Characterization Effects Perception And Mitigation Of Air Pollution In Asia For Better Air Quality Management

This book, written by an international group of experts from China, Europe and the USA, presents a broad and comprehensive analysis of the chemical and meteorological processes responsible for the formation of air pollutants in eastern Asia, and in particular for the development of severe pollution episodes observed primarily during winter in the northeastern part of China. With the rapid population growth, economic development and urbanization occurring in Asia, air pollution has become a major environmental problem in this part of the world. The book is organized around six distinct parts. The first part of the volume offers a general perspective on issues related to air pollution including persistent haze events in eastern and southern Asia. The second part presents an overview of air pollution sources (i.e., anthropogenic and biomass burning sources). The third part analyzes in-situ observations of chemical species in China, while the fourth part focuses on space observations of gas-phase and aerosol species. The modeling aspects are treated in the fifth part of the volume, which includes a presentation of several air quality forecast systems and an assessment of the role of urbanization on air pollution levels. Finally, the effects of air pollution on health and crop productivity in China are discussed in the last part of the book. The book also presents an integrated view of past and present situations in Asia and provides the scientific basis from which mitigation policies can be established and air quality can be improved. Audience: This book is written for scientists, educators, students, environmental managers, policy-makers and leaders in public administration and private corporations who wish to use science-based information to mitigate air pollution. The book should help decision-makers to design effective policies for air quality improvement and to successfully manage short-term air pollution episodes that substantially affect people’s quality of life and strongly impact the economy.

This book examines the capabilities for monitoring air quality, developing emission inventories, and running chemical-transport models for regulatory, forecasting, and research purposes in Southeast Asia. It also reviews scientific efforts made to better understand and characterize air pollution in the region. Poor air quality poses a threat to public health. It affects people's lives and undermines economic growth, but as in many other parts of the world, it has been overlooked in Southeast Asia. International assessments suggest that it is the culprit of 260-thousand premature deaths in the region each year, entailing a monetary cost equivalent to 6.75% of the regional GDP. Reducing air pollution requires concerted efforts from all Southeast Asian nations to implement local and regional air quality policies following a science-policy approach. For such endeavor, it is essential to develop tools that enable timely and reliable air quality management. This entails collecting data to characterize the magnitude, origin, and impact of air pollution to support corrective actions. The objective of this book is to provide a starting point for a science-based conversation about implementing solutions to Southeast Asia's air pollution problem by bringing together an analysis of the availability of air quality data and studies from across the region.

Air pollution has become part of the daily existence of many people who work, live and use the streets in Asian cities. Each day millions of city dwellers breathe air polluted with concentrations of chemicals, smoke and particles that dramatically exceed World Health Organization guideline values. Deteriorating air quality has resulted in significant impacts on human health and environment in Asia. This book provides a comprehensive and comparative assessment of the current status and challenges in urban air pollution management in 20 cities in the Asian region. It examines the effects on human health and the environment and future implications for planning, transport and energy sectors. National and local governments have begun to develop air quality management strategies to address the deterioration in urban air quality; however, the scope and effectiveness of such strategies vary widely. This book benchmarks these air quality management strategies, examines successes and failures in these cities and presents strategies for improving air quality management in cities across Asia and the rest of our rapidly urbanizing world. Information on air quality in Asia is clearly presented with easy-to-read city profiles, tables and graphs. This is an essential resource for all those concerned with urban air quality management, not just in Asia but in cities across our rapidly urbanizing world. Cities covered Bangkok, Beijing, Busan, Colombo, Dhaka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kathmandu, Kolkata, Metro Manila, Mumbai, New Delhi, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Surabaya, Taipei and Tokyo

The book is one of the outcomes of the SPARC (Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration) project titled "Fine particulates matters in the air environment and their cancer risks in human beings," sponsored by MHRD (now MoE), Govt. of India. The editors of the book are PIs and Co-PIs of the said project. The text deliberates on air pollution's health risks with contributions from well-known experts from diverse research fields (environmental science, toxicology, geology, public health science, biology, physics, chemistry, and geospatial technology). It explores it its control and mitigation strategies. The book provides an up-to-date overview of the modern methods and tools used in air quality monitoring and human health risk assessment. Case studies from different global settings offer invaluable insights into air pollution-related regional health issues. It addresses all aspects of air quality, covering indoor-outdoor air pollution, gaseous and particulate pollutants; characterization of source and pathways of air pollutants; and the modeling and assessing of health risks (respiratory, epidemiological, and toxicological) with regional and global perspectives. It also addresses air quality management issues. The lucid explanation of the role of oxidative stress mechanisms and molecular biomarkers (genomics, proteomics) may be considered as inputs into the development of cancer therapeutics. Along with providing a scientific basis for air pollution, this book will help readers appreciate the environmental determinants of public health and apply research evidence to improve the quality of life. It also delineates future research initiatives and policy actions needed to protect human health from air pollution, locally and globally. The book will be of great educational value and help for consultation and teaching.

Asian Atmospheric Pollution: Sources, Characteristics and Impacts provides a concise yet comprehensive treatment of all aspects of pollution and air quality monitoring, across all of Asia. It focuses on key regions of the world and details a variety of sources, their transport mechanism, long term variability and impacts on climate at local and regional scales. It also discusses the feedback on pollutants, on different meteorological parameters like radiative forcing, fog formations, precipitation, cloud characteristics and more. Drawing upon the expertise of multiple well-known authors from different countries to underline some of these key issues, it includes sections dedicated to treatment of pollutant sources, studying of pollutants and trace gases using satellite/station based observations and models, transport mechanisms, seasonal and inter-annual variability and impact on climate, health and biosphere in general. Asian Atmospheric Pollution: Sources, Characteristics and Impacts is a useful resource for scientists and students to understand the sources and dynamics of atmospheric pollution as well as their transport from one continent to other continents, helping the atmospheric modelling community to model different scenarios of the pollution, gauge its short term and long term impacts across regional to global scales and better understand the ramifications of episodic events. Covers all of Asia in detail in terms of pollution Focuses not only on local pollution, but on long-term transport of these pollutants and their impacts on other regions as well as the globe Includes discussion of both particulate matter and greenhouse gases Serves as a single resource on Asian air pollution and Impacts from the most current research across the globe including the US, Asia, Africa and Europe

"The ultimate goal of air quality management is to ensure that air pollution concentrations do not exceed the defined target levels, and that human health and the environment are protected. This book presents the methodological development for integrated air quality management, which employs both technical and policy tools to achieve the air quality goals. These tools are further illustrated by experiences drawn from the Asian region studies. Technical information and policy recommendations presented include the outcomes of several multi-year regional air quality research programs. The book is structured to combine both fundamental information and advanced knowledge dealing with subjects of integrated air quality management, and is intended for an audience of a wide range of backgrounds including undergraduate and graduate level students, academic researchers and policy makers"--

This book explores various and distinct aspects of environmental health literacy (EHL) from the perspective of investigators working in this emerging field and their community partners in research. Chapters aim to distinguish EHL from health literacy and environmental health education in order to classify it as a unique field with its own purposes and outcomes. Contributions in this book represent the key aspects of communication, dissemination and implementation, and social scientific research related to environmental health sciences and the range of expertise and interest in EHL. Readers will learn about the conceptual framework and underlying philosophical tenets of EHL, and its relation to health literacy and communications research. Special attention is given to topics like dissemination and implementation of culturally relevant environmental risk messaging, and promotion of EHL through visual technologies. Authoritative entries by experts also focus on important approaches to advancing EHL through community-engaged research and by engaging teachers and students at an early age through developing innovative STEM curriculum. The significance of theater is highlighted by describing the use of an interactive theater experience as an approach that enables community residents to express themselves in non-verbal ways.