Road dust and PM10 in the Nordic countries


Book Description

Nordic countries suffer from periodic worsening of the air quality during spring with high peak PM10 concentrations (airborne particulate matter with diameter less than 10 µm or 0.01 mm). Characteristic for the high springtime PM10 concentrations are high shares of coarse particles (with diameters between 2.5 and 10µm), a signature of non-exhaust traffic dust formed via abrasion and wear of pavement, traction control materials, vehicle brakes and tyres. This Policy Brief summarizes the current understanding of the road dust system and presents the mitigation measures and policies currently in place in the Nordic countries. It has been compiled as part of the NORTRIP project funded by the Climate and air pollution working group of the Nordic Council of Ministers by researchers from 11 Nordic institutes studying different aspects of traffic non-exhaust emissions and road dust.




Risk of Air Pollution in Relation to Cancer in the Nordic Countries


Book Description

Seventeen pollutants (particles, heavy metals, inorganic gasses and organic compounds) are for the first time analyzed in a screening of the carcinogenic risk at very high resolution and large scale in ambient air in the Nordic countries. Modelled 2010 annual mean air concentrations show no exceedances of the EU air quality values. The only exceedance of US-EPA 1:100,000 cancer risk concentrations occurs for the PAH BaP in Denmark. However, the EU target value threshold for BaP is not exceeded. No emission data for BaP are available for the other countries and important uncertainties are still related to the Danish emissions. Long-range transport is significant except for BaP that originates mostly from residential wood combustion. It is recommended to monitor the influence from residential wood combustion more extensively, and to analyze longer time trends for long-term human exposure.




Transport infrastructure investment


Book Description

Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2021-521/ A study performed by TØI, DTU and VTI and funded by the Nordic Council, compares the handling of climate and environmental effects in CBA in transport projects in the Nordic countries. The main emphasis has been the comparison of recommended methods and assessments between the countries for noise, air pollution and climate effects. Important findings:- For noise Finland take nuisance in consideration while the other countries also include health effects.- For PM, the values are related to PM2.5 in Denmark and Finland, to PM10 in Norway and to both PM2.5 and PM10 in Sweden.- For NOX, the values in Finland and Sweden are almost negligible compared to the values used in Denmark and Norway.- The most extreme difference between values in the Nordic countries relate to global warming emissions where the values of emissions in 2020 vary from €24/ton CO2 in Denmark (with an alternative calculation of €197/ton) to €665/ton in Sweden.




The Impossibilities of the Circular Economy


Book Description

The fifth Factor X publication from the Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt, UBA), The Impossibilities of the Circular Economy provides an overview of the limits to the circular economy, emphasising the relationship between integrated resource use and more systemic leadership-management approaches. On a European level, the book ties into the recent European Green Deal and aims to empower actors across sectors and EU member countries to transition from existing linear models of value capture and expression to more systemic-circular solutions of value capture and expression. The volume provides a hands-on contribution towards building the knowledge and skill sets of current and future decision-makers who face these complex-systemic crises in their day-to-day business. The book further provides access to best practices from cutting-edge research and development findings, which will empower decision-makers to develop a more sustainable and equitable economy. Providing solutions for a more sustainable economy, this book is essential reading for scholars and students of natural resource use, sustainable business, environmental economics and sustainable development, as well as decision-makers and experts from the fields of policy development, industry and civil society. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution- Non Commercial- No Derivatives 4.0 license.




Urban Air Quality in Europe


Book Description

This book provides an overview of air quality in urban environments in Europe, focusing on air pollutant emission sources and formation mechanisms, measurement and modeling strategies, and future perspectives. The emission sources described are biomass burning, vehicular traffic, industry and agriculture, but also African dust and long-range transport of pollutants across the European regions. The impact of these emission sources and processes on atmospheric particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen oxides and volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds is discussed and critical areas for particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide in Europe are identified. Finally, this volume presents future perspectives, mainly regarding upcoming air quality monitoring strategies, metrics of interest, such as submicron and nanoparticles, and indoor and outdoor exposure scenarios.




Non-Exhaust Emissions


Book Description

Non-Exhaust Emissions: An Urban Air Quality Problem for Public Health comprehensively summarizes the most recent research in the field, also giving guidance on research gaps and future needs to evaluate the health impact and possible remediation of non-exhaust particle emissions. With contributions from some of the major experts and stakeholders in air quality, this book comprehensively defines the state-of-the-art of current knowledge, gaps and future needs for a better understanding of particulate matter (PM) emissions, from non-exhaust sources of road traffic to improve public health. PM is a heterogeneous mix of chemical elements and sources, with road traffic being the major source in large cities. A significant part of these emissions come from non-exhaust processes, such as brake, tire, road wear, and road dust resuspension. While motor exhaust emissions have been successfully reduced by means of regulation, non-exhaust emissions are currently uncontrolled and their importance is destined to increase and become the dominant urban source of particle matter by 2020. Nevertheless, current knowledge on the non-exhaust emissions is still limited. This is an essential book to researchers and advanced students from a broad range of disciplines, such as public health, toxicology, atmospheric sciences, environmental sciences, atmospheric chemistry and physics, geochemistry, epidemiology, built environment, road and vehicle engineering, and city planning. In addition, European and local authorities responsible for air quality and those in the industrial sectors related to vehicle and brake manufacturing and technological remediation measures will also find the book valuable. - Acts as the first book to explore the health impacts of non-exhaust emissions - Authored by experts from several sectors, including academia, industry and policy - Gathers the relevant body of literature and information, defining the current knowledge, gaps and future needs




Non-exhaust Particulate Emissions from Road Transport An Ignored Environmental Policy Challenge


Book Description

Non-exhaust emissions of particulate matter constitute a little-known but rising share of emissions from road traffic and have significant negative impacts on public health. This report synthesizes the current state of knowledge about the nature, causes, and consequences of non-exhaust particulate emissions. It also projects how particulate matter emissions from non-exhaust sources may evolve in future years and reflects on policy instrument mixes that can address this largely ignored environmental issue.




Workshop on Review and Assessment of European Air Pollution Policies


Book Description

The development of European policies on air pollution prevention is currently in an intensive phase. The European Commission Clean Air for Europe (CAFE) programme is preparing an air pollution strategy and the Convention on Long-range Air Pollution may start a review of the Gothenburg Protocol during 2005. On the 25th-27th of October 2004 a workshop on review and assessment of the scientific basis and tools employed in this policy work was held to provide guidance to the policy development. Future needs of scientific support in a longer perspective were also discussed. A large part of the workshop was focussed on the role of airborne particles. Human health effects caused by exposure to airborne particles have received increasing attention in recent years and concerns of health effects are today the main driving force for air pollution prevention and research. In addition to this, new concepts for describing effects of acidification and ozone are being introduced, providing more accurate and relevant descriptions of ecosystem effects to changes in air pollution levels. The needs for considering air pollution on a hemispheric scale were also highlighted. This workshop was organised by the ASTA programme, the Swedish research programme on air pollution, in co-operation with the Nordic Council of Ministers, the EU CAFE programme and CLRTAP.




Airborne Particulate Matter


Book Description

The estimated health impacts and associated economic costs resulting from airborne particulate matter are substantial. Exposure to airborne fine particles ranks highly amongst preventable causes of disease. This book reviews the sources and atmospheric processes affecting airborne particulate matter and consequent impacts upon human health. Examining the latest information on the sources of particles in the atmosphere, both through direct emissions and atmospheric formation, the book also explores the methods which are used to estimate the contributions of different sources to airborne concentrations. Featuring case studies from recent assessments in Europe, the USA, China and India, the book provides a global overview of source apportionment. The health effects are reviewed in the context of the influence of sources, chemical composition and particle size upon relative toxicity. This comprehensive book is an important reference for policymakers and consultants working with pollution and human health, as well as academics working in atmospheric chemistry.




The Atmospheric Boundary Layer


Book Description

The book gives a comprehensive and lucid account of the science of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). There is an emphasis on the application of the ABL to numerical modelling of the climate. The book comprises nine chapters, several appendices (data tables, information sources, physical constants) and an extensive reference list. Chapter 1 serves as an introduction, with chapters 2 and 3 dealing with the development of mean and turbulence equations, and the many scaling laws and theories that are the cornerstone of any serious ABL treatment. Modelling of the ABL is crucially dependent for its realism on the surface boundary conditions, and chapters 4 and 5 deal with aerodynamic and energy considerations, with attention to both dry and wet land surfaces and sea. The structure of the clear-sky, thermally stratified ABL is treated in chapter 6, including the convective and stable cases over homogeneous land, the marine ABL and the internal boundary layer at the coastline. Chapter 7 then extends the discussion to the cloudy ABL. This is seen as particularly relevant, since the extensive stratocumulus regions over the subtropical oceans and stratus regions over the Arctic are now identified as key players in the climate system. Finally, chapters 8 and 9 bring much of the book's material together in a discussion of appropriate ABL and surface parameterization schemes in general circulation models of the atmosphere that are being used for climate simulation.