28/3/2016

Lectureoutline

UrbanPollution
GE1101E/GEK1001

Introducingpollution
Whyisurbanpollutionaproblem?
Casestudy1:London,UnitedKingdom.
Casestudy2:MetroManila,Philippines.
Casestudy3:Singaporeandbeyond
Thefuture?

ProfessorAlanZieglerandWayne
http://static.dnaindia.com/sites/default/files/
2014/06/17/244226hydra.jpg

Aimsandobjectives

Yourthoughts?

Theaimofthissessionistoexploreabroadrangeofissuessurroundingurban
pollution.

Whatispollution?

Theobjectivesare:

Youhavetwominutestosendmeatweet,statingwhatpollutionmeansto
you.Feelfreetobecreative.Orjustsayhi!

1.Toidentifypotentialsourcesofurbanpollution.

WayneBannister@Envir_Science

2.Tobeawareoftheproblemsthatarisefromurbanpollution,inparticularimpactsof
pollutiononhumanhealth.

https://twitter.com/Envir_Science

3.Toexploreurbanmanagementschemesindevelopedanddevelopingcountries,and
evaluatetheireffectiveness.

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Whatispollution?
Introductionandpresenceofanundesirablesubstancetoanenvironment,whichoften
hasharmfuleffectstowardshumans,animalsandplants.
Frequentlyassociatedwithparticulatematter(PM)intheair.Thismaybeclassifiedas
PM2.5 and/orPM10.
Harmfulpollutantssuchassuchassulfurdioxide(SO2),nitrogenoxide(NO),lead,ozone
andparticulatematter(PM)arelargelyresponsiblefortherapiddeclineinairquality
observedinmanyurbancitiestoday(Quah andBoon,2002).

Airpollution
Particulatematterincludesdust,dirt,soot,smokeandliquiddropletsdirectly
releasedintotheatmosphere,eitherbyanthropogenicornaturecauses.

Sourcesofpollution

Canbebothnaturaland/oranthropogenic!
Releaseofcontaminants(e.g.vehicleemissions,volcaniceruptions)
Anthropogenicactivities(e.g.industry,agriculture)
Domesticwaste
Illegaldumping
Poordrainagesystemsandabsenceofwastetreatment

Othertypesofpollution
Afewothertypesofpollution:
Sedimentpollution

Airpollutioniscontaminationoftheindoororoutdoorenvironmentbyany
chemical,physicalorbiologicalagentthatmodifiesthenaturalcharacteristics
oftheatmosphere.(WorldHealthOrganisation,2016)

Waterpollution

However,pollutionisnotlimitedtotheatmosphere!

Visualpollution

Noisepollution

Foulodours

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Whyisurbanpollutionaproblem?
Rapidindustrialisation hasoccurredinalargenumberofcountriesduringthe
pastfewdecades,whichhasledtoseveredegradationofairquality
associatedwithindustrialprocesses,urbanisation andpopulationgrowth
(ZhangandDay,2015)
AccordingtoanassessmentbytheWorldHealthOrganization(WHO),more
thantwomillionprematuredeathsperyearcanbeattributedtotheeffectsof
urbanoutdoorandindoorairpollution.(Hoai Doetal.,2015)
Becauseairbourne particlesareharmfultohumanhealth,concentrationsare
increasinglymonitoredinmanyurbanareasworldwide(Balasubramanian and
Qian,2004).

Howdowemeasurepollution?

Howdowemeasurepollution?
Theconcentrationofparticlesintheaircanbemeasuredasanaverageovera
definedperiodoftime,oritcanbemeasuredcontinuouslyatairmonitoring
stations.
Themajorityofstudiesfocusonoutdoorpollution,duetothedifficulties
associatedwithmeasuringindoorpollution.
Bioindicators,suchaslichens,havebeenusedtomonitoratmosphericheavy
metalcontaminationinSingapore(Ngetal.,2005).
ParticulatemattercanbeclassifiedasPM10 and/orPM2.5.

Impactsofairpollutiononhealth

WaterqualitycanbeassessedbymeasuringpH,conductivity,heavymetals
andnutrientconcentrations.
Macroinvertebratesmayalsobeusedasan
indicatorofwaterquality!

Source:https://www3.epa.gov/airtoxics/3_90_022.html

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Casestudy1:London,UnitedKingdom

WorldHealthOrganisation(WHO)airqualityguidelines(Krzyzanowski andCohen,
2008)

Casestudy1:London,UnitedKingdom

London
Londonhasalonghistoryofurban
pollution.

Londonsairqualityproblemstodayaredrivenlargelybytraffic.This,along
withthehighdensityofpeopleinanurbanarearesultsinairqualityguidelines
beingexceededonaregularbasisandlargenumbersofpeoplebeingaffected
(KellyandKelly,2009).

In2015,Londonspopulation
exceeded8.6million,andispredicted
toreach11millionby2050(BBC,
2016).

ConcernovertheimpactofLondonspoorairqualityonhumanhealthdates
backovermanycenturies.

WhiletheThamestodaymeetswater
qualitystandards,airpollution
continuestobeaproblem.
http://mapsengland.blogspot.sg/

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Letsgobackintime

London TheGreatStinkof1858
TheGreatStinkhitLondonin1858duringan
unusuallyhotsummer.
WhilecrossingtheThamestoinspectanew
ship,QueenVictoriahadtoholdherbouquet
tohernose!

BBCWales
http://www.skepticalscience.com/pics/
dirtythamessm.jpg

London TheGreatStinkof1858
Thethreefiguresrepresentdiphtheria,scropula
(aconditioninvolvingenlargementofthelymph
nodesontheneck),andcholera.
CausedbyafailureofLondonssewagesystem.
http://www.thameswater.co.uk/media/6431.htm

A cartoon by John Leech addressing the Great

Stink in the July 3, 1858 issue of the London satire
magazine Punch.

THE"SILENTHIGHWAY"MAN.
"YourMONEYoryourLIFE!
http://www.victorianlondon.org/health/thamescondition.htm

MichaelFaradaypresentshiscardto
FatherThames:acartoonfeaturedin
Punch,July1855.

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18th 19thCenturyIndustrialRevolution

PhototakenbyWayneBannister(sometimeinthe21st century!)

LondonsIndustrialAge

https://smediacache
ak0.pinimg.com/736x/30/3d/91/303d91acf3cd788ba439e91b1
254801f.jpg

TheGreatSmogof1952

Airpollutionhasbeenaseriousproblem
inLondonsincethe16thcenturyowingto
thecitysimportanceasacommercialand
industrialcentre.Asaconsequence,thecity
haslongbeenreferredtoasthebigsmoke
andhasgivenitsnametothecombination
ofurbansmokeandnaturalfog,
namelyLondonsmog.(KellyandKelly,2009)

Afogsothickandpolluteditleftthousands
deadwreakedhavoconLondonin1952.The
smokelike pollutionwassotoxicitwaseven
reportedtohave chokedcowstodeathinthe
fields.Itwassothickitbroughtroad,airand
railtransporttoavirtualstandstill.Thiswas
certainlyaneventtoremember, butnotthe
firstsmogofitskindtohitthecapital.
(MetOffice,2016)
http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/disney/images/
8/8f/Bertmary
poppins.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130305194057

http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20130819/0
0114320db41137bdb2e06.jpg

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TheGreatSmogof1952
Duringthewintertimeof1952,thepeopleofLondonwereburninglarge
amountsofcoaltokeepwarm,releasingsmokefromthechimneysoftheir
houses.
However,ananticyclonewaspresent.
Theinversiontrappedandpreventedpollutantsfromdispersing.

ResponsetotheGreatSmogof1952
Theinfamoussmogepisodeclaimedanestimated400012000prematuredeaths
(Bell&Davis2001).
Thisledtothe1956and1968CleanAirActs,themajorfocusofwhichwasthe
curtailingofdomesticcoalburninginLondonandothermajorpopulationcentres
intheUK.
Theseactsbannedemissionsofblacksmokeanddecreedresidentsofurban
areasandoperatorsoffactoriesmustconverttosmokelessfuels.

ImpactsoftheSmog
Accordingtothe1952
censusrecords,GreaterLondon
hadanestimatedpopulationof
8.6million.
Morethan4000deaths.
Numerousreportedbreathing
problems
Traveldisruptions
Foulodouroftheair.
Crime.
Asphyxiationofcattlebythesmog?

http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/fromthe
archiveblog/2012/dec/05/greatsmoglondon1952
archive

Whatschemeshavebeenimplementedin
Londontoday?
TheintroductionoftheCongestionChargingZoneinFebruary2003incentral
London.
ALondonwideLowEmissionZone(LEZ) wasimplementedin2008.
20mphspeedlimitsincertainareas.
Borisbikes!

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ExploreLondon2016

Londonin2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvqnTx8Iz_w

http://www.alamy.com/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/
transport/11393286/Borisbikessettobepainted
redunderSantanderdeal.html

https://d.ibtimes.co.uk/en/full/1449393/buckingham
palace.jpg

https://staticsecure.guim.co.uk/sys
images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/10/6/1412620051012/Lon
donUnderground48hou014.jpg

TheCongestionChargingZone(CCZ)
IntroducedbythenMayorKenLivingstone.
11.50dailychargeifyoudrivebetween
07:00and18:00,MondaytoFridayinthe
CongestionChargezone(Transport
forLondon,2016).
Designedtoreducethenumberofvehicles
drivingthroughCentralLondon.
CongestionChargingZoneandLowEmissionZonein2016.

https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/congestion
charge/congestionchargezone/roadsigns

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TheLowEmissionZone(LEZ)
Introducedin2008todiscouragemostpolluting
heavygoodsvehiclesfromentering.
Operates24hoursaday,365daysayear.
Theaimoftheschemeistoreducetraffic
pollution,andtherefore,improvethehealth
andqualityofeveryonevisiting,workinginor
livinginLondon(TransportforLondon,2016).
Itisdesignedtorestricttheentryoftheoldest
andmostpollutingvehiclesacrossGreater
London(KellyandKelly,2009).

Howeffectiveweretheseschemes?

AmapindicatingtheCongestionChargingZone
andLowEmissionZonein2016.

Source:GreaterLondonAuthority(2010)
EstimationofhealthimpactsofParticulate
PollutioninLondon.

Casestudy2:Singapore

Pollutionlegislationsandmoderndevelopmentsweresuccessfulinensuringthat
the1952Smogeventwasathingofthepast.
After1yearofoperationofcharging,trafficenteringthechargingzoneduring
charginghourswasreducedby18%.However,nochangewasobservedonthe
innerringroad,wherenochargeswereapplied(KellyandKelly,2009).
Anincreasewasnotedinthenumberofnonchargeablevehicles(e.g.taxis,buses
andtwowheelers(TransportforLondon,2007)

PhototakenbyWayneBannister

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Casestudy3:MetroManila,ThePhilippines
Somestudieshaveshownevidenceofairqualitystandards
forcriteriapollutantsbeingregularlyexceededinthelarge
citiesofSoutheastAsia.
MetroManilaisconsideredtobeoneofthemostpolluted
areasintheAsiaPacificregion.
Veryfewstudiesofairqualityhadbeenconductedin
Asiancities,suchasManila.

MetroManila,Philippines
Motorvehiclesarethemajor
sourceofpollutantsinthis
region.
Themostexposed
individualsarethose
workingonthestreets.

https://tayonajournal.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/image45.jpg

Exposureofjeepney driversinManila,
Philippines,toselectedVolatileOrganic
Compounds

Exposureofjeepney driversinManila,
Philippines,toselectedVolatileOrganic
Compounds

AstudywasconductedbyBalanay andLungu (2009)toassesstheoccupational

exposureofjeepney driverstoselectedVOCsinManila,Philippines duringafive
daysamplingperiod.

Sampleswereobtainedusingdiffusivesamplersandwereanalyzedfor6VOCs
(benzene,toluene,ethylbenzene,m,pxyleneandoxylene)usinggas
chromatography(Balanay andLungu,2009).

Fifteendriversgavetheirconsenttoparticipateinthisstudy,butonlyten
driverssuccessfullycompletedtheentirefivedaysamplingperiod.

ThestudydidnotidentifythespecificVOCsources,asitsfocuswastheoverall
exposureofjeepney driverstothesecompounds(Balanay andLungu,2009).

Personalsampleswerecomparedwithurbanandruralambientconcentrations.

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WhatareVolatileOrganicCompounds?
Volatileorganiccompounds(VOCs)arepriorityairpollutantswithadverse
effectsonhumanhealth,globalandlocalenvironments(Suetal.,2014).
ExposuretoVOCscanleadtoadversehealthproblemsrangingfromasthma
andnervoussystemimpairmenttospecificcancers(Hoai Doetal.,2015).
Theycanalsocontributetoenvironmentalproblemssuchasglobalwarming,
stratosphericozonedepletionandphotochemicalsmog(Hoai Doetal.,2015).
Whilesomecriteriapollutantsareregulated,VOCsremainedunregulatedand
arerarelymonitoredinthePhilippines.(Balanay andLungu,2009).

Jeepneys
Thejeepney isthemostcommon
meansofpublictransportation in
thePhilippines.
ItisuniquetothePhilippinesand
hasbecomepartofthecountrys
culturalimage.
Itisis adieselfueled publicutility
vehicle,withthecapacityof1420
passengers.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Jeepn
ey_overloaded.jpg

Justonemore!

Howmanypeoplecan
youfitinsideajeepney?
PhototakenbyWayneBannister

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TakearideinoneofManilasjeepneys

Balanay andLungus (2009)findings

ForalltargetVOCs,theconcentrationsmeasuredinpersonalsampleswere2
to5timeshigherthanthosemeasuredinthecorrespondingurbanarea
samples.(Balanay andLungu,2009)

ExperiencetheroadsinMetroManila!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sPbcGVh9hI

Becauseajeepney issemienclosed,thedriverandpassengersofjeepneys
maybeeasilyexposedtourbanpollutionand,therefore,areatrisktohealth
effectscausedbypollutants,suchasVOCs.But,unlikethepassengersand
othercommuters,thejeepney driversspendmorethanonehalfoftheday
workinginthevehicle.(Balanay andLungu,2009)

KimOanh etal.(2006)

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WhathasbeendoneinMetroManilato
addressurbanpollution?

UrbanvsRural

PhilippineCleanAirActof1999
Nodrivingdaycampaign

http://www.traveldailynews.asia/uploads/images/Biking
Philippines_x589.jpg

Effectsontheenvironment

Impactsofclimatechangeonurbanpollution
Atmosphericparticlescanalsodirectlyand/orindirectlyaltertheglobal
climate(IPCC,2001).

Urbanpollutionisnotonly
dangeroustohumanhealth,
butitalsohasharmfuleffects
onplants,animalsand
ecosystemservices!

Recentstudiessuggestclimatechangewillhaveasignificantimpactonurban
airquality(Mickley etal.,2004).

http://www.everythingconnects.org/airpollution.html

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Whatcanwedoaboutit?

Monitoringairpollutiononyourphone

Reducethenumberofvehicles.
Investinbettersewagediversionandtreatmentsystems.
Cutdownemissions.
Manageourwasteresponsibly.
Itsunrealistictosuggestweallstopdrivingvehicles,butanalternativeoptionmay
betousepublictransport,orbetteryet,walkorcycle!

Summary
Urbanpollutionisagrowingproblemthatisexpectedtobeexacerbatedbyfuture
populationgrowthandclimatechange.
Despiteimprovementsinairquality,manyurbancitiescontinuetoexperiencehigh
levelsofairpollution.
Approachestoreducingurbanpollutioninclude:improvedsewagediversionand
wastetreatment;reductionofemissions;deterringtheuseofprivateandheavygoods
vehicles,andfiningindividualswhodonotcomplywith
therules;enforcingtransportrestrictions,andreducingthenumberofvehiclesonthe
road.

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Thefuture?

TomorrowandWednesday
LabPractical2:TheSequel

BBCWales

References
Balasubramanian,R.andQian,W.B.(2004)Characterizationandsourceidentificationofairbornetracemetalsin
Singapore.JournalofEnvironmentalMonitoring,6,pp.813818.
BBC(2016)BBCNewswebsite.Availableat:http://www.bbc.com/news/ukenglandlondon31082941 [Accessdate:24th
March2016.]
BellM.L.andDavis,D.L.(2001)ReassessmentofthelethalLondonfogof1952:novelindicatorsofacuteandchronic
consequencesofacuteexposuretoairpollution.EnvironmentalHealthPerspectives,109(3),pp.389394.

References
Kelly,F.J.andKelly,J.(2009)Londonairquality:arealworldexperimentinprogress.Biomarkers,14(S1),pp.511.
KimOanh,N.T.,Upadhyay,N.,Zhuang,Y.H.,Hao,Z.,P.,Murthy,D.V.S.,Lestari,P.,Villarin,J.T.,Chengchua,K.,Co.,H.X.,Dung,N.T.
andLindgren,E.S.(2006)ParticulateairpollutioninsixAsiancities:Spatialandtemporaldistributions,andassociatedsources.
AtmosphericEnvironment,40,pp.33673380.
Krzyzanowski,M.andCohen,A.(2008)UpdateofWHOairqualityguidelines.AirQuality,Atmosphere&Health,1(1),pp.713.

Hoai Do,D.,Walgraeve,C.,Amare,A.N.,Barai,K.R.,Parao,A.E.,Demeestere,K.andvanLangenhove,H.(2015)Airborne
volatileorganiccompoundsinurbanandindustriallocationsinfourdevelopingcountries.AtmosphericEnvironment,119,
pp.330338.
IPCC(2001)Climatechange2001:Thescientificbasis.Aerosols,theirdirectandindirecteffects.ContributionofWorking
GroupItotheThirdAssessmentReportoftheIntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange(IPCC).CambridgeUniversity
Press,Cambridge,England.(Chapter5).

MetOffice(2016)TheGreatSmogof1952.Availableat:http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/learning/learnabouttheweather/weather
phenomena/casestudies/greatsmog.[Accessdate24th March2016.]
Mickley,L.J.,Jacob,D.J.andField,B.D.(2004)EffectsoffutureclimatechangeonregionalairpollutionepisodesintheUnited
States.GeophysicalResearchLetters,31,L24103.
Ng,O.H.,Tan,B.C.andObbard,J.P.(2005)Lichensasbioindicators ofatmosphericheavymetalpollutioninSingapore.
EnvironmentalMonitoringandAssessment,123,pp.6374.

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References
Quah,E.andLiamBoon,T.(2003)TheeconomiccostofparticulateairpollutiononhealthinSingapore.JournalofAsianEconomics,14,
pp.7390.
Su,F.C.,Mukherjee,B.andBatterman,S.(2014)Modeling andanalysisofpersonalexposurestoVOCmixturesusingcopulas.Environment
International,63,pp.236245.
TransportforLondon.(2007).CentralLondonCongestionCharging.ImpactMonitoring.FifthAnnualReport.TheMayorofLondon.
London:GreaterLondonAuthority.
TransportforLondon(2016)TransportforLondonwebsite.Availableat:https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/lowemissionzone/aboutthe
lez?intcmp=2263.[Accessdate:24th March2016.]
WorldHealthOrganisation(WHO)(2016)WorldHealthOrganisationwebsite.Availableat:http://www.who.int/topics/air_pollution/en/
[Accessdate:24th March2016.]
Zhang,J.J.andDay,D.(2015) UrbanAirPollutionandHealthinDevelopingCountries,inS.S.Nadadur andJ.W.Hollingsworth(eds.) Air
PollutionandHealthEffects.London:Springer.pp.355380.