scholarly journals Evaluation of Straw Open Burning Prohibition Effect on Provincial Air Quality during October and November 2018 in Jilin Province

Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weiwei Chen ◽  
Jingwei Li ◽  
Qiuyang Bao ◽  
Zongting Gao ◽  
Tianhai Cheng ◽  
...  

Generally, the period (i.e., October and November) was seriously affected by frequent atmospheric pollution under concentrative seasonal crop residue burning and coal burning in Jilin Province, Northeast China. A strict straw open burning ban policy was implemented in Jilin Province during October and November 2018. However, the quantitative effect of straw fire control and its effect on air quality are still unclear. In this study, using multisource data, we evaluated the status of straw-burning control and its contribution to air quality improvement in late autumn and early winter (i.e., October and November) of 2018 at a provincial level. The results showed that the open burning of straw was effectively controlled in October and November 2018 by comparing farmland fire point data to those collected in 2015–2017. There were significant positive correlations among the fire points, aerosol optical depth (AOD), and ground-monitored air quality index (AQI) on a spatial scale. The concentration values of AQI, PM2.5, and PM10 were significantly lower than for the other three years of 2015, 2016, and 2017. Based on meteorological analysis, similar conditions were found in 2018 and 2017, which were worse than that in 2016. Combined with emissions, meteorological conditions, and source apportionment information, if the straw-burning control of 2018 had been performed in 2016 and 2017, the PM2.5 concentrations could have been reduced by at least 30.6%. These results suggest the necessity of straw burning control in the improvement of air quality during the period of late autumn and early winter. Nevertheless, the comprehensive impact of straw-burning control on air quality should be further evaluated for the whole post-harvest period (i.e., October to April of the following year) as the straw-burning period can be postponed in some cities. Furthermore, the establishment of a scientific and reasonable planned burning of straw is also crucial in gradually reducing atmospheric pollution and the actual operation of local governments in those areas where straw can be burned under certain conditions.

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Byung J. Kim ◽  
Michael R. Kemme ◽  
Brian K. Gullett ◽  
Ryan K. Williams ◽  
Johanna M. Aurell

Author(s):  
Ruxin Wu ◽  
Piao Hu

Central environmental protection inspections have completed their goal of full coverage of 31 provinces in China, and more than 17,000 officials have been held accountable. The media has evaluated the effectiveness of central environmental protection inspections using the notions of “instant results” and the “miracle drug of environmental governance.” Can this approach effectively promote local environmental governance? This paper takes the treatment effect of central environmental protection inspections on air pollution as an example. Using the method of regression discontinuity, central environmental protection inspections are found to have a positive effect on the air quality index (AQI), but this effect is only short term and unsustainable. Additionally, there are inter-provincial differences. Judging from the research results on sub-contaminants, the treatment effect of central environmental protection inspections on air pollution is mainly reflected in PM10, PM2.5 and CO. Under the current situation in which PM10 and PM2.5 are the main assessment indexes, this phenomenon indicates that due to the political achievements and promotion of local officials and for reasons of accountability, it is more effective for the central government to conduct specific environmental assessments through local governments than to conduct central environmental protection inspections.


2011 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 28-54
Author(s):  
Madis Arukask

Different types of folklore texts differ from each other by their function. We can distinguish between genres meant to be believed (like legend) and genres recognized in advance as fiction (fairy-tale). At the same time, textual fiction may also have served practical purposes—such as the telling of fairy-tales during the late autumn and early winter for purposes of fertility magic—as used to be the case in the Estonian folk tradition. There are folklore genres that have functioned, among other things, as an accompaniment, comment on, or support to rituals or practices being carried out—for instance, an incantation during a cure, or a lament in death-related procedures, when a person must be separated from his familiar environment. The same textual formulae fulfil different tasks in different genres, which means that they also carry a different meaning. The present paper considers some themes related to the bodily aspect of humanity in various genres of folklore, particularly in songs and laments, as well as in practices related to death and commemoration. As expected, the problems connected with the human body have in these genres undergone transformations of meaning, the understanding and interpretation of which may vary considerably. The mater­ial discussed in the article derives mainly from the Balto-Finnic and north Russian cultural area, partly from the author's own experience during his field trips.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (15) ◽  
pp. 9473-9489
Author(s):  
Rafael A. O. Nunes ◽  
Maria C. M. Alvim-Ferraz ◽  
Fernando G. Martins ◽  
Fátima Calderay-Cayetano ◽  
Vanessa Durán-Grados ◽  
...  

Abstract. Marine traffic has been identified as a relevant source of pollutants, which cause known negative effects on air quality. The Iberian Peninsula is a central point in the connection of shipping traffic between the Americas, Africa, and the rest of Europe. To estimate the effects of shipping emissions inland and around the Iberian Peninsula, the EMEP/MSC-W model was run considering and not considering shipping emissions (obtained with STEAM3). Total estimated emissions of CO, CO2, SOx, NOx, and particulate matter (subdivided into elementary carbon – EC, organic carbon – OC, sulfate, and ash) for the study domain in 2015 were respectively 49, 30 000, 360, 710, 4.5, 11, 32, and 3.3 kt yr−1. Shipping emissions increased SO2 and NO2 concentrations, especially near port areas, and also increased the O3, sulfate, and particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) concentrations over the entire Iberian Peninsula coastline (especially in the south coastal region). Shipping emissions were responsible for exceedances of WHO air quality guidelines for PM2.5 in areas far from the coastline, which confirms that shipping emissions can contribute negatively to air quality, both in coastal and inland areas.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
B. Szeląg ◽  
J. Studziński ◽  
M. Majewska

The paper analyzes the influence of meteorological conditions (air temperature, wind speed, humidity, visibility) and anthropogenic factors (population in cities and in rural areas, road length, number of vehicles, emission of dusts and gases, coal consumption in industrial plants, number of air purification devices installed in industrial plants) on the concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 dusts in the air in the region of Kielce city in Poland. Spearman correlation coefficient was used to evaluate the relationship between the mentioned independent variables and air quality indicators. The calculated values of the correlation coefficient showed statistically significant relationships between air quality and the amount of installed air purification equipment in industrial plants. A statistically significant effect of the population in rural settlement units on the increase in air concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 was also found, which proves the influence of the so-called low emission of pollutants on the air quality in the studied region. The analyses also revealed a statistically significant effect of road length on the decrease in PM2.5 and PM10 air content. This result indicates that a decrease in traffic intensity on particular road sections leads to an improvement in air quality. The analyses showed that despite the progressing anthropopression in the Kielce city region the air quality with respect to PM2.5 and PM10 content is improving. To verify the results obtained from statistical calculations, parametric models were also determined to predict PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations in the air, using the methods of Random Forests (RF), Boosted Trees (BT) and Support Vector Machines (SVM) for comparison purposes. The modelling results confirmed the conclusions that had been made based on previous statistical calculations.


Author(s):  
Xue Jin ◽  
Ussif Rashid Sumaila ◽  
Kedong Yin ◽  
Zhichao Qi

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China formally proposed an environmental interview system in May 2014, which applies pressure on local governments to fulfill their responsibility toward environmental protection by conducting face-to-face public interviews with their officials. In this paper, 48 cities that were publicly interviewed from 2014–2020 were considered the experimental group and 48 cities surrounding them were the control group. First, the dynamic panel model is applied to initially determine the effect of the policy. Then, a regression discontinuity method (Sharp RD) is used to analyze the short-term and long-term effects and compare the reasons for the differences observed among the estimates of various types of samples. Finally, a series of robustness tests were also conducted. The results show that the environmental interview system can improve air quality. However, because an emergency short-term local governance system exists at present, the governance effect is not long-term and, therefore, not sustainable. Therefore, it suggests that the government should continue to improve the environmental interview system, establish an optimal environmental protection incentive mechanism, and encourage local governments to implement environmental protection policies effectively in the long term. The results of the research are of great significance to the environmental impact assessment system of the world, especially in countries with similar economic systems, which are facing a trade-off between economic growth and environmental sustainability.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 12748
Author(s):  
Jozef Salva ◽  
Miroslav Vanek ◽  
Marián Schwarz ◽  
Milada Gajtanska ◽  
Peter Tonhauzer ◽  
...  

On-road mobile sources of emissions make important contributions to particulate matter pollution (PM2.5–PM10) in cities. The quantification of such pollution is, however, highly challenging due to the number of interacting factors that affect emissions such as vehicle category, emission standard, vehicle speed and weather conditions. The proper identification of individual sources of emission is particularly necessary for air quality management areas. In this study, we estimated exhaust and non-exhaust traffic-related PM2.5 and PM10 contributions to total ambient pollution in Banská Bystrica (Slovak republic) by simulation based on the AERMOD dispersion model. Emission rates of particular vehicle categories were obtained through vehicle population statistics, traffic data survey and emission factors from the EMEP/EEA air pollutant emission inventory guidebook. Continuous PM10 and PM2.5 data from air quality monitoring stations were analysed for the years 2019–2020 and compared with modelled concentrations. The annual concentration values of PM2.5 and PM10 in the study area reached 16.71 μg/m3 and 15.57 μg/m3, respectively. We found that modelled PM2.5 peak concentration values exceeded the WHO air quality guideline annual mean limit. Traffic-related PM2.5 and PM10 contributions to ambient pollution at the reference point located nearby to a busy traffic route were approximately 25% and 17%, respectively. The reference point located outside the main transport corridors showed an approximately 11% contribution, both for PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations. The simulations showed that PM pollution is greatly contributed to by on-road mobile sources of emissions in the study area, and especially non-exhaust emissions, which require serious attention in association with their health impacts and the selection of Banská Bystrica as an air quality management area.


Author(s):  
S. A. Nta ◽  
M. J. Ayotamuno ◽  
A. H. Igoni ◽  
R. N. Okparanma

This paper presents potential impact on health of emission from landfill site on Uyo village road, Uyo local government area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Three sampling points were assessed for particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen sulphide H2S, ammonia (NH3), total volatile organic carbon (TVOC) and hydrogen cyanide (HCN) using highly sensitive digital portable meters. The data obtained were expressed in terms of an air quality index. Air quality index indicates that the ambient air can be described as unhealthy for sensitive groups for NO2, unhealthy for SO2 and PM2.5 and moderate for CO, respectively. H2S, NH3, TVOC, HCN, PM10 were not indicated in USEPA air quality standards. It recommended that stringent and proper landfill emissions management together with appropriate burning of wastes should be considered in the study area to ease the risks associated with these pollutants on public health.


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