The individual and combined impact of environmental taxes in Chile - A flexible computable general equilibrium analysis.

Many studies simulate carbon taxes with computable general equilibrium (CGE) models, but there is scarce evidence about how other environmental taxes implemented simultaneously reinforce or lessen the impacts. This study aims to determine the individual and combined effect of taxes on CO2 and other local air pollutants (SO2, NOX, and PM) currently applied in Chile. A flexible CGE model is used to sensitize the results, allowing two nested production structures to be compared. Both nested production structures include a high disaggregation of the energy sector that considers different fossil fuels and renewable energies. The results show that environmental taxes reduce between 5.4% and 6.9% of net CO2 equivalent emissions in the most realistic scenarios. In addition, the carbon tax explains 84%-85% of the drop in net CO2 equivalent emissions, 81%-82% of the reduction in fossil energy consumption, 76%-78% of the decline in GDP, and generates co-benefits by reducing local air pollutants. The tax on PM emissions is the second more relevant to reduce net CO2 equivalent emissions, while taxes on SO2 and NOX emissions have marginal effects. By comparing the impacts of both structures to previous studies based on microdata, it is concluded that the KL-EM provides the best results.

Changes in air pollution due to COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020: Limited effect on NO2, PM2.5, and PM10 annual means compared to the new WHO Air Quality Guidelines.

Background: Lockdowns have been fundamental to decreasing disease transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic even after vaccines were available. We aimed to evaluate and compare changes in air quality during the first year of the pandemic in different cities around the world, investigate how these changes correlate with changes in mobility, and analyse how lockdowns affected air pollutants' annual means. Methods: We compared the concentrations of NO2, PM2.5, and PM10 in 42 cities around the world in the first months of the pandemic in 2020 to data from 2016-2019 and correlated them with changes in mobility using Human Development Indexes (HDIs). Cities with the highest decreases in air pollutants during this period were evaluated for the whole year 2020. We calculated the annual means for these cities and compared them to the new World Health Organization (WHO) Air Quality Guidelines. A Student's t-test (95% confidence interval) was used to evaluate significant changes. Results: Highest decreases in NO2, PM2.5, and PM10 were between -50 and -70%. Cities evaluated for the whole year 2020 generally showed a recovery in air pollution levels after the initial months of the pandemic, except for London. These changes positively correlated with year-long mobility indexes for NO2 and PM2.5 for some cities. The highest reductions in air pollutants' annual means were from -20 to -35%. In general, decreases were higher for NO2, compared to PM2.5 and PM10. All analysed cities showed annual means incompliant with the new WHO Air Quality Guidelines for NO2 of 10 µg/m3, with values 1.7 and 4.3 times higher. For PM2.5, all cities showed values 1.3 to 7.6 times higher than the WHO Guidelines of 5 µg/m3, except for New Delhi, with a value 18 times higher. For PM10, only New York complied with the new guidelines of 15 µg/m3 and all the other cities were 1.1 to 4.2 times higher, except for New Delhi, which was 11 times higher. Conclusions: These data show that even during a pandemic that highly affected mobility and economic activities and decreased air pollution around the world, complying with the new WHO Guidelines will demand a global strategical effort in the way we generate energy, move in and around the cities, and manufacture products.

The Effect of Urban Green Spaces on Reduction of Particulate Matter Concentration.

In an urban scenario, one of the air pollutants most harmful to human health and environmental is the particulate matter (PM). Considering that urban green areas can contribute to mitigating the effects of PM, this work compares the concentration of PM2.5 in two closer locations in Rio de Janeiro, in order to verify how vegetation cover can actually improve air quality. One is the entrance to the Rebouças Tunnel (RT) and the other is the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden (RJBG). For this purpose, PM2.5 samples were taken from September 2017 to March 2018 using a Large Volume Sampler (LVS). The results reveal that RT has a higher concentration of PM2.5 in almost all samples. The RJBG obtains concentrations around 33% less than the other area, suggesting that the presence of urban green areas like the RJBG can reduce PM2.5 levels when compared to places with less vegetation cover, providing better air quality.

Urban road greenbelt configuration: The perspective of PM2.5 removal and air quality regulation.

The establishment of the road green belt (RGB) is an effective means to reduce particle matter (PM2.5) emissions from road traffic. This study tested the ability of 23 common tree species in Shenzhen to reduce PM2.5 concentrations using field investigations and wind tunnel tests. The association between leaf microstructure and individual reduction ability was also analyzed. Finally, the impact of three RGB configurations (i.e., arbor, shrub, arbor + shrub) on road PM2.5 dispersion and deposition was simulated using the ENVI-met three-dimensional aerodynamic model, based on which an optimal RGB configuration was proposed. There were three key findings of the tests. First, the wind speed was the main factor affecting the PM2.5 concentration (54.2%), followed by vehicle flow (27.7%), temperature (14.2%), and time factor (7.6%). Second, the range of dry deposition velocity (Vd) was 0.04-6.4 m/s, and the dominant dust-retaining plant species were the evergreen trees, Ficus microcarpa and Ficus altissima, and the evergreen shrubs, Codiaeum variegatum and Fagraea ceilanica. A higher proportion of grooves or larger stomata would increase the probability that the blade would capture PM2.5. Third, the shrub RGB demonstrated the best performance in terms of pollutant dispersion; its PM2.5 concentration at the respiratory height (RH, 1.5 m) on the pedestrian crossing was 15-20% lower than the other RGB configurations. In terms of pollutant deposition, the arbor + shrub composite RGB was two-fold better than the other RGB configurations. Moreover, it was more advantageous to plant shrub RGBs in street canyons to achieve a balance between the lowest concentration and the largest deposition of PM2.5 pollutants. The findings of this study will facilitate the RGB configurations with good dust retention ability.

Effectiveness of Gas and Chimney Biomass Stoves for Reducing Household Air Pollution Pregnancy Exposure in Guatemala: Sociodemographic Effect Modifiers.

Household air pollution (HAP) due to solid fuel use during pregnancy is associated with adverse birth outcomes. The real-life effectiveness of clean cooking interventions has been disappointing overall yet variable, but the sociodemographic determinants are not well described. We measured personal 24-h PM2.5 (particulate matter <2.5 µm in aerodynamic diameter) thrice in pregnant women (n = 218) gravimetrically with Teflon filter, impactor, and personal pump setups. To estimate the effectiveness of owning chimney and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stoves (i.e., proportion of PM2.5 exposure that would be prevented) and to predict subject-specific typical exposures, we used linear mixed-effects models with log (PM2.5) as dependent variable and random intercept for subject. Median (IQR) personal PM2.5 in µg/m3 was 148 (90-249) for open fire, 78 (51-125) for chimney stove, and 55 (34-79) for LPG stoves. Adjusted effectiveness of LPG stoves was greater in women with ≥6 years of education (49% (95% CI: 34, 60)) versus <6 years (26% (95% CI: 5, 42)). In contrast, chimney stove adjusted effectiveness was greater in women with <6 years of education (50% (95% CI: 38, 60)), rural residence (46% (95% CI: 34, 55)) and lowest SES (socio-economic status) quartile (59% (95% CI: 45, 70)) than ≥6 years education (16% (95% CI: 22, 43)), urban (23% (95% CI: -164, 42)) and highest SES quartile (-44% (95% CI: -183, 27)), respectively. A minority of LPG stove owners (12%) and no chimney owner had typical exposure below World Health Organization Air Quality guidelines (35 µg/m3). Although having a cleaner stove alone typically does not lower exposure enough to protect health, understanding sociodemographic determinants of effectiveness may lead to better targeting, implementation, and adoption of interventions.

Assessment of the Reduction in Vehicles Emissions by Implementing Inspection and Maintenance Programs.

To improve air quality in urban centers, vehicle Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) programs were created to identify highly polluting vehicles and force them to undergo mechanical maintenance. In this context, a methodology, based on a single measurement campaign using a Remote Sensing Device (RSD), is presented in this work to assess the reduction in vehicles emissions obtained from implementing I/M programs. As a case study, an RSD campaign was carried out in Mexico, specifically in Monterrey's Metropolitan Area (MMA). Approximately 0.4% of the vehicles registered in this region were sampled under similar conditions to those found in I/M programs. The results obtained suggested that 39% of the vehicles would not comply with the current national regulations for circulating vehicles. Following a conservative scenario, the implementation of a vehicle I/M program in this urban center has the potential of reducing the current mass emissions of HC, CO and NO in approximately 69%, 42% and 28%, respectively.

Flow distribution and jet behavior analysis of fabric filter's pulse-jet cleaning.

Particulate Matter (PM) pollution is an alarming environmental problem and one of the most used PM control devices in industry is fabric filter, with a pulse-jet cleaning system. A better understanding of the flow behavior of such pulse-jets is essential to improve cleaning efficiency and diminish dust emissions. Therefore, the present study aims to analyze the flow patterns of the cleaning pulse of an industrial-scale bag filter, with high-pressure and low-pressure systems, using transient three-dimensional CFD simulations. The results show that the center bags in a row take slightly higher shares of air volume and the larger part of it is due to secondary flow. The simulations also give insights into the degree of centralization of the jets: misalignment is progressively reduced along the purge tube, being less pronounced in the high-pressure than in the low-pressure system. Although the mass flow is higher in the high-pressure system, the distribution of the flow among the bags is relatively uniform and similar for both systems.Implications: This work shows, through simulations, that the behaviour of the air pulse during the cleaning is not uniform. There is a variation of the pulse along the duct, due to the movement of the wave that is formed. Besides wave intensity and pressure, the position and shape of the cleaning nozzle also affects the air pulse.

Development of a prototype anti-pollution filter for volatile anesthetics.

INTRODUCTION: The use of volatile agents during cardiopulmonary bypass allows a "single drug anesthesia" and is associated with reduced peak postoperative troponin levels. Connecting the exhaust systems to the oxygenator's gas outlet port is mandatory and allows to prevent operating room (but not atmospheric) pollution by volatile agents. The aim of this study was to create a prototype filter for volatile agents and to test its adsorption efficacy during an ex-vivo simulated conventional cardiopulmonary bypass test. METHODS: We carried out bench tests to conceive a prototype filter that could prevent room and environment pollution without damaging membrane oxygenators. We performed the tests at the Engineering Center for Circulatory Assistance Laboratory, Dante Pazzanese Institute of Cardiology, São Paulo, Brazil. Bench tests included simulation of integral adsorption tests, filter dimensions and design, flow versus pressure curve, sizing, and tightness. RESULTS: Calgon AT 410 was the best kind of activated charcoal granules for adsorption of sevoflurane, isoflurane, and desflurane. Filter dimension tests showed that a chamber of 30-cm width over 10-cm diameter filled with 200 g of the Calgon AT410 granules was the minimum required to fully adsorb sevoflurane for 90 min. Adsorption tests showed that the prototype filter fully adsorbed isoflurane in 100 ± 2.3 min, sevoflurane in 95 ± 3.4 min, and desflurane in 95 ± 4.3 min. CONCLUSION: The new version of our prototype filter adsorbed most of the volatile anesthetics agents during an ex-vivo simulated conventional cardiopulmonary bypass test.

Optimization of the environmental performance of food diets in Peru combining linear programming and life cycle methods.

The improvement of diets from a nutritional and health perspective has been a critical policy objective in developing nations for the past few decades. However, the current stress that human populations are exerting on the planet has made it important to assess diets using environmental indicators, such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Therefore, the main objective of the current study was to propose a methodology in which Life Cycle Assessment results linked to dietary patterns in Peru were combined with nutritional and economic data to optimize diets. For this, a linear programming model was built in which the environmental, nutritional and economic information on a set of 25 dietary patterns in Peru were optimized in order to achieve the environmentally best-performing diet that complies with economic and nutritional standards. The result of the proposed linear program allowed understanding the amount of each individual food product that should be consumed in each city that satisfies all the restrictions included in the model in order to attain the lowest GHG emissions possible. Results demonstrated that GHG reductions in food diets can be attained through optimization. For instance, in the case of Lima the obtained reduction was 6%, lowering the annual per capita footprint linked to food diets to 690 kg CO2eq, as compared to the current value of 736 kg CO2eq. From an economic perspective, results show that there are important disparities between cities in terms of increasing or decreasing prices of the market basket. Considering that in most areas of the country food purchase accounts for approximately 50% of household expenditure, it is plausible to assume that food choice is a main carrier to achieve GHG emission mitigations. In this context, the method constitutes a useful tool for policy-makers to push forward joint regulations to improve health-related issues linked to the food diet and food choice together with recommendations to lower the climatic impact of diets.

Air Pollution and Health - A Science-Policy Initiative.

Air pollution is a major, preventable and manageable threat to people's health, well-being and the fulfillment of sustainable development. Air pollution is estimated to contribute to at least 5 million premature deaths each year across the world. No one remains unaffected by dirty air, but the adverse impacts of air pollution fall most heavily upon vulnerable populations, such as children, women, and people living in poverty - groups to whom States have special obligations under international human rights law. The National Academies of Sciences and Medicine of South Africa, Brazil, Germany and the United States of America are calling upon government leaders, business and citizens to take urgent action on reducing air pollution throughout the world - to the benefit of human health and well-being, to the benefit of the environment and as a condition towards sustainable development. Air pollution is a cross-cutting aspect of many UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Effect of soil tillage and N fertilization on N2O mitigation in maize in the Brazilian Cerrado.

The management system of soils and nitrogen application can cause impacts on the N2O emissions produced by the agricultural sector. In the establishment of practices of greenhouse gas mitigation for this sector, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of soil tillage, with and without N fertilization, on N2O emissions from Oxisols under rainfed maize in the Brazilian Cerrado region. The managements were of monoculture maize under conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT), with (1) and without (0) application of N fertilizer (0 and 257 kg N ha-1). From November 2014 to October 2015, gas emissions were measured. The soil and climate variables were measured and related to the N2O fluxes. In the N-fertilized treatments, N2O fluxes were higher (P < 0.01), ranging from -21 µg m-2 h-1 to 548 µg m-2 h-1 N2O under conventional tillage and from -21 µg m-2 h-1 to 380 µg m-2 h-1 N2O under no-tillage, compared with -6 to 93 µg m-2 h-1 N2O from systems without N application. There was a combined effect of mineral N and water-filled pore space for most N2O fluxes. The emission factors of N2O during maize cultivation were lower than the standard factor (1%) established by the International Panel of Climate Change. During the plant crop cycle, 30% less N2O was emitted from the N-fertilized no-tillage than from the conventional tillage. For the total cumulative N2O (crop cycle + fallow), the N2O emissions from NT1 and CT1 were not different, but 10× higher than those from the respective crops without N fertilization. To the emissions per unit of grain yield, CT1 and NT1 emitted 769 and 391 mg N2O kg-1 grain produced, respectively, and NT1 was most efficient in fertilizer-into-product conversion. Under maize cultivation, the soil acted as N2O source, regardless of the management.

Analysis of PM2.5 concentrations under pollutant emission control strategies in the metropolitan area of São Paulo, Brazil.

Great efforts have been made over the years to assess the effectiveness of air pollution controls in place in the metropolitan area of São Paulo (MASP), Brazil. In this work, the community multiscale air quality (CMAQ) model was used to evaluate the efficacy of emission control strategies in MASP, considering the spatial and temporal variability of fine particle concentration. Seven different emission scenarios were modeled to assess the relationship between the emission of precursors and ambient aerosol concentration, including a baseline emission inventory, and six sensitivity scenarios with emission reductions in relation to the baseline inventory: a 50% reduction in SO2 emissions; no SO2 emissions; a 50% reduction in SO2, NOx, and NH3 emissions; no sulfate (PSO4) particle emissions; no PSO4 and nitrate (PNO3) particle emissions; and no PNO3 emissions. Results show that ambient PM2.5 behavior is not linearly dependent on the emission of precursors. Variation levels in PM2.5 concentrations did not correspond to the reduction ratios applied to precursor emissions, mainly due to the contribution of organic and elemental carbon, and other secondary organic aerosol species. Reductions in SO2 emissions are less likely to be effective at reducing PM2.5 concentrations at the expected rate in many locations of the MASP. The largest reduction in ambient PM2.5 was obtained with the scenario that considered a reduction in 50% of SO2, NOx, and NH3 emissions (1 to 2 µg/m3 on average). It highlights the importance of considering the role of secondary organic aerosols and black carbon in the design of effective policies for ambient PM2.5 concentration control.

Informe especial: Contaminación del aire: CABA 2010-2018 / Special report: Air pollution: CABA 2010-2018

informe realizado por los equipos de trabajo que pertenecen a Salud Ambiental, Agencia de Protección Ambiental y Gerencia Operativa de Epidemiología, del Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. En el presente informe se analizan una serie de indicadores que permiten observar los valores de contaminantes criterio: Material Particulado en suspensión menor a 10 micrones (PM 10), Monóxido de Carbono (CO) y Dióxido de Nitrógeno (NO2), registrados en las estaciones de Monitoreo de Calidad del Aire que posee la Ciudad (La Boca, Parque Centenario y Córdoba), las cuales registran las concentraciones de estos contaminantes en forma continua (durante 24 horas, los 365 días del año), mediante métodos homologados internacionalmente. El periodo registrado abarca los años 2010 hasta el año 2018 completo. (AU)

Assessing the inter-annual variability of separation distances around odour sources to protect the residents from odour annoyance.

In recent years, there has been a growing concern about potential impacts on public health and wellbeing due to exposure to environmental odour. Separation distances between odour-emitting sources and residential areas can be calculated using dispersion models, as a means of protecting the neighbourhood from odour annoyance. This study investigates the suitability of using one single year of meteorological input data to calculate reliable direction-dependent separation distances. Accordingly, we assessed and quantified the inter-annual variability of separation distances at two sites with different meteorological conditions, one in Brazil and the other in Austria. A 5-year dataset of hourly meteorological observations was used for each site. Two odour impact criteria set in current regulations were selected to explore their effect on the separation distances. The coefficient of variation was used as a statistical measure to characterise the amount of annual variation. Overall, for all scenarios, the separation distances had a low degree of inter-annual variability (mean coefficient of variation values from 8% to 21%). Reasonable agreements from year to year were therefore observed at the two sites under investigation, showing that one year of meteorological data is a good compromise to achieve reliable accuracy. This finding can provide a more cost-effective solution to calculate separation distances in the vicinity of odour sources.

Influence of phytase enzyme on ruminal biogas production and fermentative digestion towards reducing environmental contamination.

Environmental impact of livestock production has received a considerable public scrutiny because of the adverse effects of nutrient run-offs, primarily N and P, from agricultural land harboring intensive energy livestock operations. Hence, this study was designed to determine the efficacy of dietary phytase supplementation on fermentation of a sorghum grain-based total mixed ration (TMR) using a ruminal in vitro digestion approach. Phytase was supplemented at three doses: 0 (control), 540 (P540), and 720 (P720) g/t dry matter, equivalent to 0, 2.7 × 106, and 3.6 × 106 CFU/t DM, respectively. Compared to P720 and the control, gas production was higher for P540 after 12 h (P = 0.02) and 24 h (P = 0.03) of fermentation suggesting a higher microbial activity in response to phytase supplementation at lower phytase levels. Correspondingly, dry matter degradability was found to have improved in P540 and P720 compared to the control by 13 and 11% after 24 h of incubation (P = 0.05). For ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), a tendency towards lower values was only observed for P540 at 24 h of fermentation (P = 0.07), while minimal treatment effects were observed at other fermentation times. The concentrations of total volatile fatty acids (VFA) were higher (P < 0.05) after 48 h of fermentation for P540 and P720 compared to the control (P = 0.03) by 10% and 14%, respectively. Ruminal acetate tended towards higher values in the presence of phytase after 12 h of fermentation (P = 0.10), but towards lower values after 24 h of fermentation (P = 0.02), irrespective of the phytase dose applied. A trend towards lower ruminal propionate levels was observed in the presence of phytase after 6 h (P = 0.10) and 12 h (P = 0.06) of fermentation, while no effects were found at other fermentation times. In conclusion, phytase supplementation has the potential to improve metabolic energy activity of rumen microorganisms and the use of feed constituents. Thus, phytase supplementation could help to reduce environmental contamination in areas of ruminant production.

Health benefits and control costs of tightening particulate matter emissions standards for coal power plants - The case of Northeast Brazil.

Exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) caused an estimated 4.2 million deaths worldwide in 2015. However, PM emission standards for power plants vary widely. To explore if the current levels of these standards are sufficiently stringent in a simple cost-benefit framework, we compared the health benefits (avoided monetized health costs) with the control costs of tightening PM emission standards for coal-fired power plants in Northeast (NE) Brazil, where ambient PM concentrations are below World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. We considered three Brazilian PM10 (PMx refers to PM with a diameter under x micrometers) emission standards and a stricter U.S. EPA standard for recent power plants. Our integrated methodology simulates hourly electricity grid dispatch from utility-scale power plants, disperses the resulting PM2.5, and estimates selected human health impacts from PM2.5 exposure using the latest integrated exposure-response model. Since the emissions inventories required to model secondary PM are not available in our study area, we modeled only primary PM so our benefit estimates are conservative. We found that tightening existing PM10 emission standards yields health benefits that are over 60 times greater than emissions control costs in all the scenarios we considered. The monetary value of avoided hospital admissions alone is at least four times as large as the corresponding control costs. These results provide strong arguments for considering tightening PM emission standards for coal-fired power plants worldwide, including in regions that meet WHO guidelines and in developing countries.