Environmental science & technology
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Environ. Sci. Technol. · Aug 2020
Garbage Burning in South Asia: How Important Is It to Regional Air Quality?
Increasing air pollution in South Asia has serious consequences for air quality and human/ecosystem health within the region. South Asia, including India and Nepal, suffers from severe air pollution, including high concentrations of aerosols, as well as gaseous pollutants. One of the often-neglected sources contributing to the regional air pollution is garbage burning. ⋯ We implemented the newly available emission factors (EFs) from a recent field campaign, Nepal Ambient Monitoring and Source Testing Experiment (NAMaSTE), which took place in April 2015. Using a chemical transport model-Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry version 3.5 (WRF-Chem)-and three emission scenarios, we assessed the impact of open garbage burning emissions on regional air quality. Our results show that garbage burning emissions could increase PM2.5 concentrations by nearly 30% in India and Nepal, and result in ∼300 000 premature deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the two countries.
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Environ. Sci. Technol. · Nov 2019
Air Quality and Health Impact of Future Fossil Fuel Use for Electricity Generation and Transport in Africa.
Africa has ambitious plans to address energy deficits and sustain economic growth with fossil fueled power plants. The continent is also experiencing faster population growth than anywhere else in the world that will lead to proliferation of vehicles. Here, we estimate air pollutant emissions in Africa from future (2030) electricity generation and transport. ⋯ We embed these emissions in the GEOS-Chem model nested over the African continent to simulate ambient concentrations of PM2.5 and determine the burden of disease (excess deaths) attributable to exposure to future fossil fuel use. We calculate 48000 avoidable deaths in 2030 (95% confidence interval: 6000-88000), mostly in South Africa (10400), Nigeria (7500), and Malawi (2400), with 3-times higher mortality rates from power plants than transport. Sensitivity of the burden of disease to either population growth or air quality varies regionally and suggests that emission mitigation strategies would be most effective in Southern Africa, whereas population growth is the main driver everywhere else.
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Environ. Sci. Technol. · Dec 2016
Flavoring Compounds Dominate Toxic Aldehyde Production during E-Cigarette Vaping.
The growing popularity of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) raises concerns about the possibility of adverse health effects to primary users and people exposed to e-cigarette vapors. E-Cigarettes offer a very wide variety of flavors, which is one of the main factors that attract new, especially young, users. How flavoring compounds in e-cigarette liquids affect the chemical composition and toxicity of e-cigarette vapors is practically unknown. ⋯ We show that, within the tested e-cigarette brands, thermal decomposition of flavoring compounds dominates formation of aldehydes during vaping, producing levels that exceed occupational safety standards. Production of aldehydes was found to be exponentially dependent on concentration of flavoring compounds. These findings stress the need for a further, thorough investigation of the effect of flavoring compounds on the toxicity of e-cigarettes.