Perspectives, 113(1):88-96.

[20]Schwartz, J., Laden, F., Zanobetti, A., 2002. The concentration-response relation between PM2.5 and daily deaths. Environmental Health Perspectives, 110(10):1025-1029.

[21]Wang, Q., Liu, Y., Pan, X., 2008. Atmosphere pollutants and mortality rate of respiratory diseases in Beijing. Science of the Total Environment, 391(1):143-148. [doi:10.1016/j. scitotenv.2007.10.058]

[22]Wei, Y.M., Tian, W.L., Zheng, Y.Y., Zhang, Q.Y., Jiang, L., Wu, Z.C., 2011a. Modelling of urban ambient N, N-dimethylformamide concentrations in a small-scale synthetic leather industrial zone. Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE A (Applied Physics and Engineering), 12(5):374-389.

[23]Wei, Y.M., Tian, W.L., Zhang, Q.Y., Zheng, Y.Y., Yang, Y.K., Wu, Z.C., Zhe, Q., Zhou, L., Fang, S.M., 2011b. Evaluating population exposure to N, N-dimethylformamide in a small industrial area accounting for population movement. Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE A (Applied Physics and Engineering), in Press.

[24]Xu, W.G., Tian, W.L., Zhang, Q.Y., 2006. Study on modification and application of grey relation analysis model in evaluation of atmospheric environmental quality. Environmental Monitoring in China, 22(3):63-66 (in Chinese).

[25]Xu, W.G., Zhang, Q.Y., Chen, Y.X., 2008. Modeling and application for atmospheric quality evaluation based on grey clustering modified method. Journal of Harbin Institute of Technology, 40(6):989-992 (in Chinese).

[26]Xu, X.P., Gao, J., Dockery, D.W., Chen, Y.D., 1994. Air pollution and daily mortality in residential areas of Beijing, China. Archives of Environmental Health, 49(4):216-222.

[27]Xu, Z.Y., Yu, D.G., Jing, L.B., Xu, X.P., 2000. Air pollution and daily mortality in Shenyang, China. Archives of Environmental Health, 55(2):115-120.

[28]Zhang, M.S., Song, Y., Cai, X.H., 2007a. A health-based assessment of particulate air pollution in urban areas of Beijing in 2000–2004. Science of the Total Environment, 376(1-3):100-108. [doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2007.01.085]

[29]Zhang, Q.Y., Wei, Y.M., Chen, Y.X., Guo, H., 2007b. Environmental damage costs from fossil electricity generation in China, 2000~2003. Journal of Zhejiang University SCIENCE A, 8(11):1816-1825.

[30]Zhang, Q.Y., Wei, Y.M., Tian, W.L., Yang, K.M., 2008a. GIS-based emission inventories of urban scale: A case study of Hangzhou, China. Atmospheric Environment, 42(20):5150-5165.

[31]Zhang, Q.Y., Xu, J.F., Wang, G., Tian, W.L., Jiang, H., 2008b. Vehicle emission inventories projection based on dynamic emission factors: A case study of Hangzhou, China. Atmospheric Environment, 42(20):4989-5002.