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Levels of two major air pollutants have been reduced significantly since lockdowns began in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but a secondary pollutant—ground-level ozone—has increased in China, according to new research. Ozone is harmful to humans at ground-level, causing pulmonary and heart disease.
In a statement released this morning, President Barack Obama said he has requested that US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson withdraw the agency’s draft Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) rulemaking. Earlier post.) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
In China, people breathe ozone-laden air two to six times more often than people in the United States, Europe, Japan, or South Korea, according to a new international study published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters. 2017 for one ozone metric. The inset shows ozone trends in Beijing (red) and Los Angeles (blue).
Ozone levels across much of North America and Europe dropped significantly between 2000 and 2014. People living in parts of southern Europe, South Korea and southern Japan and China also experienced more than 15 days a year of ozone levels above 70 ppb. Source: University of Leicester. Click to enlarge.
Exposure to ozone, long associated with impaired lung function, is also connected to health changes that can cause cardiovascular disease such as heart attack, high blood pressure and stroke, according to a new study of Chinese adults. The findings associated ozone exposure with markers of platelet activation and increased blood pressure.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing new, stronger standards to promote clean air and reduce pollution from heavy-duty vehicles and engines starting in model year (MY) 2027. In 2045, the proposed Option 1 would result in total annual monetized ozone- and PM 2.5
Ozone, the main component of smog, is a plant-damaging pollutant formed by emissions from vehicles, cooking stoves and other sources. New research shows that ozonepollution damaged millions of tons of wheat, rice, soybean and cotton crops in India in 2005. Smog in India. Credit: Mark Danielson/Flickr.
As levels of ozone and fine particulate pollution (PM 2.5 ) rise, more patients end up in the ER with breathing problems, according to the largest US study of air pollution and respiratory emergency room visits of patients of all ages. In “Age-specific Associations of Ozone and PM 2.5 among children, 5.1%
US EPA Region 9 8-hour ozone trends, 1979-2000. These State Implementation Plans (SIPs) are the roadmaps to meeting the 1997 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) of 0.08 parts per million (ppm) by 2024. Source: EPA. Click to enlarge. In 2008, the 8-hour standard was lowered to 0.075 ppm. Earlier post.).
About 4 million children worldwide develop asthma each year because of inhaling nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) air pollution, according to an open-access study published in The Lancet Planetary Health by researchers at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH). —Susan Anenberg.
Researchers from Rice University and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report in a paper in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry that particularly in Northeastern cities, ozone levels dropped even beyond what was anticipated by cutting emissions of NO x from 2002 to 2006. —Daniel Cohan, co-author. Earlier post.).
The two combine in the atmosphere to make either nitric acid or peroxynitrous acid; the so-called branching ratio of these two chemicals is important in models of ozone production. has fully characterized a key chemical reaction that affects the formation of pollutants in smoggy air in urban areas. Credit: Caltech/Mitchio Okumura.
Extraordinarily cold temperatures in the stratosphere during the winter of 2010/2011 caused the most massive destruction of the ozone layer above the Arctic so far, according to a study by climate researchers at KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology). These chemical conversion products attack the ozone layer and destroy it partly.
The Asian monsoon circulation provides an effective pathway for pollution from Asia, India, and Indonesia to enter the global stratosphere, according to a new international study led by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo. NCAR scientist William Randel, the lead author.
The rapidly growing space industry may have a greater climate effect than the aviation industry and undo repair to the protective ozone layer if left unregulated, according to a new study led by UCL and published in the journal Earth’s Future as an open-access paper. The space industry is one of the world’s fastest growing sectors.
The California Air Resources Board today approved a statewide plan for attaining the federal health-based standard for ozone, typically experienced as smog. The 2022 State Implementation Plan Strategy identifies the state’s control strategy for meeting the federal 70 parts per billion, 8-hour ozone standard over the next 15 years.
Illustration of projected ozone changes in the South Coast region due to climate change in 2050. Areas in orange and red could see ozone concentrations elevated by 9 to 18 parts per billion. Our study reveals that climate change and regional air pollution are intertwined problems. Click to enlarge.
The approximate linear relationship for each region is notable, suggesting that the dependence of urban NO 2 pollution upon population follows a power law scaling with population. Even though larger cities are typically more energy efficient with lower per-capita emissions, more people still translates to more pollution.)
The results, published in an open-access paper in the journal Science , suggest that the focus of efforts to mitigate ozone formation and toxic chemical burdens need to be adjusted, the authors suggested. Even so, lotions, paints and other products contribute about as much to air pollution as does the transportation sector.
A new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) warns that the health of Europe’s most vulnerable citizens remains disproportionately affected by environmental hazards such as air and noise pollution and extreme temperatures, especially in Europe’s eastern and southern regions, despite overall improvements in Europe’s environmental quality.
The coordinated package of regulations will reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and ozone- and smog-causing pollutants from new passenger cars, trucks, and SUVs starting in model year 2026.
The FY 2011-2012 plan focused primarily on five areas of interest: sustainable communities; behavior and technology adoption; health and air pollution exposures; air pollution science; and greenhouse gas targets. These regulations have led to considerable improvements in air quality throughout California.
The first peer-reviewed study to directly quantify how emissions from oil and natural gas (O&NG) activities influence summertime tropospheric ozone (O 3 ) pollution in the Colorado Front Range confirms that chemical vapors from oil and gas activities are a significant contributor to the region’s chronic ozone problem.
The California Air Resources Board (ARB) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are collaborating in the $20-million CalNex research project to examine the nexus between air pollution and climate change. The complex roles that ozone and aerosols play in the atmosphere provide examples of such trade-offs.
The study also shows that the proportion of gaseous aromatic compounds—apart from benzene—in hydrocarbon emissions is two to three times greater in pollution plumes in Paris than in Los Angeles, even though the total quantity of hydrocarbons emitted in Los Angeles remains considerably greater than in Paris. Borbon, A., Gilman, W.
As California continues to reduce local sources of ozone, ozone entering the state from the Pacific makes up a larger fraction of measured ozone levels. An ozonesonde is a balloon which measures ozone from the surface to more than 10 kilometers above the ground.
HFCs are powerful greenhouse gases originally developed as substitutes for ozone-depleting chemicals. They are poised to become a larger part of the climate problem over the next few decades. Molina received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1995 for his path-breaking work in 1974 that sounded the alarm on ozone-depleting CFCs.).
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) voted to approve an updated plan for the South Coast Air Basin aimed at further cutting smog-forming emissions to attain the federal 8-hour ozone standard. But it is imperative that US EPA move quickly to do its job and reduce pollution from the sources it has the responsibility to regulate.
The London Congestion Charging Scheme (CCS)—which charged for travel into central London and reduced traffic volume ( earlier post )—has shown little evidence that it improved air quality as well, according to Part I of a new study published by the Health Effects Institute (HEI). µg/m 3. in PM 10.
The study found that 60% of the winter primary hydrocarbon hydroxyl radical reactivity in London is from those diesel-related hydrocarbons; the authors predicted that the longer-chain HCs contribute up to 50 % of the ozone production potential in London.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed standards to reduce harmful air pollution from oil and gas drilling operations. The VOC reductions in the proposal are expected to help reduce ozone nonattainment problems in many areas where oil and gas production occurs. Details on the hearings will be announced soon.
As a result of their findings, published in the 30 October issue of the journal Science , the authors argue that assessments of multigas mitigation policies, as well as any separate efforts to mitigate warming from short-lived pollutants, should include gas-aerosol interactions. Similar reactions influence the creation of nitrate aerosols.
Cars’ average carbon dioxide emissions have dropped by 25% since the early 2000s, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but this gas only accounts for part of the total. While some VOCs are released in exhaust, others may arise from an unexpected source—e.g.,
The burning of coal releases more carbon dioxide than other fossil fuels, as well as comparatively high levels of other pollutants, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particles such as ash. This particle effect is a double-edged sword because reducing them is a good thing in terms of lessening air pollution and acid rain.
has agreed to spend more than $161 million on pollution controls, enhanced maintenance and monitoring, and improved internal management practices to resolve Clean Air Act violations at its Texas City, Texas refinery. BP Products North America Inc. The company will also pay a $12 million civil penalty.
In “Estimated Excess Morbidity and Mortality Caused by Air Pollution above ATS Recommended Standards, 2011-2013,” published online in the August edition of Annals of the American Thoracic Society , researchers report on the annual health benefits of meeting more protective standards recommended by the ATS for O 3 and PM 2.5.
Deterioration of the ozone layer [kg CFC-11-eq.]. The Carculator was developed as part of the initiative on Efficient Technologies and Systems for Mobility of the Swiss Competence Center for Energy Research (SCCER Mobility). Depletion of fossil energy resources [kg oil-eq.]. Depletion of fresh water reserves [m 3 ].
In the first empirical study using satellite measurements to explore the relationship between urban form and air pollution, a team from the University of Minnesota has found that cities with highly contiguous built-up areas have, on average, lower concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 , a key component of urban air pollution).
Chevron agreed to pay the penalties as part of three separate settlements it reached with the California Air Resources Board (ARB). Higher levels of olefin mean more smog will be formed from tailpipe emissions since hydrocarbons, including olefin, react with sunlight and other pollutants to form smog. Chevron USA Inc. In all, 15.9
The action finalizes parts of the SAFE Vehicles Rule that was first proposed on 2 August 2018. For its part, EPA is withdrawing the Clean Air Act preemption waiver it granted to the State of California in January 2013 as it relates to California’s GHG and ZEV programs. criteria pollutants—is not affected by the action.
However, emissions do not just remain in conurbations; particles and gaseous pollutants can be transported thousands of kilometers by the wind. The University of Bremen is the scientific base of the international project known as EMeRGe (Effect of Megacities on the transport and transformation of pollutants on the Regional and Global scales).
Cars, buses, and trucks release pollutants and greenhouse gases that promote warming, while emitting few aerosols that counteract it. But such efforts are also eliminating some of the cooling effect of such pollution, eliminating a form of inadvertent geoengineering that has likely counteracted global warming in recent decades.
CARB also adopted a new plan to curb destructive “super pollutants” including black carbon, fluorinated gases and methane. The plan, California’s Short-lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy, maps out the route to more rapid greenhouse gas reductions by clamping down on these super pollutants. emissions by more than 20%.
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