scholarly journals Probabilistic Health Risk Assessment of Vehicular Emissions as an Urban Health Indicator in Dhaka City

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (22) ◽  
pp. 6427
Author(s):  
Asif Iqbal ◽  
Shirina Afroze ◽  
Md. Mizanur Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Health Risk ◽  
Urban Health ◽  
Environmental Planning ◽  
Nox Emissions ◽  
Vehicular Emissions ◽  
Dhaka City ◽  
Health Indicator ◽  
Road Vehicles ◽  
Monte Carlo Simulation Technique ◽  
Emissions Modelling

Emissions modelling is an important tool for assessing the urban health status of any city, but often the assessments are affected by the uncertainty of the data used for the modelling. Therefore, a Monte Carlo simulation technique was used for a probabilistic emissions modelling of Dhaka City by simulating 20,000 scenarios for the highest and lowest values of traffic volume and speed profiles for each of the major road links. Only nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from on-road vehicles were considered, as vehicular sources are major contributors. Each dataset included two peak periods and an offpeak period of the day to cover the diurnal variation within each road link. Using the probability of the magnitude of emissions along with the corresponding health risk, a series of spatial urban health risk severity scenarios was generated for 2018 and 2024, suggesting that transportation and environmental planning is required for urban sustainability.

scholarly journals Healthier breath for all and everywhere – Urban air quality monitoring experience

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
J Gajic ◽  
D Dimovski ◽  
B Vukajlovic ◽  
M Jevtic
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Urban Health ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Danube River ◽  
Quality Monitoring ◽  
Air Quality Monitoring ◽  
Residential Areas

Abstract Issue/problem Increasing attention is being paid to air pollution as one of the greatest threats to public and urban health. The WHO’s Urban Health Initiative points out the importance of collecting data and mapping the present state of air quality in urban areas. For citizens, such engagement is enabled by the appearance of personal air quality measurement devices that use crowd-sourcing to make measurement results publicly accessible in real time. Description of the problem As a way of contributing to air pollution monitoring in their town, three PhD Public health students conducted over 40 measurements between the start of June and end of August 2018 on various locations in the city of Novi Sad, Serbia. Measurements were performed using AirBeam personal air quality monitoring devices and their results presented as μg/m3 of Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5) and automatically uploaded to the internet using the Air-casting app. Results Measurements conducted in public transportation vehicles returned the rather high average value of 40 μg/m3, where coffee shops and restaurants scored an even higher value of 48,67 μg/m3. The lowest average air pollution levels were registered near the Danube river bank (5.67) and in the parks (6), while the sites near crossroads or in the street showed average air pollution of 8.33 μg/m3. Residential areas where smoking is present during the day reported 2.5 times higher PM2.5 values than those without smokers (33.8 and 12.78 μg/m3). Lessons Bearing in mind that the air quality is considered as a serious health risk in urban areas, results of this pilot investigation suggest potential health risk for citizens living in urban areas. The negative effects of combustion and smoking on air quality are strongly highlighted, as well as the positive impact of green areas and parks near residential areas. Key messages Air pollution exposure as a serious health risk in urban areas. Crowdsourcing as a way of air quality monitoring has great potential for contributing to public health.

scholarly journals Sensitivity of Nitrate Aerosol Production to Vehicular Emissions in an Urban Street

Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minjoong J. Kim
Keyword(s):  
Ammonium Nitrate ◽  
Nox Emissions ◽  
Vehicular Emissions ◽  
Street Canyons ◽  
Urban Streets ◽  
Urban Street ◽  
Nitrate Production ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Computational Fluid Dynamics Cfd ◽  
Nitrate Aerosol

This study investigated the sensitivity of nitrate aerosols to vehicular emissions in urban streets using a coupled computational fluid dynamics (CFD)–chemistry model. Nitrate concentrations were highest at the street surface level following NH3 emissions from vehicles, indicating that ammonium nitrate formation occurs under NH3-limited conditions in street canyons. Sensitivity simulations revealed that the nitrate concentration has no clear relationship with the NOx emission rate, showing nitrate changes of only 2% across among 16 time differences in NOx emissions. NOx emissions show a conflicting effect on nitrate production via decreasing O3 and increasing NO2 concentrations under a volatile organic compound (VOC)-limited regime for O3 production. The sensitivity simulations also show that nitrate aerosol is proportional to vehicular VOC and NH3 emissions in the street canyon. Changes of VOC emissions affect the nitrate aerosol and HNO3 concentrations through changes in the O3 concentration under a VOC-limited regime for O3 production. Nitrate aerosol concentration is influenced by vehicular NH3 emissions, which produce ammonium nitrate effectively under an NH3-limited regime for nitrate production. This research suggests that, when vehicular emissions are dominant in winter, the control of vehicular VOC and NH3 emissions might be a more effective way to degrade PM2.5 problems than the control of NOx.

Comparing Changes in Health Risk Factors and Medical Costs over Time

2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Haynes ◽  
Tim Dunnagan
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Health Insurance ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Smoking Status ◽  
Health Indicator ◽  
Risk Status ◽  
Insurance Costs ◽  
Indicator Variables ◽  
Lower Health ◽  
Over Time

Purpose. This study was designed to examine the association between health status/behaviors and changes in these measures over time with health costs. Design. This study employed a 6-year (1993–1998) retrospective cohort design to examine the relationship between health indicator variables, health insurance costs, and utilization. The outcome variables of interest were measures of health insurance costs and utilization of health care services. Setting. Public employer located in the northeastern United States. Subjects. In all, 1940 employees were included in the study on the basis of their membership in the worksite health plan and their having complete health indicator data collected during each of the two time periods (1993–1995 and 1996–1998). Measures. The health insurance data were obtained directly from the organization's Third Party Administrator. The health indicator variables included blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass index, and smoking status. Results. At-risk employees had a greater probability of submitting health insurance claims than did no-risk employees in approximately 70% of the 18 Major Diagnostic Codes that were examined. Higher costs were associated with the at-risk classification (mean = $3237 and median = $433) over time, and lower costs (mean = $1626 and median = $49) were associated with maintaining a no-risk status over time. Conclusions. These findings support the notions that lower health risk and maintaining a no-risk status over time are associated with lower health insurance costs.

scholarly journals Exploring health risk of people living near the Secondary Transfer Stations and Landfills in Dhaka

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
H Sara ◽  
R Alam ◽  
T Hasan ◽  
Z Quayyum ◽  
D Jerin
Keyword(s):  
Health Risk ◽  
Solid Waste ◽  
Spatial Data ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Solid Waste Management ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Buffer Zone ◽  
Dhaka City ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
The People

Abstract Background Proper management of increasing solid waste is a major challenge for Dhaka city. Hence, the consequences on health are numerous and depend on the nature of the waste, individuals exposed, duration of exposure and availability of interventions for those exposed. This study seeks to identify the potential health risk associated with contamination from STSs and landfills in Dhaka city. Methods This study has adopted a multi-method approach that includes qualitative data collection and analysis of secondary spatial data. Thematic analysis was performed for analysing the qualitative data and. Spatial data were collected from the Survey of Bangladesh and analysed to show the spatial distribution of 68 STSs out of 81 STSs in Dhaka City. Results Qualitative study suggests that the leachate migration from the landfill and STSs make the surrounding environment worse and causes health sufferings to the people living near the STS or landfill along with the people directly working. Furthermore, findings from the spatial data reveal that, 12 STSs within 50-100 meters and 54 STSs within 100 meters radius of an education institute and round 75 STSs are also located within 100 meters radius of the health facilities. Numerous settlements and natural features are also located within 500 meters of buffer zone from the both landfills. Flies and mosquitoes are breeding at a greater pace in and around the landfills where high quantities of solid waste are being dumped. Again, waterlogging is very common due to the dumping of waste which in turn is causing the spread of dengue and other water borne diseases in the surrounding area. Conclusions Poor management and incautious allocation of the STSs and landfills have adverse effects on the people's health residing nearby. Managing waste in the landfill and STS with a proper manner, and engaging more manpower with adequate safety equipment could be a great help to reduce the health sufferings of the people living nearby. Key messages Improper solid waste management practice effects on the health of people residing near the STSs and landfills. To manage the waste of the STSs and landfills in an efficient way and not cause daily nuisance to the nearby residents.

scholarly journals Mapping the Finer-Scale Carcinogenic Risk of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Urban Soil—A Case Study of Shenzhen City, China

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (18) ◽  
pp. 6735
Author(s):  
Dongxiang Chen ◽  
Han Zhao ◽  
Jun Zhao ◽  
Zhenci Xu ◽  
Shaohua Wu
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Urban Health ◽  
Carcinogenic Risk ◽  
Location Based Service ◽  
Shenzhen City ◽  
Polycyclic Aromatic ◽  
Pollutant Distribution

The high-precision mapping of urban health risk is a difficult problem due to the high heterogeneity of the urban environment. In this paper, the spatial distribution characteristics of the Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) content in the urban soil of Shenzhen City were analyzed through a field investigation. We propose an approach for improving the accuracy and spatial resolution of PAH carcinogenic risk assessment by integrating the pollutant distribution and Location Based Service (LBS) data. The results showed that the concentration of PAHs in the high-density urban area was 271.67 ng g−1, which was 27.2% higher than that in the green area. Although the average carcinogenic risk of PAHs in the surface soil of Shenzhen city was less than 10−6, the maximum carcinogenic risk at some sample sites exceeded 10−6, which indicates a potential health risk. The LBS data were effective for high-precision mapping of the population distribution. According to the combination relationship between the risk threshold of pollutants and the population density, four types of risk zones were proposed. Among them, 6.9% of the areas had a high-risk and high population density and 15.8% of the areas were high-risk with a low population density. These two kinds of zones were the critical areas for controlling risk. The fine-scale risk mapping approach for determining the carcinogenic risk of soil PAHs integrating pollutant distribution and location based service data was demonstrated to be a useful tool for explicit spatial risk management. This tool could provide spatial insights and decision support for urban health-risk management and pollution prevention.

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