Báo cáo " URBAN AIR POLLUTION IN CHINA: Current Status, Characteristics, and Progress " pdf

3 Oct 2002 10:10 AR AR171-EG27-13.tex AR171-EG27-13.SGM LaTeX2e(2002/01/18) P1: GDL 10.1146/annurev.energy.27.122001.083421 Annu. Rev. Energy Environ. 2002. 27:397–431 doi: 10.1146/annurev.energy.27.122001.083421 Copyright c  2002 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved URBAN AIR POLLUTION IN CHINA: Current Status, Characteristics, and Progress Kebin He, Hong Huo, and Qiang Zhang Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; e-mail: hekb@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn, huohong@pm25.org, zhangqiang@pm25.org Key Words Chinese cities, urban air quality, atmospheric pollutants, control strategies, Beijing ■ Abstract China is rapidly developing as evidenced by enhanced urbanization and industrialization and greatly increased energy consumption. However, these have brought Chinese cities a variety of urban air pollution problems in recent decades. Dur- ing the 1970s, black smoke from stacks became the characteristic of Chinese industrial cities; in the1980s,many southern cities began tosuffer serious acid rain pollution; and recently, the air quality in large cities has deteriorated due to nitrous oxides (NO x ), car- bon monoxide (CO), and photochemical smog, which are typical of vehicle pollution. Some cities now have a mixture of these. Urban air pollution influences both the health of citizens and the development of cities. To control air pollution and protect the atmo- spheric environment, the Chinese government has implemented a variety of programs. This paper first reviews the current status of air quality in Chinese cities, especially key cities, then describes the characteristics of some major urban air pollutants, includ- ing total suspended particles (TSP), respirable particles 10 microns or less in diameter (PM 10 ), very fineparticles2.5microns orless in diameter (PM 2.5 ), sulfurdioxide (SO 2 ), acid rain, NO x, and photochemical smog. Two specific topics, SO 2 and acid rain control and vehicle emission control, are used to illustrate the actions that the government has taken and futureplans.Finally,acase study of the Chinese capital, Beijing, is presented with adiscussion of its mainair pollution problems,recentlyimplemented control mea- sures and their effects, and future strategies for urban air quality improvement. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 398 OVERVIEW OF CURRENT URBAN AIR QUALITY STATUS 401 CHARACTERISTICS OF URBAN AIR POLLUTANTS 404 TSP 404 PM 10 and PM 2.5 407 SO 2 409 Acid Rain 410 NO x 411 1056-3466/02/1121-0397$14.00 397 3 Oct 2002 10:10 AR AR171-EG27-13.tex AR171-EG27-13.SGM LaTeX2e(2002/01/18) P1: GDL 398 HE  HUO  ZHANG O 3 and Photochemical Smog 414 Indoor Pollutants 414 ECONOMIC DAMAGE 416 CONTROL PROGRESS AND PROSPECTS 418 SO 2 Pollution and Acid Rain Control 418 Vehicle Emission Pollution Control 422 Beijing—A Case Study for Urban Air Pollution Control in China 424 CONCLUSION 427 INTRODUCTION China has achieved rapid economic growth, industrialization, and urbanization in recent decades, with the annual increases in GDP of 8%–9% (1). Cities, as a kind of hallmark for progress, have played a significant facilitating role in Chinese eco- nomic and social development. Since the Open Policy, the urbanization of China has accelerated with the proportion of urban population to the total population in China increasing from 18% in 1978 to 31% in 1999, a growth rate three times the world average during this period (1–3). By the end of the twentieth century, the explosion in economic growth also made China the world’s second largest energy consumer after the United States. Energy consumption, especially coal consump- tion, is the main source of anthropogenic air pollution emissions in Chinese cities. Since the late 1970s, the total energy consumption has greatly increased from 571 million tonnes of coal equivalent (Mtce) in 1978 to 1220 Mtce in 1999 (Figure 1) (1). Coal, the primary energy source, accounted for about 74% of the total energy consumption during this period, and its use is the origin ofmany air pollution prob- lems, such as TSP pollution, SO 2 pollution, and acid rain. Crude oil consumption has increased with the average growth rate of 6% per year in the past decades. Part of this increase is due to the rapid expansion of motor vehicle fleets. This has heightened ambient pollution by NO x , CO, and related pollutants in large cities (4, 5). China’s growing energy consumption, reliance on coal, and rapidly increasing vehicle population place a heavy burden on urban atmosphere in China, and urban air pollution is rapidly emerging as a major environmental issue. Many cities have sufferedfrom increasingly serious air pollution since the1980s.Attheearly 1990s, less than 1% of over 500 cities in China reached Class I (the least serious of three levels) of the national air quality standards (6).Duringthe1990s, some megacities, such as Beijing, Shenyang, Xian, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, were always listed among the top 10 most polluted cities in the world. Urban air pollution in China and has probably caused significant public health effects and economic damage. To protect public health and environmental quality, the Chinese government has undertaken a series of actions including: 1. The promulgation of laws, regulations, and standards. The environmental policydecision-makingsystemoftheChinesegovernment consists chiefly of three 3 Oct 2002 10:10 AR AR171-EG27-13.tex AR171-EG27-13.SGM LaTeX2e(2002/01/18) P1: GDL URBAN AIR POLLUTION IN CHINA 399 Figure 1 Primary energy consumption in China from 1978–1999. 3 Oct 2002 10:10 AR AR171-EG27-13.tex AR171-EG27-13.SGM LaTeX2e(2002/01/18) P1: GDL 400 HE  HUO  ZHANG organs. One is the Environment and Resources Protection Committee (ERPC) of the National People’s Congress(NPC);itmakes policy decisions for the protection of the environment, passes legislation, and supervises its enforcement. Another is the State Environmental Protection Commission (SEPC) of the State Council; it drafts policies, regulations, and laws for environmental protection. The third is the State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) of the State Council; it supervises and administers the environmental protection laws throughout the country. The local Environmental Protection Bureaus (EPB) at the province, municipality, and city levels are directly under the SEPA. On September 15, 1987, the Law on Air Pollution Prevention and Control of the People’s Republic of China (LAPPC) was approved by the NPC. The law required that all plants that discharge pollutants into the air must comply with the rulesforpollutioncontrol.After that, the Chinese government published a series of policies and regulations for air quality protection and establishedaset of nationalstandardsrelated to airquality,which are discussed in detail later. 2. Establishment of a national air pollution monitoring system. Urban air pol- lution monitoring started as early as the mid-1970s in China. Currently, more than 350 cities conduct routine urban air quality monitoring of the pollutants SO 2 , TSP, and NO x . The 103 municipal atmospheric monitoring stations with 470 moni- toring sites form China’s national air monitoring system (NAMS). In addition, Beijing, Shenyang, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Xian joined the Global Environ- mental Monitoring System (GEMS). In the early 1980s, monitoring of acid rain began, which mainly focuses on the urban districts in the south and southeast. The National Acid Deposition Monitoring Net (NADMN)presentlyincludes113 mon- itoring stations and 300 monitoring sites throughout the country. The monitoring data are published in various ways such as the environmental statistical yearbooks, annual reports of the environmental state, and weekly or daily air quality reports (7, 8). 3.Implementationofresearchanddevelopmentprogramsfor urbanair pollution control. The Chinese government initiated a series of research and development programs involving studies analyzing urban atmospheric pollutants, atmospheric modeling, environmental planning, development of advanced technologies, and demonstration studies of urban air pollution control. Also, many international organizations and foundations, such as United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), World Bank, U.S. Energy Foundation, and others, have provided financial and technological support to help strengthen the capacity of Chinese experts and researchers to solve urban air pollution challenges for themselves. 4. The investment in environmental infrastructure, including pollution control devices, cleaner production technology, and natural gas pipelines. These actions have prevented China’s urban atmospheric environment from de- teriorating.Thisreviewdiscusses thecurrentstatus, characteristics, andprogressof the urbanairpollutioncontrols in China, basedonthe results of theaforementioned actions. 3 Oct 2002 10:10 AR AR171-EG27-13.tex AR171-EG27-13.SGM LaTeX2e(2002/01/18) P1: GDL URBAN AIR POLLUTION IN CHINA 401 OVERVIEW OF CURRENT URBAN AIR QUALITY STATUS On October 1, 1996, the Chinese National Ambient Air Quality Standards (CNAAQS, GB3095-1996) were published, which specify 10 air pollutant stan- dards for SO 2 , TSP, PM 10 ,NO x , nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), CO, ozone (O 3 ), Pb, B[a]P, and F (Table 1). According to these standards, cities should meet Class II of the CNAAQS, which is considered to be safe and acceptable (9). At present, the urban air pollution in China, especially for northern cities, is mainly from coal smoke with particles. According to the Report on the State of the Environment inChina for2000, 62%ofthecitiesexceededClassIIoftheCNAAQS for TSP and PM 10 concentrations. SO 2 pollution has improved somewhat with the percentage of cities exceeding Class II of CNAAQS decreasing from 28% in 1999 to 22% in 2000. The NO x pollution level was relatively low in most cities except in larger ones with better economic development and more vehicles, such as Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai, where the pollution is a mixture of coal smoke and vehicle exhaust. Generally speaking, urban air quality in China is improving with the percentage of cities meeting Class II of the CNAAQS increasing for over 300 cities as shown in Figure 2 (10). During the ninth five-year plan (1995–2000), China focused on 47 sites as key environmental protection areas (4 municipalities, 28 provincial cities, 15 special economic regions, open coastal cities, and major tourist cities, which together account for 40% of the total urban population and 60% of the total urban GDP). The air quality data of cities is public information. Beginning in June 1997, many large cities began to publish weekly air quality reports by using an air pollution index (API) and an air quality level. In June 2000, daily air quality reportsreplaced TABLE 1 Concentration limits for some pollutants in the CNAAQS (mg/m 3 ) Pollutants Averaging time Class I Class II Class III TSP Daily 0.12 0.3 0.5 Annual 0.08 0.2 0.3 PM 10 Daily 0.05 0.15 0.25 Annual 0.04 0.1 0.15 SO 2 Daily 0.05 0.15 0.25 Annual 0.02 0.06 0.1 NO 2 Daily 0.08 0.08 0.12 Annual 0.04 0.04 0.08 NO x Daily 0.1 0.1 0.15 Annual 0.05 0.05 0.1 CO Daily 4 4 6 O 3 Hourly 0.12 0.16 0.2 3 Oct 2002 10:10 AR AR171-EG27-13.tex AR171-EG27-13.SGM LaTeX2e(2002/01/18) P1: GDL 402 HE  HUO  ZHANG Figure 2 Overview of urban air quality in China from 1998–2000. 10 Oct 2002 9:28 AR AR171-EG27-13.tex AR171-EG27-13.SGM LaTeX2e(2002/01/18) P1: GDL URBAN AIR POLLUTION IN CHINA 403 TABLE 2 Relationship of concentrations and subindex of some pollutants (mg/m 3 ) Pollutant types Subindex TSP PM 10 SO 2 NO 2 NO x O 3 50 0.12 0.05 0.05 0.04 0.05 0.06 100 0.3 0.15 0.15 0.08 0.10 0.12 200 0.5 0.25 0.25 0.12 0.15 0.20 300 0.625 0.42 1.6 0.565 0.565 0.40 400 0.875 0.5 2.1 0.75 0.75 0.50 500 1.0 0.6 2.62 0.94 0.94 0.60 weeklyreportsin 42 keyenvironmental protectionsites,and oneyearlater,daily air quality predictions in 47 areas began to be reported to the public. These reports aid environmental management by raising the public’s environmental consciousness. In China, each pollutant reported has a subindex ranging from 0 to 500, with 50 corresponding approximately to Class I of the CNAAQS, 100 corresponding to Class II, 200 corresponding to Class III, and 500 corresponding to significant harmful effects. Table 2 gives the relationship of concentrations and subindexes of some pollutants. Based on the ambient measurement results, the subindexes in Table 2 are computed by using linear interpolation. Initially, air quality reports for many Chinese cities published the levels of three major pollutants, TSP, SO 2, and NO x . Since February 2000, the air quality reports for many cities listed the API value of PM 10 ,NO 2 , and SO 2 ; the first two of these have been found to have more direct influence on public health than TSP and NO x . However, air pollution reporting varies according to local governmentpolicies.For example, Beijing reports CO and O 3 levels in addition to the other three pollutants. For a city, the API of a week or day is the maximum of the subindexes of pollutants reported, and the pollutant with the highest subindex is cited as the major pollutant. A level and an assessment of the general air quality, based on the reportedAPI,arealsoincludedintheairquality reports.The levelsand assessments along with their associated API ranges are presented in Table 3. Figure 3 summarizes the average monthly API values of eight regions in China, based on the daily air quality reports of 42 key cities from June 5, 2000 to Septem- ber 30, 2001 (11). Significant regional air quality differences are evident in China. The most polluted cities were located in the northwest and north. The south- central and northeast regions ranked third and fourth, followed by the east and southwest. The cleanest region was the south followed by the southeast with the API values of both almost always less than 100 all year. Urban air in northern China was generally more polluted than in the south mainly due to the higher particulate matter pollution levels in the north. There was also an obvious sea- sonal variation in urban air quality. For all regions, summer and fall were the 10 Oct 2002 9:28 AR AR171-EG27-13.tex AR171-EG27-13.SGM LaTeX2e(2002/01/18) P1: GDL 404 HE  HUO  ZHANG TABLE 3 Relationship of API ranges and air quality level and assessment Air quality API ranges level Assessment 0–50 I Excellent 51–100 II Good 101–200 III Lightly polluted 201–300 IV Polluted 301–500 V Heavily polluted cleanest seasons, due to fewer pollutants emitted during the warm months, better atmospheric diffusion conditions, which can bring pollutants outside the ambient air of the cities, and more precipitation, which helps to decrease the concentrations of the atmospheric pollutants—especially particulate matters. After October, the air quality of most cities began to deteriorate and pollution peaked in the winter. In northern cities, bad air quality in the winter was probably because of the large amount of coal burned for heating, which emited high levels of pollutants. The winter peak was the sharpest for the northeast region where it is the coldest. In February, the air quality improved some, but another pollution peak occurred in March or April. The spring peak in northern cities was due to the sandstorms from the west. The northwest region, which experienced the heaviest burden of sandstorms, had the sharpest and highest spring peak. Figure 4 shows the air quality level in each of 42 key cities from July 1, 2000 to June 30, 2001. As shown in Figure 4a, during this statistical year, only about 30% of the 42 key cities met the Level II air quality most of the time. In the Chinese capital, Beijing, the pollution onmore than half of the 365daysexceeded the Level III air quality as it did in other big cities, such as Tianjin and Chongqing. In the northern cities of Lanzhou, Taiyuan, and Shijiazhuang, the air quality was so poor that Level III was exceeded more than 75% of the year, and Level V pollution frequently occurred. According to Figure 4b,PM 10 was the dominant pollutant in most cities. SO 2 was the major pollutant in Chongqing and Guiyang and was a concern in Shijiazhuang, Changsha, Qingdao, and other cities. CHARACTERISTICS OF URBAN AIR POLLUTANTS TSP Measured by the frequency and degree of violations of the CNAAQS, TSP is the mostsignificantair pollutantin Chinesecities.Inrecentdecades, thecharacteristics of urban particles have changed. In the 1970s, cities were so severely polluted by 3 Oct 2002 10:10 AR AR171-EG27-13.tex AR171-EG27-13.SGM LaTeX2e(2002/01/18) P1: GDL URBAN AIR POLLUTION IN CHINA 405 Figure 5 Average annual urban TSP concentration in China from 1990–1999. coal smoke that “rolling black smoke” was a common phrase to describe the air. The emphasis on urban air pollution control at that time was smoke abatement and dust removal, with boilers refitted and “nonblack smoke zones” established. In the 1980s, improvements were seen with lower smoke and dust levels. In the 1990s, the control emphasis turned to the abatement of particles from residential coal burning, with regulations requiring the use of briquettes and for optimization of the residential fuel structure by using gas, electricity, and oil to replace coal. As total energy consumption increased in recent years, the average urban TSP concentration gradually declined, which illustrates progress in urban TSP control. The average annual rate of decrease in the national average TSP concentrations for over 70 cities was 4% during the 1990s, as shown in Figure 5. The rate of the average TSP concentration decrease in 4 municipalities 1 and 24 provincial cities (including 14 northern cities and 14 southern cities) was 3% (12). As Figure 5 shows, the urban TSP concentration in the north was much higher than in the south. This was due to many factors. The colder north burns much more coal for winter heating, and its lack of vegetation and aridness give rise to high concentrations of large-diameter, nonrespirable sand or loess soil particles blown from the west each spring. The effects of these natural factors make control of TSP pollution in northern cities difficult, so the TSP concentration in the north is decreasing more slowly than in the south. Moreover, the north has more heavy industry, which emits particulate matter. 1 Chongqing, which was removed from Sichuan Province and promoted to the status of a provincial-level municipality in 1997, is reckoned in as a municipality. 3 Oct 2002 10:10 AR AR171-EG27-13.tex AR171-EG27-13.SGM LaTeX2e(2002/01/18) P1: GDL 406 HE  HUO  ZHANG Figure 6 Average annual urban TSP concentrations in different sized cities in China from 1990–1998. The TSP concentrations in cities of different sizes 2 did not vary much. As Figure 6 shows, 3 the average TSP concentrations in 12 largecitieswereonlyalittle higher than in 12 medium and 12 small cities, with almost no difference between medium and small cities. Therefore TSP air pollution is a national environmental problem in China. Because many effective measures have been implemented to reduce the particu- late matters emittedfrom boilers, the contribution of coal smoke dust to urban TSP has decreased. As the coal smoke pollution in urban air gradually decreased, some nonpoint sources, such as soil, road particles, and construction dust contributed a large percentage (13–15). Many modeling studies of the source apportionment of urban TSP have been implemented in China, especially for the northern cities. In the north, particulate soil matter has become the largest part of the TSP, with an average level of 40% to 50% due to the dry climate and low level of forestation in the area (16,17). Remote sources of soil particulates also contribute a lot to the northern cities. During springtime, 20% of the TSP mass was from outside in Xian city (18). Therefore, the TSP concentrations have remained high in northern cities even after implementation of TSP control measures, and soil-dust control in the north remains a challenge. During the northern heating period, the burning of coal elevates the percentage of coal smoke dust in the urban TSP up to 30% to 40%. The high share of coal smoke particles during the winter and the soil dust during spring are common features of the TSP in the north but not in the south (19–22). 2 In this paper, large cites have population >1 million, medium cities are 0.5–1 million, and small cities are <0.5 million. 3 For Figures 6 and 7, 12 large, 12 medium, and 12 small cities were chosen. [...]... problem in China in the late 1970s and early 1980s In the early 1980s, acid rain primarily occurred in two regions Chongqing-Guiyang and Nanchang In the 1990s, the southeast coastal area (Fuzhou, Xiamen, and Shanghai), the north coastal area around Qingdao in Shandong Province, and the northeast area around Tumen in Jilin Province were also identified as acid rain areas Now, acid rain is mainly dispersed... 23(1):35–37 Cai ChK, Hu QSh, Lin ZhN, Ren TL, Dong ShZ 2000 Investigation on the indoor air pollution of using fuel for cooking in Guangzhou city Chin J Health Lab Technol 10(2):165–66 Qin YH 1991 Indoor air pollution in four cities in China J Environ Health 8(3):100–2 Zhu LZh, Liu YJ, Matsushita H 2001 Pollution survey and source analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the indoor air Acta Sci Circumst... between pollution of PAHs and its sources in urban indoor environment Urban Environ Urban Ecol 10(4):43–45 Guo XM, Zhang HM 1990 Forecast and Countermeasures on China’s Environment in 2000 Beijing: Tsinghua Univ Press Xia G 1998 Economic Losses of Environmental Pollution in China Beijing: China Environ Sci Sun BY 1997 Evaluation of China’s environmental pollution: prediction and consideration Chin State... future programming of acid rain and SO2 control in China Electricity 12(2):35– 37 China Autom Techn Res Cent 2000 China Autom Ind Yearb Tianjin, China: Chin Autom Manuf Assoc Dep Environ Sci Eng 1999 Demonstration of Typical Cities for Controlling Vehicle Emissions in China Beijing: Tsinghua Univ Shanghai Acad Environ Sci 1999 Study and Demonstration of I/M Program in Shanghai City Chin Gov Beijing Munic... exacerbates emissions and impedes implementation of more stringent standards Beijing—A Case Study for Urban Air Pollution Control in China Beijing, the capital city, is the economic, political, and cultural center of China and has undergone rapid development in recent decades In 2008, the twenty-eighth Olympic games will be held in Beijing This city is important to China, and its air 3 Oct 2002 10:10... 1,600,000 m3/hr and 540,000 m3/hr, respectively In recent years, industrial briquette factories were built in several cities including Chongqing, Luoyang, Guiyang, Beijing, and Taiyuan Centralized coal mixing and molding ahead of the boilers, developed on the basis of centralized molding, was partially implemented in Lanzhou, Beijing, and Tianjin In the early 1990s, China began the study and development... LaTeX2e(2002/01/18) P1: GDL URBAN AIR POLLUTION IN CHINA 417 TABLE 7 Direct economic losses caused by air pollution accidents [million renminbi (RMB)] 1993 Losses 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 98.7 17.0 13.0 8.6 13.0 7.5 8.2 total economic losses include health problems associated with urban air pollution and indoor air pollution and damage to productivity, materials, agriculture, and ecology Since the 1980s,... sources and technologies Furthermore, high-efficiency industrial equipment, industrial energy conservation, and energy-efficient buildings will also greatly reduce air pollutant emissions In addition, Beijing is implementing a rational layout of industries by moving highly polluting factories away from the urban area and by encouraging low- and zero -pollution industries that will change the industrial... fuel (including natural gas, coal gas, and liquefied petroleum gas), largely as a result of government investments (Figure 14) In 1999, 80% of urban homes had access to gas for cooking, and coal-burning households were increasingly turning to the use of cleaner, more efficient briquettes (1) A recent series of studies showed that indoor air pollution is very serious in urban China The research results in. .. LaTeX2e(2002/01/18) URBAN AIR POLLUTION IN CHINA P1: GDL 423 high-efficiency and low-emission gas-fired technology in buses and taxis, and encouraged the construction of special gas stations and other necessary infrastructure In these 12 places, CNGV and LPGV technologies have been greatly developed and applied Beginning in November 1998, experiments were begun to produce and use CNGVs and LPGVs with their . reserved URBAN AIR POLLUTION IN CHINA: Current Status, Characteristics, and Progress Kebin He, Hong Huo, and Qiang Zhang Department of Environmental Science and. atmosphere in China, and urban air pollution is rapidly emerging as a major environmental issue. Many cities have sufferedfrom increasingly serious air pollution